It’s a family Thanksgiving tradition that after dinner, we go and catch a movie. So last night, it was Happy Feet. I was pretty excited about Happy Feet because it has the two things any movie needs to be great — penguins and Robin Williams. Unfortunately, Happy Feet didn’t really live up to my expectations. The script didn’t take full advantage of Williams talent for spontaneous humor, and the story was pretty weak. Nevertheless, the animation and music were amazing, so I didn’t regret the ticket.

The problem with the story was that it was a little jumpy and not terribly coherent. However, to the extent that the script sought to accomplish anything, it seemed to be trying to raise the subject of commericialized fishing for discussion. To wit: the evil villians in the film are the unseen “aliens” who are taking all of the penguins’ fish, and condemning them to starvation. The “aliens” are, of course, people. And when main character Mumble ends up in an aquarium near the end of the movie, he finally gets to meet them firsthand. I won’t spoil the ending, but suffice it to say that the effort to question human fishing practices comes off more than a little ham-handed.

I’m sure that the writers and producers wanted to present a film that would be entertaining and yet have kids asking their parents, “Why are we eating all of Mumble’s fish?” in parking lots after the show. I’m sure they also hoped to spawn a national conversation about sustainable fishing — assuming that their film might spur op/ed writers and editorialists to their keyboards.

And yet, it hasn’t happened. I haven’t seen a single column on sustainable fishing since the film’s release. For example, the Washington Post Style section, which would normally be falling over itself to write a news-like piece to dovetail with a big film that raises important environmental questions, has written nothing but a standard review.

The lack of coverage is a shame. Because Happy Feet does raise important questions about fishing, the health of the oceans, and our responsibilities towards them. I won’t regale you here with the 5,000 word tome that I’ve been written about humanity’s treatment of its environment, but suffice it to say that humans are overtaxing the oceans, and in a way that it is not to our benefit in the short, medium, or long terms. Mumble and his penguin friends aren’t the only ones who should worry. (Here’s a hint: if you like bluefin tuna, stop eating it. Otherwise, it will be gone in a few years.)

Perhaps kids will be asking their parents about Mumble’s fish problem in parking lots after shows. I hope so. And I hope parents can find good resources online for answering their kids’ questions. Because once again, the media has dropped the ball.

Here are a couple of resources that I found:

• Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch. This is a great resource. Tells you what to eat and what not to eat. You can even print or order handy wallet cards.
• Smithsonian Institute’s Seafood Page. A great site designed to accompany a great cookbook called One fish. Two fish. Crawfish. Bluefish. which provides recipes for sustainable seafood cooking.
• Last, a hat tip to the traditional media. A Christian Science Monitor story from April about sustainable seafood.

Jim: I see regular commenter Sharon has a bone to pick.

Look, we on the right can easily make the mistake that because somebody like Al Gore talks about the environment and has cast himself as the earth’s Cassandra and Messiah all rolled into one, that every bit of environmental concern is apocalyptic nonsense, a green cloak to hide a power-hungry statist agenda. And large chunks of green rhetoric are indeed just that.

But we shouldn’t assume that there’s no reason to be concerned about pollution and ecosystems, either. I’m sure that everybody, no matter where they are, has some environmental-related issue that worries them - chemical runoff into the Chesapeake Bay, responsible forestry, strip-mining, overdevelopment and sprawl, insufficient shade in urban areas…

As I understand it - and I have yet to look at Marshall’s links - overfishing is a serious problem, but a lesser known point is the fact that U.S. fishermen are among some of the most responsible in the world; where you really get fishermen cleaning out the sea is off the coasts of Russia, continental Asia, Japan, and all of those northern European countries with herring that are always being held up as semi-Socialist paradises at think tank conferences.

What I would love would be for the international environmental movement to stop berating Americans for refusing to sign the Kyoto treaty, and acknowledge that most of the biggest threats to the world’s environmental health come from countries and cultures very different from the U.S.. The Soviet Union did more to wreck their environment than any other nation; the successor states are not much better. The most polluted city I’ve ever been in is Cairo. The biggest piles of trash, sometimes burning, I’ve ever seen was in the empty lots of Amman, Jordan. I’m sure we’ve heard of the thick black smog that envelops most Chinese cities, limiting vision to less than a block sometimes. This is to say nothing of the enormous trade in endangered species’ body parts in Chinese markets. Turkey’s making an effort to reduce coal-burning in winter, but I haven’t seen the mountains in the distance past central Ankara since I returned.

The grim fact that no greenie committed to multicultralism wants to admit is that some cultures respect the environment far more than others, and that America’s record in this area is actually pretty good. The biggest threats to the world’s environment come from cultures that don’t have the same respect for nature, where an ethos of responsible stewardship has never taken root. And the most devastating acts of environmental pollution and abuse have come from authoritarian, communist, and socialist nations - who are always putting the glory of their Dear Leader or Triumphant People’s Revolution above the interests of plants, animals, waterways, etc.

THAT would make a great environmental message for a kids’ movie. But I doubt will be seeing it at the multiplex anytime soon.

Marshall: Jim is right, as always. First, Sharon’s comment is an excellent one, and worth reading. Second, Americans most certainly do not et enough credit from the environmental left for the good things that they do.

As an example, when it comes to fishing — and especially the continued fishing of species on the brink — the supposedly sophisticated Japanese are by far the worst offenders. The fact that bluefin tuna are now on the precipice is due mostly to the insatiable Japanese appetite for toro.

Interestingly, to the extent that Happy Feet tries to make a case that something needs to be done, it’s through images of multi-national cooperation and negotiation. Now, anyone who knows my records knows that I’m no particular fan of world organizations. But much can be done through negotiation among states. And the U.S. is in a strong position to force other nations to make progress on environmental issues through trade agreements and the like. To be sure, our nation has items on its priority list that rank ahead of protecting oceanic fisheries. (Like fighting terrorism.) But that doesn’t mean that protecting fisheries shouldn’t be on the list at all. Quite the opposite. We can, in fact, focus on morethan one thing at a time.

Bottom line: the scientific evidence is undeniable. We can do something, or within a generation or two, many of the fish that we most enjoy eating will simply disappear.