There are some great free events coming up tomorrow, Thursday the 5th. These events are kicking off the Arizona State University Darwinfest. Check them out and head to all that you can. You do not need to be a student to participate and it sounds like there is some really cool stuff going on! Here is the e-mail I just received, note when an RSVP is required.

Don’t miss the opportunity to see a FREE showing of Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy and meet the film’s director!

ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability invites you to attend three public events, celebrating:

ASU’s Teach-In on Global Warming
Thursday, February 5, 2009
http://schoolofsustainability.asu.edu/teachin
Take Action. Change the world. It starts with one.

National Webcast: The First 100 Days
Time: 8:30 - 11 AM
Location: GIOS 102
Hosts/Sponsors: GIOS, SOS, Engrained, Whole Foods, Tempe

Continental breakfast and viewing of “The First 100 Days,” a discussion of what needs to happen early in the Obama administration featuring David Orr, Hunter Lovins, Ray Anderson, and an interview with youth climate leaders Billy Parish, Wahleah Johns, and their baby Tohanna. They talk about the importance of student activism in the first 100 days; the potential impact of green jobs; and challenges facing today’s students.

The webcast is 30-minutes long and will be replayed the whole morning.

A Student Action
Time: 8:30 - 11 AM
Location: GIOS front steps
Hosts: Students of AZ Network for Sustainability (SANS)

Petitioning the Arizona Corporation Commission to increase the renewable energy standard for Arizona’s utilities, an important step towards energy independence.

Students Act Now for Sustainability
Time: 11 AM - 2 PM
Location: ASU Student Services Lawn
Hosts/Sponsors: GIOS, SANS, Chipotle, ASU environmental groups

When it comes to activism, the students at ASU are it. Sustainability is it. And it IS our time for change. February 5th presents a time for people to come together. It also presents a choice. Come out and stand. For your future, for your values, for your sustainability beliefs, and everything that is to come. Included: free food, action opportunities, and a Swiss energy display! The “Climate Trail” display, on loan from the Swiss Consulate, is a walk-through exhibit that is premiering on the Student Services Lawn and will be traveling around the ASU Tempe Campus through February 13th.

Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy (part of ASU’s Darwinfest) (RSVP required)
Time: 5 - 5:30 PM: Reception sponsored by Wholefoods Tempe and Engrained Restaurant
5:30 - 7:30 PM: Showing of Sizzle with post-film panel discussion led by the Filmmaker!
Location: Murdock Hall 201, ASU’s Tempe Campus (map)

Hosts/Sponsors: School of Life Sciences, Center for Biology and Society, GIOS, Institute for Humanities Research,

School of Earth and Space Exploration, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Whole Foods Tempe, Engrained Restaurant

Meet the Filmmaker! Free, but you must RSVP at: sustainabilityevents@asu.edu. Even with a reservation, seating is not guaranteed but is first-come, first-served! Sizzle, a novel blend of three genres-mockumentary, documentary, and reality: Scientist-turned-filmmaker Dr. Randy Olson, is a fan of Al Gore’s global-warming movie, but asks, “Where are all the scientists?” Join Dr. Olson for a reception before the film showing, and he and a panel of ASU experts for discussion following the movie, moderated by John D’Anna of The Arizona Republic. Panelists: Susanne Neuer (Associate Professor, SoLS) and Daniel Bernardi (Director, Film and Media Studies)

RSVPs are required for the film at sustainabilityevents@asu.edu; Trailer

Lauren Kuby
Manager, Events and Community Engagement
Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University
PO Box 875402, Tempe AZ 85287-5402
http://sustainability.asu.edu

Another video on what is wrong with the American food system and diet.

And once again I’d recommend the docurama film: King Corn, which explores our current model of corn production and how it is causing a malnourished, unhealthy population.

This might not be something that is happening in Arizona, but behaviors and successful sustainability practices in major industries affect us all. In the particular case of the movie and television industry, financial support comes from the entire world and Arizona’s money matters. For this reason, you may be interested in some of the environmental practices of production studios.

This 2006 report titled, “Sustainability in the Motion Picture Industry” (PDF) was commissioned by the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) to review the movie and television industry and find some of the successful sustainability practices already in place. It is worth noting that although this is a public project funded for $170,000, the CIWMB claims full copyright of the report and does not allow reproduction of it in any form. The excerpts reproduced here are done so in Fair Use in order to comment on and review the report.

The Principle Investigators of this report are Dr. Charles J. Corbett, Professor in the UCLA Anderson School of Management, and Dr. Richard P. Turco, Professor in the UCLA Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.

The authors used interviews and case studies to learn about “best practices” within the movie and television industry between Summer 2003 and Spring 2005. The goal was to present this information in a clear fashion that would make it easier for the industry to make these best practices more commonplace. The reason for studying the movie/TV industry is that it is highly decentralized. A studio decides to pay for a film or television show, but it is the production team that finds an assortment of other individuals and businesses to help put it together. The argument is that other industries are starting to outsource more and therefore they can learn a lot from the practices of this industry.

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This is a really interesting documentary about working toward no waste, making products that are truly recyclable or compostable, buildings that respect the occupants and the land, and doing it in a way that is beneficial to business.

Man is the only creature that produces landfills. Natural resources are being depleted on a rapid scale while production and consumption are rising in na­tions like China and India. The waste production world wide is enormous and if we do not do anything we will soon have turned all our resources into one big messy landfill. But there is hope. The German chemist, Michael Braungart, and the American designer-architect William McDonough are fundamentally changing the way we produce and build. If waste would become food for the biosphere or the technosphere (all the technical products we make), produc­tion and consumption could become beneficial for the planet.

http://www.vpro.nl/

This is a entertaining look at two typical New Yorkers taken out of their element and off the grid for 30 days to see what happens. It’s a couple years old, but it’s a entertaining, educational, and funny look at how we’re affecting the planet and what some people are trying to do to fix it. Solar power, biodiesel, composting toilets, eco-footprints, veganism can the New Yorkers take it? Perhaps a happy medium will be found?

Watch it Online