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Landline - Ethanol Special 2006 (2006)

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'Clean, green and healthier' education content clip 1, 2

Original classification rating: PG. This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

Vehicle exhaust emissions are responsible for increased deaths from asthma, heart disease and lung cancer due to all the toxins in petrol and diesel, according to Professor Ray Kearney, a vocal supporter of biofuels. He says that ethanol will cut these disease rates by up to 50 per cent.

Curator’s notes

by Janet Bell

A frighteningly effective sequence. The opening shots of vehicle emissions, followed by the simple animation of particles in the emissions ending up in pedestrians’ lungs, sets the scene beautifully for the simple lecture and talking head material which might otherwise be ignored as boring.

Our health workers have known for some time that car emissions from petrol and diesel are toxic, yet it’s only when our hip pocket is affected by the price of petrol at the pumps that we begin to look seriously at biofuel alternatives in Australia. The oil companies have just begun to back ethanol and other alternative fuels, with BP throwing itself into the forefront of research and distribution of this cleaner and healthier alternative.

This Landline special has explored all aspects of the issue, from the political landscape to the health issues to the situation overseas. It’s an excellent round up of vital information on the subject.

Teacher’s notes

provided by The Le@rning FederationEducation Services Australia

This clip shows the health risks of petrol- and diesel-driven vehicle fuel exhausts within a context of advocating the biofuels ethanol and biodiesel. It opens with graphic scenes of truck and car exhausts as the voice-over explains how biofuels will gain support. Graphic images of particles superimposed on exhaust fumes reinforce the health message. Scenes of Sydney smog and people in crowded streets close to traffic are then interspersed with Professor Ray Kearney speaking about the research into the health dangers of fuel exhausts.

Educational value points

  • The main message of the clip is that exhaust pollutants from vehicles powered by petrol and diesel impact adversely on the basic indicators of health, including survival, longevity and wellbeing. The major problem areas are the fine particles discharged in petrol and diesel exhausts, with the effects of diesel being substantially worse.
  • The health message is underpinned by Professor Ray Kearney’s statement that in Sydney twice as many people are dying from exposure to vehicle exhausts than as a result of road accidents and by his reference to US research published in 2002 based on an analysis of causes of death among the 500,000 participants in the Cancer Prevention Study II who were living in cities with available air pollution data.
  • Petrol exhaust has 4,000 fine particles per cubic cm, but diesel exhaust is much worse with approximately 80,000 particles. Further research published in 2007 confirmed the link between diesel exhaust particles and clogged arteries. A US research team found that diesel particles work together with 'bad’ fats to clog the arteries. This can in turn lead to blood clots that trigger heart attack or stroke.
  • Explaining and demonstrating the effects of fine particles invisible to the naked eye was a challenge to the documentary filmmakers, which they met by combining the conventional technique of an expert 'talking head’ with the less conventional but highly effective technique of superimposing animated 'particles’ on footage of vehicle exhausts and human airways.
  • Kearney is a committed proponent of biofuels, but the clip does not include his major message that not all ethanol blend fuels are equal. He contends that E5 and E10 (5 and 10 per cent ethanol in unleaded petrol) do not deliver health benefits because 95 and 90 per cent respectively of the fuel remains toxic. E85 is the only blend that deserves the label 'clean, green and healthier’.
  • Ethanol was a vexed subject in Australia following a 2003 media scare campaign about its safety for use in all cars. The Landline special was an attempt to provide up-to-date information on ethanol and persuade viewers of its benefits. This clip focuses on the 'healthier’ aspect of the biofuel slogan 'clean, green and healthier’. In spite of the health data, 'healthier’ doesn’t always find a place in biofuel slogans. One of the latest is 'cheaper, cleaner, greener’.