ETSU Environmental Film Series

Fall 2009

sponsored by

- the ETSU Environmental Studies minor

- I.C.E. (Initiative for Clean Energy), an ETSU student group

- SOAPIFF, the Southern Appalachian International Film Festival

All films will be shown in Ball Hall Auditorium (Art bldg, rm 127) at 7pm.

Thurs Sep 24

"National Sacrifice Zone: Colorado and the Cost of Energy Independence"

2007, USA, 59 min.

Have you heard that shale oil in Colorado might be the solution to all of America's energy problems? Or it might not be. This film takes a critical look at the effects of the most current Rocky Mountain energy boom. Includes commentary from both energy 'experts' and local individuals affected by energy development.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeF6rmEt7FU

Tues Sep 29

"Coal Country"

2009, USA, 84 min.

Tells of the dramatic struggle around the use of coal, which provides over half the electricity in America. In Appalachia, miners and residents are locked in conflict: is mining and processing coal essential to providing good jobs, or is it destroying the land, water and air? Members of SAMS (Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards), from southwest Virginia, will be on hand to introduce the film, and to answer questions and lead discussion afterwards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ9n_Fu_ItE

Thurs Oct 1

"Blue Gold: World Water Wars"

2008, USA, 90 min.

Wars of the future will be fought over water. So it's been said. This film shows how corporate giants, private investors, and corrupt governments are already vying for control of our dwindling fresh water supply, prompting protests, lawsuits, and revolutions from citizens fighting for the right to survive. Past civilizations have collapsed from poor water management. Can the human race survive?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikb4WG8UJRw

Mon Oct 5

"Milking the Rhino"

2008, USA, 83 min.

The Maasai tribe of Kenya and Namibia’s Himba--two of Earth’s oldest cattle cultures--are in the midst of upheaval. Emerging from a century of “white man conservation” that turned their land into game reserves and fueled resentment towards wildlife, they are now vying for a piece of the wildlife-tourism pie. Charting the collision of ancient ways and Western expectations, this engaging documentary tells intimate, hopeful and heartbreaking stories of people facing deep cultural change.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbzWM6Kqbhk

Weds Oct 7

"Children of the Amazon"

2008, USA, 72 min.

Journey with Brazilian filmmaker Denise Zmekhol to the heart of the Amazon rainforest, in search of the indigenous children she photographed 15 years ago. This movie invites you to see through the eyes of these inspiring, remarkably resilient people whose lives have been transformed by a road that was carved through their forest home by an outside world. Poetic and visually stunning, this film engages our senses and sympathies as global issues take on a profoundly human perspective.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYpcFDCWiGY

Tues Oct 13

"A Sea Change"

2009, Norway, 83 min.

Did you know that the world's oceans are becoming increasingly acidic? This film explores the scientific, cultural, political and economic implications of ocean acidification. Upon returning to the United States to visit his grandson, Elias, the Norse narrator of the film, Sven Huseby, seeks out the individuals and organizations who are pursuing a range of solutions to acidification as he tries to determine where hope may lie in this epic struggle for the future of the oceans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZDRF1pOLpg

Thurs Oct 15

Two short films about locals who get active when their environment is destroyed by large-scale extractive industries:

"The Real McCoys"

2009, USA, 21 min.

Meet Nina and Mickey McCoy, schoolteachers from Inez, Kentucky, as they take their fight against King Coal to Washington. This short video documents some of the disastrous impacts of coal mining on Central Appalachia, where twenty-five percent of the McCoys' county has now been strip-mined.

THE REAL McCOYS also documents the McCoys' journey into activism. Tired of writing letters to their representatives and getting no response, they decide to go to the next level: they will risk arrest, along with hundreds of others, at the Capitol Climate Action in Washington. "We're going to take our part of the problem to Washington DC, and hope that the whole nation begins to realize that there is such a thing as global warming, and coal is at the heart of it."

http://www.linktv.org/programs/the-real-mccoys

"¡Justicia Now!"

2008, Ecuador, 31 min.

Over the past 43 years, in and around Lago Agrio, Ecuador, ChevronTexaco has intentionally spilled over 10 times the amount of oil that was spilled in the Exxon Valdez disaster. An area of pristine rain forest the size of Rhode Island has been devastated and a tribe of indigenous indians has been wiped out. For the remaining natives, water supplies are contaminated, and health problems such as cancer, leukemia, birth defects and skin disease run rampant. ChevronTexaco's reaction to the natives has ranged from strong-armed intimidation to complete denial. It's time for action, it's time for Justicia Ya! Starring 2008 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners Pablo Fajardo and Luis Yanza.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pFn69Tx39M