Events
Crude: The Real Price of Oil
March 20, Wednesday, 6:00-8:00pm, HUMN 135
The Assembly for Sustainability and Equity will host a screening of the award-winning film, Crude. The film will be followed by a discussion led by Doug Vilsack with an update on the case against Chevron featured in the film. Doug Vilsack, a CU Law graduate currently working with the law firm Davis Graham & Stubbs in Denver, was in Ecuador during the filming of Crude and has followed the case through its many twists and turns over the last few years.
Three years in the making, this cinéma-vérité feature from acclaimed filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Brother's Keeper, Paradise Lost, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster) is the epic story of one of the largest and most controversial environmental lawsuits on the planet. The inside story of the infamous "Amazon Chernobyl" case, Crude is a real-life high stakes legal drama, set against a backdrop of the environmental movement, global politics, celebrity activism, human rights advocacy, the media, multinational corporate power, and rapidly-disappearing indigenous cultures. Presenting a complex situation from multiple viewpoints, the film subverts the conventions of advocacy filmmaking, exploring a complicated situation from all angles while bringing an important story of environmental peril and human suffering into focus.
Environmental Justice Discussion Series
This year, CU ASE will be hosting a monthly discussion series which will address some of the many facets of Environmental Justice. Each discussion will use a film clip, interview, article or radio series as a platform for the issue, as well as bring in more background information about how the issue relates to current local, regional, national and global events. Discussions will be informal, and no previous knowledge or academic experience in Environmental Justice is necessary.
All discussions will be held in the UMC 457, Dennis Small Cultural Center, 2:00-3:00
SPRING 2013:
February 6 - Youth, Society & Environment: The environmental crisis on our hands affects everyone in different ways, but have you considered how it affects children and future generations to come? Explore the issued of justice pertaining to the youth and their access to the environment and play opportunities in urban settings. We will discuss the correlation between the children and their race, gender, and socioeconomic status, in relations to their access to the environment and open spaces. We will be joined by a special guest from the Architecture and Urban Planning Department who is currently doing research on the issue, but also is thinking of how to create solutions, especially in urban settings.
February 20 - Rebuilding in Jalapa, Nicaragua: Less than 30 years ago the Jalapa Valley was a hailstorm of bullets, landmines and carnage. This is when Friendship City Projects (FCP) first landed on the ground and began working. Today, it is a peaceful place, but as part of the second poorest country in Latin America, Jalapa is still struggling to rebuild its infrastructure. FCP is facilitating access to clean water, helping to empower women with co-op programs, supporting an organic family garden program, re-forestation efforts, a scholarship program, community service, fostering an environment of peace and understanding between the people of Boulder and Jalapa. Join us to learn about FCP efforst and how you can contribute to the solution!
March 6 - Fracking: A Messy Business: Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracing, facking, hydrofracking, or faccing, is a technique used to extract conventional and unconventional natural gas. The introduction of horiontal drilling has resulted in a massive gas boom that has brought about jobs in ares of unemployment. Despite the conomic benefits, as the industry grows, the public has become more and more conerned about environmental impacts, such as watier quality, air quality and health effects. Many environmental groups have begun to push for incrased federal regulations, while the gas industury has lobbied for state level regulation. This discussion will analyze whether or not hydraulic fracturing should be federally or state regulated and will compare Colorado and Texas on produced regulations.
April 3 - Green Bronx Machine: In the middle of the South Bronx, one man, Stephen Ritz, is spreading a revolutionary idea. "People do not have to leave their neighborhood to live, learn, and earn in a better one!" Stephen started the Green Bronx Machine to green the lives of children and adults in the South Bronx, the poorest Congressional district in the United States. The Green Bronx Machine is seeding change in the Bronx and beyond by teaching his students and the wider community how to grow food, build sustainably, participate in the green economy, and transform mindsets and landscapes in the innter city. Join us for a screening of Stephen Ritz's TedTalk: Green Bronx Machine and a post-discussion on environmental education 2:00-3:00pm at the Dennis Small Cultural Center UMC 457.
FALL 2012:
October 10 - The Story of Away: The environmental community constantly discusses how consumerism impacts the environment; however, the social impacts are rarely brought up. Join us to learn how lifestyles and product choices impact people. Discover ways to chose the best products that have the least impact on the people and the land.
November 7 - Navajo Generating Station: The energy generation station on Navajo lands in southern Colorado has dramatically impacted the people and the land. Come to learn about this area of our state and how we can contribute to the preservation of the culture and its home.
December 5 - Climate Justice: Our changing climate is having dramatic impacts around the world, most strongly in developing nations and impoverished communities. Join us for a discussion on what is happening and how we can mitigate our contribution to climate change.