Bryce Mathern, of Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Network.

What was your favorite film from last year’s festival? What was it about? Do you have any idea what to expect this year? Any likely faves?     — Brenda Jenson, Milwaukee, Wis.

Well, there were so many good ones last year. There was a documentary on pesticides that affected children down in Mexico called Playing with Poison — I also saw it at another viewing in Seattle at 911 Media. It showed the startling effects of pesticides on human beings. I think anyone who saw this would be really concerned. There was another one on fuel cells that was exciting. I have been interested in alternative energy for a long time, so any word about where that is going gets me jazzed up. I actually don’t work with the program committee so I haven’t seen any of this year’s films yet. I know of a couple made by local filmmakers that I’m going to see. Other than that I like to go in and enjoy the festival like everyone else.

The film festival sounds like it could be fun, but I live in Idaho. Could you give me a brief rundown on what the films are like? Are most documentaries? Are some fiction? Are most outdoor adventure epics? Where are most of the films submitted made — U.S.? The Northwest? Europe? Asia? And lastly, if I can’t make it to Washington, are the films showing anywhere else?     — Nikki Mecidi, Boise, Idaho

Hey Nikki, I grew up in Boise. Idaho is a great state. Not exactly the hub of enlightened thinking, but some really good people live there, including my parents and sister.

Many of the films are documentaries. There are usually some humorous shorts that lighten the somewhat somber mood. We also provide some films on the natural beauty of the world. Most of the films are from the U.S., although we have people from several other countries as well. I actually don’t know where most of our films come from in the U.S. I’ll have to ask.

I don’t actually know of any films being shown in Idaho. But if you are interested, why don’t you contact Hazel Wolf and we can help you set up a community film festival in the Gem Stone state.

Is it too late to submit a film for the upcoming festival?     — Larry Reisinger, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Sorry, Larry. You can submit it for next year.

Since you are in the media business, why not develop movies or presentations that could be used in the classroom — and maybe more importantly, at teacher conferences? You could then be instrumental in getting to educators and students.     — Jerry Broadbent, Bucoda, Wash.

Jerry, this is a good idea. We would like to get more of these films into classrooms. I don’t think you would need to change a lot of the films — many of them are produced as educational tools. Hazel Wolf does offer a youth program, which is helping to get young people involved in making films and incorporating these films into the classroom. I really like the idea of students taking charge of their own community environmental issues by making films about them. I have seen students do this as a result of the youth program. Not only do they gain a better sense of the environment and the use of media, but it creates a new level of confidence that will be valuable for the rest of their lives.

In reference to the constantly shifting attention of major media that you mentioned, what do you think is (or should be) the role of independent media in keeping attention focused on issues? And do you think alternative media has been doing a good job of doing whatever you believe their job is? Additionally — this is the last question I swear — do you think that environmental films (i.e., documentaries, etc.) are a part of the alternative media and do they tend to focus peoples’ attention more than the manic corporate news coverage of issues?     — Nikos Hollis, Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Nikos (great name by the way), the first issue is to define alternative media. I’m sure everyone has a variation on this, but mine revolves around commerce. My issue with the mainstream media is that they aren’t attempting to educate the public, but instead are focused on selling the public more stuff. Alternative media or independent media is focused on getting some idea or message out to the public that they believe will better the world. To me that is one of the most important distinctions — not the only one, of course.

The role of independent media is to counter the dominant paradigm that the mainstream media is trying to instill in the world. You can imagine this with regard to a number of different issues. For example, the myth of the American dream — the role of independent media is to counter this by pointing out that the dream is not a reality for a huge portion of this society and is not a sustainable dream for the world. This can be done in a variety of ways, by showing the degree of poverty in our society or showing how unhealthily people are actually living.

Sarasota County, Fla., is a progressive community. We take environmental stewardship seriously and have done a lot in recent years to minimize our environmental impact. We have a tremendous amount to do; however, the leadership and political will seems to be in place.

We also host a film festival here. Obviously hosting a film festival brings in local economic development; hosting one with the topic of environmental stewardship serves a dual purpose in that it is educational.

I am looking for creative and thought-provoking ways to attract and engage people in this conversation in an effort to breed long-term behavior change.     — Jodi John, Manager, Sustainable Sarasota, Sarasota, Fla.

Jodi, I’m impressed. You are doing some wonderful and important things. Answering your question about “ways to attract and engage people … in an effort to breed long-term behavior” is a difficult one. Attracting people to attend a film festival is hard enough.

In a general sense, you are getting into the psychology of activism. How do we create a culture of activism? I have thought about this a bit in my life by first thinking about what motivates me. Why have I become active? That may be the first question you ask yourself.

The other point I would make is that the term activism needs to be expanded. I think that we have a very confined way of looking at the word. When I say the word activism or activist, many people have images of young angry folks with posters marching, yelling, and screaming. I think this is only one form of activism. The term (and maybe we need another term) could be used more inclusively, allowing more people who want to get involved (but are not really into yelling) to feel empowered by the things that they do. In some ways I think we need to get out of the mindset that all activism is anti-Vietnam-style activism. And while we are at it, could someone please write some new anti-war songs? If I hear “Masters of War” at the next Iraqi war protest, I’m going to lose my lunch.

I was just wondering, what do you think the environmental health movement can do for conventional Western medicine? You talked about personalizing environmentalism through stressing environmental health, but do you think this works or could work in mainstream medicine? Or is the burden of proof too high for modern medicine, which relies on study after study to prove causes of ill health?     — Matt Verstraete, Tampa, Fla.

Matt, I’m not sure what you mean exactly. When I talk about the environmental health movement, I’m talking about Western medicine. Hospitals, our supposed beacons of health, are one of the major polluters in urban areas. They dump huge amounts of toxic materials in local landfills and in some communities they actually burn their waste. This is the kind of insanity that we have created. Our centers for health are creating disease.

As for the burden of proof issue — that’s a problem all to itself. We in the Western world have created analysis paralysis. Even though we know that lots of people who smoke get lung cancer, the tobacco industry can still claim that smoking isn’t actually the cause. They can point to inconclusive research. Once again, this is madness and not related to common sense. We need more common sense and wisdom and less analysis.

So, being El Presidente of an environmental film organization, you seem uniquely positioned to answer my wide-ranging question: What do you think is the role of art in environmentalism?     — Kim Gyre, Savannah, Ga.

I really like your question, Kim. I’m not sure I’m the one to answer it, but I’ll give it a shot. Art, which I define as the manifestation of cultural values and mythologies, has an important role to play, one that is not sufficiently emphasized by the environmental movement. I think that art can provide a great space to question the way the world works and possibly provide alternative ideas. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but lately I have seen an increase in the amount of garbage art. I’m not sure if that is my own deal or if there is actually a growing desire in the art community to draw attention to our throw-away society. I was down at Burning Man last summer and the artistic community there is really tuned into building art that is shifting the paradigm of the dominant culture. I enjoy Burning Man because the art is being made only for the participants. At the end of the festival it is usually burned or taken apart. There is a freedom one feels when the purpose is not to sell the art.

You’re working with a great independent film project — what role do you think independent media can play in supporting activism? What opportunities do you see for different independent media folks, across media (film, radio, print, web) to work together and/or support each other?     — Susan Gleason, Seattle, Wash.

Well, Susan, this is a timely question. One way indy media can support activism is by telling stories about what’s happening at the grassroots level. The mainstream media rarely reports on these types of issues because they don’t have the necessary sex appeal or star quality. Working day after day, it is important for people to know about others in the trenches protecting forests, fighting for indigenous land rights, stopping the slaughter of wolves in Alaska, and on and on. I think this gives people a sense that things can change and it breaks through the pervasive cynicism that is gripping our culture right now. I know that when I read about something happening in the world that is starting to turn for the better, I feel a renewed sense of hope. Right now we need more hope and less fear.

First, what would you say to “skeptical environmentalists” out there like Bjorn Lomborg, who is holding a Copenhagen Consensus in May around his claim that the world will have to choose between problems like ending hunger and tackling climate change because it cannot solve them all at once? Second, if you could take Lomborg on (or any annoying “skeptic” for that matter), what method of combat would you choose (and how would you annihilate them — OK, this part may be for mature audiences only)?     — Mitzi Borromeo, Lausanne, Switzerland

I haven’t actually read Lomborg’s book, but I have a sense of the thesis. I guess I would tell him that his role as a statistician is important. But the real issue is not one of numbers and scenarios but people’s relationship to the spirit of our planet. I would ask him to take a trip with me out to the Cascades on one of those gorgeous sunny Western Washington days and see the landscape. We could walk around some of the thousands of alpine lakes and maybe even go for a dip in the fresh clean water. And then I would ask if he is still willing to give all this up.

Mitzi, I don’t feel annihilation is the right way to go about it. Lomborg has a perspective that is important. It may be wrong in a number of ways, but it is still important. Instead of annihilation, I would choose understanding. What is Lomborg’s motivation for writing his book? What is his history with the natural world? Why is he so certain of his views? I personally don’t want to create an environmental movement that is focused on destroying some sort of corporate industrial elite to save the planet. The environmental movement has to include everyone — even those who really get our blood boiling. The best way to include everyone is to begin by listening and being open to their experience. Annihilation only leads to more disconnection. We need to start finding ways to come together rather then separating ourselves from each other. I know this is hard in the current cultural climate. It is much easier to want to annihilate people. But in the long run we don’t get anywhere.

What action steps do you recommend environmentalists and all lovers of progressive civil society take on this spring, summer, and fall to get Bush out of office? What are your plans to contribute to this effort?

Thank you for all your wonderful work on the festival and for your clarifying perspectives on global warming and environmental education!     — Pam Emerson, Seattle, Wash.

Very timely question, Pam. I think one of the biggest opportunities of this election is to pull some people out of their apathetic stupor. Anyone who says voting doesn’t matter can be shown the evidence of the 2000 election and see that Bush only won Florida by 500 votes. There are a number of voter-registration drives going on in the 17 key battle states and I would suggest getting involved in those. One group is America Coming Together. I don’t know what you do, but if you work for a nonprofit I would recommend checking out a meeting in Seattle next Thursday that details how nonprofs can legally get the word out about the next election:

Thursday, March 18, 6 p.m.
Garfield Community Center
2323 East Cherry St.
Seattle, WA

I personally plan to have a voter-registration place at the festival and use some of my time this summer for registering voters.

Who or what has had the greatest influence on your environmental views and opinions?     — Gloria Coronado, Seattle, Wash.

For some reason this has been the stumper of all the questions, Gloria. There are so many things that have really influenced me over the years. I guess it really has been my personal spiritual journey that has led me to much of my concern over the plight of our planet. I think that is a little backwards because I think a lot of people come to a more spiritual place as a result of their connection to the natural world. I have come to the natural world as a result of my spiritual quest. But ultimately my own sense of myself and the unity of my body, mind, and soul have led me to rethink how I look at the world itself. It has helped me to see the deep interconnections that exist all around us. Humans are so separated from “nature” in this current time, by their own choosing. I don’t really feel this separation like I used to. Now I see the way it is all interconnected and so damn beautiful.