Discovering Alabama Episode

Ruth and I went to the local premiere of the new "Discovering Alabama" episode for Alabama Public Television (APT) Thursday evening. This episode is about threats to the Flint River here in Madison County, Alabama. The presentation is more pointed than typical episodes in the series. Rather than a general feeling of, "everything is really beautiful in this beautiful state", very stark problems and issues of suburban development and environmental degradation are examined. Some of the interviews with me in the episode push this forward, but others who speak in the episode have similar things to say. I had forgotten that I mention "dog poop" as part of non-point source pollution, but there it is in the episode(!). I also get to mention flame chubs and threats they face through habitat loss. The film crew even visited and filmed a local spring I told them about that's the site of a local property owners' association working very hard and stupidly to kill off this spring which is loaded with the most beautiful flame chubs we found.

I can only imagine that many developers and their hangers-on won't be favorably impressed by this episode. But that's a good sign. Like the man said, money doesn't talk, it swears.

The broadcast premiere is Tuesday night at 8 on your local APT station (channel 25 in Huntsville).