THIS SATURDAY - February 18th at 1:30 PM
FINAL FILM of the 2017 Richmond Environmental Film Festival “CATCHING THE SUN”
AT the Byrd Theatre at 2908 W. Cary Street.
Special thanks to The Richmond Audubon Society for being one of the sponsors
for this amazing festival and for all those who came out to support the it with
your presence.
Info: https://rvaeff.org/catching_the_sun/
Before the film, Drive Electric RVA will exhibit several electric cars (EVs) in
front of the Byrd and demonstrate how they operate. The organization advocates
for renewable energy and promotes EVs as a fun, practical transportation
alternative that also reduces energy consumption and air pollution.
After the film, Aaron Sutch from Virginia Solar United Neighborhoods will speak
on the new Solar Co-op and Charles Gerena from Drive Electric RVA will speak on
The Zero Emission Transportation Equation. Speakers welcome questions from the
audience.
Through the stories of workers and entrepreneurs in the U.S. and China,
Catching the Sun explores the global race to lead the clean energy future.
One notion underlying Catching the Sun filmmaker Shalini Kantayya’s winning
documentary is that solar power is not only a cleaner alternative to fossil
fuels but can also promote employment. The film begins in Northern California,
which has experienced at least one refinery accident, and where clean energy
initiatives by Sungevity and Solar Richmond (California) are hiring and
training area residents.
The energizing film bounces to countries fast-tracking solar energy production
– Germany and China, “now the leading country in terms of how fast they are
implementing sustainable technology at really large scale,” according to Peggy
Liu, chairwoman of the nonprofit Joint U.S.- China Collaboration on Clean
Energy.
Fascinating portraits stand out. In Atlanta, Debbie Dooley, founder of
Conservatives for Energy Freedom, advocates solar energy’s growth within a free
market, rejecting the idea that it’s a left versus right issue. Zhongwei Jiang,
an entrepreneur in Wuxi, China who lived without electricity until he was 7
capitalized on the Chinese government’s investments in renewable energy in 2003
to found WesTech, a solar business. Now WesTech is finding partners in Germany,
and Jian says, growing by 50 percent every year.
Van Jones, an Oakland, Calif., lawyer and activist who wrote the best seller
The Green Collar Economy, wasn’t so fortunate. His efforts earned him an
appointment as the Obama administration’s special adviser for environmental
jobs. But vociferous opposition to him from former radio and Fox News
personality Glenn Beck and Republicans in Congress forced his resignation. The
battle for a greener tomorrow, Catching the Sun reminds us, has its casualties.
Bob Schamerhorn
Richmond Environmental Film Festival - Promotions Committee
