WEDNESDAY JANUARY 31, 2007
The End of Suburbia
Directed by Gregory Greene
Wednesday January 31, 1:00 p.m.
Running Time: 78 min.
Suburbia. It has promised a sense of space, affordability, family life and upward mobility. As oil becomes more and more expensive, it will become economically infeasible to have millions of people having their homes tens of miles from where they work and entertain themselves, and suburbs now thought of as paradise will become slums, where the only way to subsist is turning once green and over-fertilized lawns into vegetable gardens.
Power Shift
Directed and Produced by Kirk Bergstrom
Wednesday January 31, 3:30 p.m.
Running Time: 26 min.
Power Shift explores the abundant possibilities of clean, renewable energy around the world to discover how energy touches our daily lives. It offers specific action steps that viewers can take to create a sustainable future. Hosted and narrated by Cameron Diaz.
An Inconvenient Truth
Directed by Davis Guggenheim
Wednesday January 31, 4:00 p.m.
Running time: 96 min.
Former Vice President Al Gore explains the facts of global warming, presents arguments that the dangers of global warning have reached the level of crisis, and addresses the efforts of certain interests to discredit the anti-global warming cause. Between lecture segments, Gore discusses his personal commitment to the environment, sharing anecdotes from his experiences. from an idealistic college student who first saw a massive environmental crisis looming; to a young Senator facing a harrowing family tragedy that altered his perspective; to the man who almost became President but instead returned to the most impassioned cause of his life – convinced that there is still time to make a difference.
Speaker: Tina Weishaus, environmental activist.
PEFF Keynote Talk
Stephen Pacala, the Frederick D. Petrie Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, and Director, Princeton Environmental Institute.
Wednesday January 31, 7:00 p.m.
Professor Pacala co-directs the Carbon Mitigation Initiative at Princeton University, working to understand all aspects of the global carbon cycle. The group is composed of ecologists, physical and biological oceanographers, and atmospheric scientists, and investigates issues ranging from the effects of global vegetation on climate, to the large-scale measurement of natural and anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 1, 2007
Fusion: Fueling the Future
Speaker: Janardhan Manickam, Ph.D., Head of the Theory Department, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Thursday February 1, 11:00 a.m.
The world’s energy needs are expected to double over the next thirty years. The present approach of reliance on hydrocarbon-based fuels is neither sustainable, nor desirable in the long term. The reasons include availability, emissions and environmental impact. The world needs a “responsible” energy source, which offers: universal availability, reasonable cost, low environmental impact, manageable emissions and waste, with growth potential and safety. Fusion has the potential of meeting this need. The status of the fusion program will be discussed.
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a collaborative national center for plasma and fusion science. The Laboratory is managed by Princeton University and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science. An associated mission for PPPL is to provide the highest quality science education in fusion energy, plasma physics, and related technologies.
Oil on Ice
Directed by Bo Boudart and Dale Djerassi
Thursday February 1, 4:00 p.m.
This compelling documentary connecting the fate of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to decisions America makes about energy policy, transportation choices, and other seemingly unrelated matters. Caught in the balance are the culture and livelihood of the Gwich’in people and the migratory wildlife in this fragile ecosystem.
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory: Fueling the Future
Thursday February 1, 7:00 p.m.
The short film presents an overview of the Laboratory’s research program. It includes a basic introduction to the principles of magnetic fusion energy, a mission synopsis of PPPL’s current major fusion experiment, the National Spherical Torus Experiment, and descriptions of fusion devices proposed for the future. These include the National Compact Stellarator Experiment, being built at PPPL, and the international ITER project. Information on the application of plasma physics to solve near-term problems is also presented.
Speaker: David Gates, Ph.D., Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. David Gates is a Principal Research Physicist at PPPL with responsibility for plasma controls on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX), an experimental fusion machine.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 2, 2007
Fed Up!
Directed by Angelo Sacerdote
Friday February 2, 2:00 p.m.
Running Time: 57 min.
About 70% of the food we eat contains genetically modified ingredients and is not labeled. The biotechnology industry is spending $50 million a year to convince us that this technology is our only hope for feeding the world and saving the environment. Family farmers are disappearing at an astonishing rate as people continue to go hungry both here and abroad. Toxic agricultural chemicals continue to poison our air, food and water and put farm workers in serious danger.
Buyer Be Fair: The Promise of Product Certification
Directed by John de Graaf and Hana Jindrova
Friday February 2, 4:00 p.m.
Running Time: 57 min.
The film takes viewers to Mexico, the Netherlands, the UK, Sweden, the USA and Canada to explore how conscious consumers and businesses can use the market to promote social justice and environmental sustainability through product labeling, with a focus on Fair Trade coffee and Forest Stewardship Council certified wood.
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
Directed by Faith Morgan
Friday February 2, 5:00 p.m.
Running Time: 53 min.
The film looks at how Cubans started growing local organic produce out of necessity, developed bio-pesticides and bio-fertilizers as petrochemical substitutes, and incorporated more fruits and vegetables into their diets. Since they couldn’t fuel their aging cars, they walked, biked, rode buses, and carpooled.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2007
French Fries to Go
Directed by Dr. Howard Donner
Saturday February 3, 10:30 a.m.
The story about a guy, his truck and a bunch of used vegetable oil. Charris Ford, “The Granola Ayatollah of Canola” makes the rounds in his veggie fuel powered rig in this light-hearted film.
The Anacostia: Restoring the People’s River
Directed by Todd Clark
Saturday February 3, 11:00 a.m.
Running time: 37 min.
In a nation built for the people, by the people, the Anacostia River, which runs through both the suburbs and the heart of the nation’s capital, is the people’s river. Across the region, individuals and groups have been working to restore the abused and forgotten Anacostia River. This film portrays the struggle to revitalize often-depressed riverside communities by restoring the stream running through them.
Post-screening discussion with Lexi Gelperin and Julia Osellame, Princeton University Water Watch.
Turning the Tide
Co-produced by Lynn Kosek Walker and Bob Szuter.
Saturday February 3, 12:00 p.m.
Running time: 30 min.
The film showcases the hidden beauty of the tidal areas in and around the Hackensack Meadowlands of northern New Jersey and the Hamilton -Trenton Marsh just south of the state capital of Trenton. Rivers and streams wind through open space, under bridges and roadways, past towns and historic sites, and near habitat that is home to numerous bird species. Often misunderstood, America’s wetlands are commonly seen as wastelands – too wet to be easily built upon or farmed, yet a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. Now recognized as a critical natural resource, the tide is turning for wetlands. This change in attitude has inspired individual action as well as major policy changes to help protect, preserve and revitalize these special places.
Q&A following the film: Bob Szuter, writer-producer; Dr. Mary Allessio Leck, retired professor of biology at Rider University, who has been studying plant ecology at the Hamilton – Trenton Marsh since 1975.; Dr. Charles Leck, retired professor of ecological sciences at Cook College, Rutgers University. Charles has been studying bird life in New Jersey for more than forty years and has served as State Ornithologist for New Jersey.
Texas Gold
Directed by Carolyn Scott
Saturday February 3, 1:30 p.m.
Running time: 21 min.
Activist Diane Wilson – mother of five, fourth generation fisherwoman – was called Public Enemy No. 1 in Calhoun, County Texas. She began her fight with the giants of the petro-chemical industry in 1989, when she discovered that her small Texas County had been named the most toxic place in America.
Q&A with Carolyn Scott, the film’s director.
The First Solar-hydrogen Powered House in North America
Saturday February 3, 2:30 p.m.
A talk by Mike Strizki about the house he designed and lives in with his family in Hopewell Township, NJ.
Who Killed the Electric Car?
Directed by Chris Paine
Saturday February 3, 3:30 p.m.
Running Time: 92 min.
It was among the fastest, most efficient production cars ever built. It ran on electricity, produced no emissions and catapulted American technology to the forefront of the automotive industry. The lucky few who drove it never wanted to give it up. So why did General Motors begin crushing its fleet of EV1 electric vehicles? There were 5,000 people who wanted an EV1, but GM wouldn’t let them have it. Come watch “Who Killed the Electric Car” to learn about why one of the most promising environmental technologies in the history of transportation was wiped out by more than just General Motors.
Speaker: Mike Strizki, who served as Project Engineer for over 16 years with the Office of Research and Technology in the New Jersey Department of Transportation where he developed renewable energy technologies. The most noted of his projects was the first use of fuel cells in the DOT’s Variable Message Signs.
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 4, 2007
The Chances of the World Changing
Directed by Eric Daniel Metzgar
Sunday February 4, 1:30 p.m.
Running time: 99 min.
The Chances of the World Changing is an about one man’s mission to save hundreds of species of turtles and tortoises from extinction – an epic story of conservation, perseverance, and hope in the face of a global crisis. Richard Ogust, a writer living in New York City, abandoned his life’s work and began to acquire endangered turtles, driven by the appalling but little known fact that we are on the brink of losing a group of animals that have survived the ecological instability of the last 200 million years, including the great extinction that eliminated the dinosaurs. With a reasonable inheritance, Richard was able to build an ark, literally rescuing hundreds of endangered species of turtles. Eventually, Richard was sharing his giant penthouse in lower Manhattan with over 1,200 turtles and tortoises. When his collection was discovered (due to complaints from his neighbors), Richard’s story made headlines around the country, from The New York Times to CNN. But the weight of Richard’s ark soon began to crush him. His passionate pastime had evolved into a colossal enterprise. To save himself and his turtles, he made a fascinating and daring decision— to create the country’s largest turtle conservation institute.
Q&A: Director Eric Daniel Metzgar.
Grizzly Man
Directed and narrated by Werner Herzog
Sunday February 4, 4:00 p.m.
Running time: 104 min.
“Acclaimed director Werner Herzog explores the life and death of amateur grizzly bear expert and wildlife preservationist Timothy Treadwell, who lived unarmed among grizzlies for 13 summers”. “In GRIZZLY MAN, Herzog plumbs not only the mystery of wild nature, but also the mystery of human nature as he chronicles Treadwell’s final years in the wilderness. Herzog uses Treadwell’s own startling documentary footage to paint a nuanced portrait of a complex and compelling figure while exploring larger questions about the uneasy relationship between man and nature.” (Excerpt from the film’s official website.)