KU News Release

KU students hope Environmental Film Festival inspires action

LAWRENCE — Two student groups at the University of Kansas, E.A.R.T.H. and Environs, are teaming up with Lawrence independent media outlet Films for Action to present an Environmental Film Festival March 31-April 3. The groups hope to inspire discussion and action regarding global issues such as climate change, resource depletion and loss of biodiversity.

Four documentary films are scheduled; each will be shown at 7 p.m. The first three will be shown at Ecumenical Christian Ministries, 1204 Oread Ave. The final film in the series will be screened at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union. There is no admission fee, although donations of $1 to $2 are encouraged for each screening.

The films are:

— Monday, March 31: “Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil.” The film is the recipient of People’s Choice Award for best international film at Aotearoa Environmental Film Festival in New Zealand. The film presents the solutions that communities in Cuba used when their oil supply disappeared with the fall of Soviet communism.

— Tuesday, April 1: “An Inconvenient Truth.” The slideshow Al Gore presented in this Academy Award- and Nobel Peace Prize-winning documentary will be presented live by David Gordon, associate professor of biology at Pittsburg State University. Gordon is one of about 1,000 college professors who has trained with Gore to make updated presentations based on the original film.

— Wednesday, April 2: “What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire.” One man’s personal look at the cultural considerations of global climate change, resource depletion and loss of biodiversity.

— Thursday, April 3: “The 11th Hour.” This film asks tough questions about where civilization is heading with regards to global climate change and increasing resource depletion. Many specialists provide compelling and concerning answers. Leonardo DiCaprio produced and narrated the film. Tree Media Film, an organization based in Santa Monica, Calif., is sponsoring the KU screening of “The 11th Hour.”

The festival will conclude with a panel discussion April 3 with Stephan McGuire, associate producer of “The 11th Hour,” and founder and president of the Coalition for a Sustainable Africa.

Joining McGuire on the panel will be Nancy Jackson of the Land Institute’s Climate and Energy Project in Salina; Scott Allegrucci, TV and film actor and former director of Kansas Tourism; and four KU faculty members: Donald Worster, the Joyce and Elizabeth Hall Professor of History; Karl Brooks, associate professor of history and environmental studies; Jane Gibson, associate professor anthropology; and Johannes Feddema, professor of geography. A Lawrence restaurant, Local Burger, will provide food for the post-screening discussion.

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