The Quiet Orinda Video is Now Online!
Now that our much-anticipated Quiet Orinda video made its April, 2010 debut at the California Independent Film Festival in Orinda, it’s time to make it available worldwide. You can view the video on Quiet Orinda’s home page (www.quietorinda.com), as well as on YouTube and Vimeo:
We encourage you to forward the video’s links to your friends, post them on your Facebook pages, etc. We also will invite other groups, sympathetic to our cause, to embed the video on their sites.
Why Did We Make a Video?
We decided to produce a short documentary video for several reasons. First, a video can dramatize a viewpoint quite effectively. We needed to contrast Orinda’s beauty and its vaunted livability against the pollution- both air and noise- caused by widespread leaf blower use.
Second, while other anti-blower videos exist, most aren’t professionally produced, nor are they particularly informative, with one or two notable exceptions (such as the one by www.zapla.org). We wanted something quick and short, artfully done, that delivered the key points of the case against leaf blowers:
1. They are unnecessary, and can easily be replaced by rakes and brooms
2. They rob neighborhoods of peace and tranquility, disturbing people within earshot and making it difficult to relax, entertain, sleep, concentrate, etc.
3. They pollute the air with a toxic, concentrated exhaust
4. They cause settled, toxic particulate matter (PM) to become airborne again, exposing all of us to dangerous, microscopic particles of pesticides, diesel engine exhaust, animal fecal matter, fertilizers, tire rubber, ammonium nitrate, heavy metals, and more
Third, we wanted real Orindans- not paid actors, but volunteer residents – to describe in their own words how blowers affect their lives. We had many offering to appear in the video, but ultimately decided on five different families. The families describe, (again in their own words), their objections to the noise and air pollution they’re forced to live with. It’s a powerful means of making the point- getting regular folks who quite sincerely express their desire to eliminate blower pollution. Including an M.D. (who reviewed the EPA’s recent study) to reinforce our points was also considered essential (hence Dr. Kron’s appearance).
Fourth, we think having this highly-accessible documentary online will help educate our fellow Orindans about our blight, and encourage them to support alternatives like rakes and brooms. It will also communicate to others – yes, even to prospective Orinda residents – that we have a serious problem with blower pollution, but that we’re taking action to deal with it. What do you think?