Ed Burtynsky, perhaps most famous for his movie Manufactured Landscapes, takes a moment to show what he sees as “symbols of how we use the land”. Do you agree that oil is the dominant landscape feature nowadays? Is the use of photography and other art media helpful in gaining new perspective for exactly how humans interact with nature?

In many ways, Burtynsky photography and cinematography emphasize the sheer scale at which we humans are altering the landscape – or in this case, piling up our plastic and electronic refuse in areas he refers to as “the end of oil”. Reactions to those stark perspectives?