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Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? Visit Visit our website This educational film “Land Use and Misuse“ dates to the 1970s and presents information about environmental damage, the importance of vegetation for protection of land. It presents an anti-deforestation, anti-clearing of land premise. It was made by Learning Company of America, then part of Columbia Pictures Industries. American Meteorological Society / Dr. Reid A. Bryson (0:11). Two white men’s faces bouncing in shot while jogging (0:50). Grains of wheat against blue sky (0:54). Oil pumpjack / rocking machine at work (0:56). Pan from forest to suburban housing development (1:02). Various shots: construction, bus by overpass, tilled field, small plane taking off over field, four-lane highway, timber lorry (1:10). Sign staked in front of evergreen forest land: “For Sale: This Desirable Property” (1:23). Demonstration of erosion after land clearing in lab experiment (1:30–4:30). Lab experiment on vegetated / unvegetated earth (grass) with irrigation; lab experiment showing vegetation reduces erosion after rain (1:30). Lab simulation of sun (heat lamps); earth drying (time lapse); “rain cycle” repeated; “dry cycle” repeated; weather cycle simulated in lab (2:15). Close-up: erosion’s effects on underground soil layers for cleared and vegetated land (plant roots, leaves) (3:36). Large tree, mountains behind (3:53). The sun (small circle in clear sky) (4:00). Clouds forming (4:05). Rain hitting tree, earth (4:09). Close-up of water run-off (streams forming); soil erosion (4:17). Stream (4:25). Cleared land with vague structures in background (4:30). Various water pumps, water distributors, irrigation technology (4:37). Lab experiment to show fertilizer and DDT build-up over time (closed water cycle with soil additives, pollution) (4:47). Dead grass in lab experiment; dead grass, dry field on farm; barn on horizon in background (5:17). Cows in dry field (5:27). Deer or elk, with antlers (buck) (5:29). Aerial view of smokestacks / industry / industrial development (5:31). Dead fields, dry fields in Rajasthan Desert, India (5:37). Cows, goats in dry fields in Rajasthan, India (5:52). Illustration of desert atmosphere and heat (6:05). Dusty landscape in Rajasthan (6:20). Two men on path on camel / bike in Rajasthan, dust (6:25). Tilling with camel, Rajasthan (6:36). Lab experiment with wind, dust, fan (sign “This Desirable Property“) (6:50). Illustration of planet Earth with sign (“This Desirable Property“ ) (6:56). Illustrated sequence about land use in 1970s America (facts / pie chart / background visuals—land use in the United States in 1970s: 58% crop and livestock production; 22% ungrazed forest land; 12% desert, swamp, or tundra; 5% wildlife refuges and parks; 3% cities and towns (7:01). Mother cow, baby cows suckling on farm in pen (7:47). Junkyards with cars near river, birds everywhere; expanding urban areas (highways, suburbia, retail, restaurant, hotel development, branded signs--Texaco, 76, steakhouse) (7:55). Lab experiment with model house shows effect of residential development / land clearing on temperature and light (thermometer, Lunasis 3 light meter); thermometer showing 28 degrees Celsius, 26 degrees Celsius (8:06). Plane taking off from runway, subtitle: “ALBEDO“ (9:04). Hot tarmac at airport; airport building and populated hill in background (9:18). Cityscapes, skyscrapers (9:26). Forest by field with fence (9:30). Cleared man-made desert area near industrial development (9:39). Multi-story highway system with many early 1970s cars (9:45). Farm near mountains; tilled soil in front of farm building (9:53). Light bulb on grass in a lab setting shows albedo effect (10:00). Sun viewed from underwater (10:15). Clouds moving, hurricane at beach, buildings in hurricane, palm trees in hurricane (10:23). Close-up time lapse: bean plant sprouting (10:36). Light bulb on grass in lab again, albedo effect (10:48). Glaciers (11:00). Cars in traffic (bumper-to-bumper) viewed at street level from divider (11:19). Illustration of jet trail (11:24). Aerial view of small 1970s city (11:28). Small dust devil in lightly vegetated desert (11:34). Broken doll in ugly deserted field near dilapidated building (destruction / land misuse) (11:38). Land reclamation in a bay (11:44). Virgin forest being cut (11:55). Beach sign from San Francisco Department of Public Health warning of polluted water (12:00). Pacific evergreen forest, hills (12:07). Farm with crops growing; various close-ups of crops (12:24). End titles: produced by Davidson Films, Inc. San Francisco. This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
