The new documentary Drill Baby Drill will have its Southern Tier premiere in Spencer on Wednesday, April 10, and another showing in Endicott on Friday, April 12.

Filmmaker Lech Kowalski, a native of Utica who currently lives and works in Paris, France will be present for the screening and for the discussion following the 84-minute film.

The film, which was made in Poland and in Pennsylvania, tells the story of a group of Polish farmers who band together to protect their land when unconventional shale-gas drilling (fracking) threatens. It also looks at the effects of ongoing drilling on farmers and their communities in Pennsylvania.

The film’s power derives in part from its refusal to provide easy answers to the questions it raises about corporate power and its effect on democracy, and about the tensions between our demand for energy and the necessity of protecting our air, water, farmland, and food supply. The subject should be of strong, immediate interest to residents of New York, where energy companies are leasing land with plans to do similar drilling.

EVENTS LOCATIONS and INFORMATION

Wednesday, April 10, 7 p.m, Spencer Town Hall, 79 E. Tioga St., Spencer, sponsored by SaVE, RAFT – Residents Against Fracking Tioga, and Coalition to Protect New York.

Friday, April 12, 7 p.m., United Methodist Church, 53 McKinley Ave., Endicott

The events are free and open, but sponsoring groups, which do not have the resources of the megabillion-dollar fossil-fuel corporations, suggest donations of $5 or more per person to cover transportation and lodging costs.

About filmmaker Lech Kowalki

Kowalski has won wide acclaim over 35+ years as an independent filmmaker. His large body of work has won awards and been the subject of retrospectives at international film festivals.  This film was shown recently in the French Senate, and on French and German television (with high ratings). It will be shown to European Parliament on April 23, prior to theatrical release.

Drill Baby Drill film description

One day the people who live in a small village located in eastern Poland near the Ukrainian border, an ecologically pristine agricultural area called the “lungs of Poland,” discover that Chevron, the world’s fourth largest energy corporation, plans to build a shale gas well in their village. At first the villagers are not against the construction of the gas well, but research reveals that having a shale gas well so near farms might not be such a good idea. The farmers mobilize. They appeal to politicians and government institutions to stop the construction, but their requests are met with silence. Suddenly Chevron sends bulldozers to start construction. Lech Kowalski was there to film the first-ever farmer rebellion against Chevron. But energy companies and the Polish government hope to hit a golden shale gas jackpot, and the odds are against the farmers winning. The story about their struggle weaves around realities that are taking place in Pennsylvania, which industry has called the “Saudi Arabia” of North America. It’s too late to stop the harms in Pennsylvania, but can the farmers win in Poland? What happens . . . is a surprise.

Upcoming Diversity Community Roundtable, “Creating Sustainable Change for the 7^th Generation”

This year’s conference includes two keynote presentations, morning and afternoon breakout sessions, and lunch. Our keynote presenters are: Tadodaho Sidney Hill presenting “Words That Come Before All Else”, and our lunch keynote is Rabbi Brian Walt.  [Tadodaho Sidney Hill is the Spiritual Leader of the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations/Iroquois Confederacy). He is of the Onondaga Nation, south of Syracuse, NY.  Rabbi Brian Walt is the Palestinian/Israeli Nonviolence Project Fellow of the Dorothy Cotton Institute.]

You are encouraged to register at www.diversityroundtable2013.peaksoverpoverty.org  by April 18^th to take advantage of the $45.00 Early Bird registration; registration fee after April 18 is $60.00

Join speaker Annie Leonard, environmental activist and creator of the viral film, “The Story of Stuff,” for a film screening and discussion on Monday, April 15, 2013 from 5:00 – 6:30 in Call Auditorium at Kennedy Hall. Annie Leonard’s documentaries, beginning with world renowned, animated film “The Story of Stuff” has transformed complex issues into understandable challenges and has been viewed more than 15 million times by audiences worldwide. “The Story of Stuff” exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world.

As the debate about extracting natural gas from the Marcellus Shale continues, Tom Wilber, author of Under the Surface, and Seamus McGraw, author of End of Country, will offer their perspectives as writers tracking the issue at regional, national, and international levels. Led by moderator, Professor Wendy Wolford of the Atkinson Center, Wilber and McGraw will discuss their ongoing coverage of the ever-changing situation regarding shale gas development in the Twin Tier region, and they will consider our regional situation in the larger context of our global energy future. Professor Jeff Tester of the Atkinson Center will introduce the speakers.

Co-sponsored by the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future and Cornell University Press.

with Jonathan Bates of Food Forest Farm (http://PermacultureNursery.com)

Join us Saturday, June 23rd in Montour Falls, NY for a day of forest gardening
discussion and demonstration.

View this video for details: http://flpci.us/?p=1468

Additional events are scheduled on Friday, June 22nd in Rochester, NY
and Sunday, June 24 in Syracuse, NY.

Read more at http://fingerlakespermaculture.org/?page_id=1359

The documentary “Who Stole the Electric Car” will be shown after a pot luck supper at 6 p.m. The film claims to “unravel the puzzling demise of a vehicle that could have saved the environment and America’s dangerous addiction to foreign oil.” Franc Laux, a 37-year General Motors management veteran, will provide comments and answer questions.

Wednesday April 4 at 5:30 pm in Mann Library will be showing the film “Empowered.”   This is about local Ithacans who have figured out how to incorporate renewable energy sources into their lives.  Empowered: Power from the People (Shira Golding Evergreen, USA, 2011). Tompkins County, NY is one of the cloudiest, least windy places in the country, and yet its residents are proving that we can meet our energy needs through totally renewable resources. From solar and wind to veggie oil and geothermal, Empowered: Power from the People tells the story of one community’s role in the energy independence revolution