Fields of Fuel

Fuel weaves a web of connection between US energy/petrol policy and the environmental and foreign policies that ensue from petrol dependence. Without being preachy, the narrator spins a yarn that takes him from the happy-go-lucky days of an Australian childhood to the US where he begins to mature in his views about energy and the most effective means to make a difference.

The film is stuffed with celebrities, the obligatory genuflection to a star-struck culture that can't imagine much if Cher, Willie Nelson, or Bono aren't hyping it. This aside, probably the most important aspect of the narrator's tale is how he realized that he wasn't going to get squat done if he didn't begin to work collectively. This is the most powerful message of his film. The last third of the move details all of the energy solutions afoot right now, which can be implemented with the right pressure on Congress. It's inspiring folks.

There only seemed to be one glaring error. This has to do with his calculus regarding the use of ethanol. I would suggest everyone read Alcohol Can Be a Gas for a more intelligent discussion on ethanol. The other bone to pick is the matter of environmental racism. Americans are likely more predisposed to any card but the infamous race card. The rebound effects for his own mother, however, demonstrate that good old saying by the big J himself, "That which you do to the Least of my brothers, that's what you do onto me."

This film is amazing, beautiful and important. I believe it's this year's Inconvenient Truth but human and moving as it is Josh Tickell's personal story and currently his life mission. Everyone needs to see this film. It's is so inspiring! I am going to trade in my car for one that runs on bio-diesel because that is something I can do to cause change in this crucial area of the economy, foreign policy, the future of this planet! This film is so motivating that you are going to want to tell everyone you know to see this film and it's so timely considering the election and the current state of affairs. I usually find documentaries the cure for insomnia however FUEL is engaging and entertaining and makes you get off your butt and do something that makes a difference for our world!

This was the only film to inspire a standing ovation, to a packed screening, at the 2008 Beverly Hills International Film Festival.

As a Hybrid owner I'm amazed that more manufacturers don't make alternative fuel cars. When this film illustrated the argument for Soy, Cane, and Algea based diesels fuels I determined right then and there my family's next car would run on bio-diesel.

The film is funny, entertaining, very informative, and while it shows the dark side of how we got to our present state of petroleum dependence, it doesn't wallow in the negative, but instead cheers us on to seek fuel alternative that are already here, right now.

For instance, I had no idea that any diesel engine could run on bio-diesel without any adaptation! Also, the amazing advances in Algea based bio-fuels can also produce plastics with a fraction of the environmental impact.

If you see no other environmental documentary, you must see this one! I doesn't lament, it shows us the way.

EVERYONE NEEDS TO SEE THIS FILM. Coming from the perspective of someone who knows very little U.S. energy consumption or the politics surrounding it, I found the film extremely accessible, clear, and captivating. It enlightened me on the big picture (which until seeing this film seemed overwhelming and unapproachable), gave me a sense of hope, and empowered me as the average citizen with simple things I can do to be a part of the solution. I was touched and inspired by FUEL and came away with a whole new outlook on the world and life itself!

Synopsis (from the FUEL website): Most Americans know we've got a problem: an addiction to oil that taxes the environment, entangles us in costly foreign policies, and threatens the nation's long-term stability. But few are informed or empowered enough to do much about it. Enter Josh Tickell, an expert young activist who, driven by his own emotionally charged motives, shuttles us on a revelatory, whirlwind journey to unravel this addiction — from its historical origins to political constructs that support it, to alternatives available now and the steps we can take to change things. Tickell tracks the rising domination of the petrochemical industry — from Rockefeller's strategy to halt ethanol use in Ford's first cars to the mysterious death of Rudolph Diesel at the height of his engine's popularization, to our government's choice to declare war after 9/11, rather than wean the country from fossil fuel. Never minimizing the complexities of ending oil dependence, Tickell uncovers a hopeful reality pointing toward a decentralized, sustainable energy infrastructure. Sweeping and exhilarating, Tickell's passionate film goes beyond great storytelling; it rings out like a bell that stirs consciousness and makes individual action suddenly seem consequential.

Most of the reviews of "Fuel" rave about Josh Tickell's entertaining presentation of solutions to our global addiction to gasoline and oil. Last night's screening couldn't have been much more serendipitous for the filmmaker. I mean, let's face it, 86 days into BP's rogue well catastrophe, and it was not surprising that Florida State's Student Life auditorium was packed with a diverse group of community residents and students. It was, after all, a free screening.

"Fuel" didn't offer any solutions that haven't already been publicly addressed in a variety of ways by a number of visionaries. Relying on the filmmaker's personal journey from an undergrad thesis project that escalated into a crusade, the film came across as a tad pedestrian. Tickell's experience with alternative fuel sources as a substitute for fossil fuels is indeed impressive. It would be difficult to criticize his passion, or his mission to encourage and nurture change.

BUT, "Fuel" was entirely too precious for me to rave like the other critics. Littered with proactive celebrities like Julia Roberts, Willie Nelson, Larry David, Cheryl Crow and many others, it occurred to me that "Fuel" was way too proud of itself, and way too involved with the idea of celebrity. For someone who is presumably an activist, I wondered about all of the air miles and fuel Tickell spent courting an Irish scientist in Cork, German engineers in Europe, etc. I thought about the air miles he used to attend celebrity-filled festivals.

After I viewed "Fuel" last evening I reread Henry Adams's "The Virgin and the Dynamo" and was reminded about the consuming nature of a contemporary society that has detached itself from the Aquinas-like faith of the middle ages. Adams penned his famous chapter after attending the Paris Exhibition at the turn of the last century. The internal combustion engine (a small dynamo) was featured at the exhibit. "Fuel" devotes a segment that addresses the 1900 event, and the historical context Tickell offers is particularly compelling. The Louisiana information was also edifying.

While "Fuel" had many successful segments, it could be edited and condensed into a more meaningful film that does not require nearly two hours of air conditioned airtime. It reminded me too much of one of those Sally Struther's "Feed the Children" TV campaigns.