Keeping food waste out of landfills via composting is a perfect example of how the circular economy can work. Following is a list of Chicagoland composting resources recommended by Jonathan Pereira of Plant Chicago. For those outside of Illinois, search for similar resources in your area to get involved.
Q: Tell me about the film’s title.
A: It comes from a quote by Aldo Leopold (1887-1948)—a revered environmentalist of the past century. He said, "We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect." In other words, land is something we can’t live without. Humans don’t live in a vacuum. We depend as much on the health of the ants and the bees and the dung beetles and the soil as we do on the larger flora and fauna.
Most people who get married and decide to have children build a nest and settle in. Clement and Sophie Guerra did the opposite: they cashed in their savings and flew to South America. The result of their deep commitment to listening and learning is the revealing documentary “The Condor and the Eagle,” a film that profiles women leaders of communities most impacted by the fossil fuel industry. It will be screening on Tuesday, April 20, at 6:30 p.m. CDT.
Julie Howe interviewed Clement Guerra to learn more about why they made the film and what they learned.
See an environmental superhero fly through the sky, a time-traveling climate change reporter, and animals saved from Western wildfires.
As part of the Earth Day Mini Film Fest 2021, the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest will feature 14 Honorable Mention short films in two one-hour events on Saturday, April 24, at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Online discussion with young filmmakers from California to Texas to New York will be facilitated by Young Filmmakers Contest Founding Director Sue Crothers.
Q: What are the most important "action items" you hope people take away from your film?
Betsy: I hope that people discuss with their families, their friends, and their coworkers how they can disentangle their lives from corporate values. That constant growth is not a sign of success but a sign of greed. And that joining groups that work on environmental change, democratic change, poverty and inequality issues, or other issues that work toward a more equal society is worth doing. That it's rewarding to participate in change in many ways.
Q: What is the focus of your film?
A: The film looks at colonization and the destruction of food systems, and at those attempting to revive them. It focuses on areas that were colonized post-1870s, west of the Mississippi—places where I could find the essential imagery, the photographic evidence, I needed to tell these stories. The challenge was to hone a very large subject scope into something based in image. Structure is essential in film, as are length considerations, as is, of course, finding the best stories to tell.
