Today I conducted a Q&A at Camelot Theatres with one of the directors of the documentary Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea. I had interviewed Chris Metzler over the phone for my review, and Jeff Springer attended today. An extremely nice guy, he has an obvious passion for the people of Salton Sea and their understandable concerns over the state of their environment.
To sum up, the sea has the very real and disturbing possibility of drying up and sending a dust cloud over the Coachella Valley, which includes Palm Springs. Other problems abound, but that’s the biggie that grabs the attention of neighboring counties. California’s state senate just approved a bill for restoration and so have officially begun working towards a solution. Hopefully others will recognize the importance.
Just about everyone in the audience had been to the Salton Sea (about an hour away), and some reminisced about spending summers there as kids. One woman had even lived there in the 30s and 40s, and heartily approved of Springer’s efforts to bring attention to the beauty that exists there. There were no questions about any of the quirky individuals featured in the film, only serious concern for the landscape’s future.
Too bad there weren’t more folks in attendance that have not visited the sea and need a little incentive. Springer said he was most concerned with educating the people that have writen-off the area and its crisis.