River documented for National Geographic

An independent film crew working in tandem with National Geographic is in the Yuma area this week to document the Colorado River for a series of internet videos concerning water in North America.

The group, Expedition Blue Planet North America, recently met with Cocopah tribal member Colin Soto to discuss the river and how it dries up near the American border with Mexico.

“It was Colin himself who was recommended to us because he is a man who when he was a boy, part of becoming a man was to swim the river, and that is the same river now where he took us today that no longer flows,” expedition film director Ben Pederick told the Yuma Sun during a phone interview.

“It has gone from a huge wetlands to a very heavily patrolled and dusty riverbed. So Colin is a witness of the Colorado story.”

The expedition began in early July at the headways of the Colorado River in Colorado.

“We are making short six-minute films for the internet,” Pederick said. “They will be screened through our own website and through the National Geographic website and also shared freely.”

The first short film covering the headways is now up on their website at alexandracousteau.org and also NationalGeographic.com/water.

The host, Alexandra Cousteau, and her team are currently on a 14,500-mile journey across North America to investigate water issues in the United States.

They team will live, work and explore water stories together, using everything from the underwater gear invented by Cousteau's grandfather to the latest in satellite technology and live social media to bring their adventure and the wonders of nature to audiences across the globe.

They will explore more than six distinct ecosystems and work in everything from urban to wilderness and ocean environments.

“We are the first digital expedition ever commissioned by National Geographic,” Pederick said.

“Alexandra Cousteau has a group called Blue Legacy which she formed with her business partner and executive producer Jonathan Smith three years ago. They joined together so they could tell stories about water and give an awareness of the inner-connectivity of water and the way it flows through our lives and connects us all together.”

Blue Legacy is dedicated to going beyond the sensationalism that often marks moments of environmental crisis, the website said.

Blue Legacy is guided by an advisory board that includes a former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, seasoned leaders from the business, academic, global policy and nonprofit communities, and pioneers in environmentalism.

During their 4-1/2-month expedition, the crew will be traveling on Sen. John McCain's “Direct Talk Express” bus that he used during his presidential campaign.

“We have revamped it and repainted it with our own Blue Legacy skin,” Pederick said.

The crew is currently documenting the over-allocation of water in the Colorado River.

“The Colorado River is a river that dries up in the sand and has had its waters turned to other purposes,” Pederick said.

“Just over the border you can find a place where the Colorado River no longer flows. We've come here because that is a pretty amazing story. It's not a happy story but I think a story which is not a dead end.

“From talking to a lot of the people, there are solutions that can find a balance between nature and still meet the needs of cities and farms, so there is a way forward, definitely.”

The intention of the film crew is to spark awareness about how water is used in the United States, Pederick said.

“We make those films and then they are literally shared freely on the internet. Anyone can grab them and put them on their website. We really want to build a conversation around these topics and really include people in the story of water, because it really is everybody's story.

“What we are hoping is that the films we make can stimulate conversations around the coffee table or watercooler. The Colorado River is obviously really important to the identity and also to the existence of the West and is a river that is under a great deal of duress right now, so there is going to be a point where people are going to need to get together (and plan for the river's future).”

Chris McDaniel can be reached at cmcdaniel@yumasun.com or 539-6849.