“Water is Life” Written By Robert Lundahl 415.205.3481
FADE IN:
AERIAL SHOTS/VAST EXPANSES OF DELTA WATER
NARRATOR OLDER FEMALE: Water is life, And the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta is the provider of that life for the San Francisco Bay region.
DISSOLVE TO:HISTORIC SHOTS OF SALMON ON THE SACRAMENTO/LARGE NUMBERS
NARRATOR: Chinook salmon spawning in the Upper Sacramento River numbered 450,000 in 1950. Water diversion, dams, pollution and habitat destruction reduced those numbers by 9/10 in the years that followed.
TRANSITION, WIPE OR PUSH, SALMON ON A LINE TODAY
NARRATOR OLDER FEMALE: Will we learn the lesson and protect the natural resources we have left?
CUT TO: DROUGHT HEADLINES/NEWSPAPER SPINS
NARRATOR: The California drought, now in its 5th year, has prompted reactive policy initiatives by state leaders, choosing one industry over another, and one community over another in allocating precious water resources.
DISSOLVE TO CLOSE UP PAN, TUNNEL HEADLINES/NEWSPAPER
NARRATOR: But that’s not the way to go.
RELAXED DISSOLVE – TO MONTAGE FISHING BOATS HALF MOON BAY, RESTAURANTS SERVE SEAFOOD, TOURISTS AT FISHERMAN’S WHARF
NARRATOR: Salmon still support coastal fishermen, and the culinary and hospitality businesses of one of America’s top 5 vacation destinations, San Francisco.
TRANSITION – FLIP OR PAGE TURN – DISSOLVE SEQUENCE WINDSURFING, DELTA/FARMING SCENES/APPLE CAMPUS WITH LOGO
NARRATOR: And healthy salmon runs, like recreational industries, diversified family farming, and even Silicon Valley’s world leading chip manufacture and corporate campuses — Apple, Google, Intel and others — depend on clean water, readily available.
DISSOLVE TO: MONTAGE CONTRA COSTA BUSINESSES/COMMUNITIES, SHOPPERS AT AN OUTDOOR MALL
NARRATOR: Millions of people living in urban areas rely on a healthy Delta for drinking water.
SEQUENCE OF CUTS: TOMATOES, FRUITS AND VEGETABLES AT A FARMERS MARKET, HAPPY FACES/RIPPLES ON THE WATER CLOSE UP, SOFT ZOOM IN AND RACK OUT OF FOCUS
NARRATOR: In a time of unprecedented drought, the answer to our collective water needs in a historically dry state, is the very reverence for life and people, and the resources the region has always provided.
DISSOLVE TO: OLD SPANISH MAP, SAN FRANCISCO BAY,
NARRATOR: Covering 612 square miles, the San Francisco Bay/Delta region is the largest estuary on the U.S. Pacific Coast.
DISSOLVE TO: SEQUENCE GRASSES/WETLANDS, HERON OR EGRET
NARRATOR: It is recognized as one of North America’s most ecologically important estuaries, accounting for 77 percent of California’s remaining perennial wetlands.
DISSOLVE TO: SPORTS (BASS) FISHERMEN. (TOURNAMENT).
NARRATOR: Not only fish, like salmon, bass, steelhead, shad and sturgeon make this biological nursery home,
CUT TO: GIANT FLOCKS OF MIGRATING BIRDS BLACKEN THE SKY
NARRATOR: …but so do the myriad avain species of the Pacific Flyway.
DISSOLVE TO: EARLY SHOTS FARMING IN THE DELTA REGION
NARRATOR: During the California Gold Rush, farmers planted orchards on Delta islands
CUT TO: DAGUERROTYPES OF GOLD RUSH MINERS, PUSH/DISSOLVE THROUGH SEQUENCE
NARRATOR: …to provide fresh fruit for mining camps in the Sierra Nevada.
CUT TO: VEGETABLE CRATE LABELS FROM THE 1930’s/40’s, PUSH/DISSOLVE THROUGH SEQUENCE ROADSIDE STANDS
NARRATOR: Because of the year-round availability of fresh water, the Delta became one of the most fertile regions of California.
SPIGOT TURNED OFF, SOD TORN OUT, NATIVE GARDEN PLANTED
NARRATOR: Today, conservation not favoritism is our future.
FADE OUT.
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