Director Shira Golding Evergreen (Frac Attack) and Producer Suzanne McMannis have collaborated to illustrate vividly in EMPOWERED that it is our friends and neighbors who are pioneering alternative energy. Right here in Tompkins County, so many have already taken the leap to a sustainable future, and in EMPOWERED they enjoy the opportunity to tell their stories to the public: what inspired them; what first steps they took; how things are working. Viewers will get the stories behind numerous residential and public installations that utilize solar, wind, geothermal and even veggie oil. They’ll also get a glimpse into the entrepreneurial spirit that is driving new community wind, biodiesel and solar cooking projects.

The film was shot entirely on location in Ithaca and the surrounding area and features original animations by Ari Evergreen.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with the director and some of the film’s stars. Audience members will be invited to join the conversation on how we can increase our energy independence while protecting our environment. Representatives from local nonprofits and installers will be tabling in the lobby to help audience members take steps towards embracing renewable energy. This screening kicks off a NY state tour co-sponsored by Finger Lakes Bioneers and Sierra Club Finger Lakes Group.

“We’ve been working on this film for over a year and can’t wait to share it with the community,” says director Shira Golding. “We’re hoping people will watch the movie and then start thinking of concrete ways they can integrate these strategies into their own lives. It’s going to take a grassroots movement to push this country towards a renewable energy future and Tompkins County is at the forefront.”

Over 130 people turned out for a rough cut screening of the film at the end of September and the filmmakers are grateful to Cinemapolis for continuing to provide a platform for local filmmaking about important social and environmental issues.

For high-res images and more information about EMPOWERED, contact Shira Golding Evergreen at 607-821-0654 or shira@shirari.com.

www.empoweredthemovie.com

Once you’ve reduced your fossil carbon consumption, you can offset the rest via the Finger Lakes Climate Fund. Your carbon offset donation will be given out as a grant to low-income households to help them make energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy investments. If you want to align your values with your actions, you’ll want to take the Energy Challenge and join the ranks of Finger Lakes residents who are weaning themselves off natural gas and other fossil fuels.

The theme of our recent Energy Fair was community energy security. Real energy security.

Most of us associate “energy security” with fossil fuel industry lobbyists who try to convince Americans that we will be more secure if we stop relying on imports of foreign oil and just let them expand drilling offshore or in the rural lands of America.

But is that really a plan that will make us more secure?  Consider this:

Energy efficiency has never polluted the Gulf of Mexico or slimed the shores of Alaska.

Solar panels never gave a child asthma or blew off a mountain top.

Wind turbines have never threatened millions with cancer-causing radiation.

Energy conservation has never polluted drinking water supplies or destroyed a rural landscape.

We’ll never be really secure if we continue to base our economy and our way of life on fossil energy.  We know it’s a tightening noose with constantly rising prices and amplifying environmental damages.

Even though President Obama and plenty of Wall Street investors believe that shale gas is a necessary and viable source of energy, we don’t think it will add up to be an overall advantage for our country – not when all the costs are factored in, and certainly not when we consider how justice is distributed.

Here in Tompkins County, we have a powerful coalition of citizen groups, local governments, businesses, nonprofits, and institutions all devoting considerable time and resources to energy efficiency and renewable energy investments.  We clearly have made progress toward community energy security, and we’ve got a lot going in the right direction, but it’s also clear that it is going to take all of us working together, and staying motivated, to reach our goal of a more enduring, safe, affordable, and fair system for powering our community.  We really are in this together, and together our community is poised to make a successful transition to a new energy system based on responsible use, and investment in a diverse mix of energy sources like geothermal, biomass, solar, wind, and hydropower.

We need to work both at the individual level and at the community level.  As we each take responsibility for our own fossil fuel consumption, we can feel good about “walking our talk” when it comes to opposing hydrofracking.

We will also be participating in plugging the leaks in our local economy that come from buying fossil energy imported to our community.  Instead we’ll be helping support our local economy by creating green jobs.

And as we convert more systems to biomass, our rural landowners can earn money from growing a self-renewing energy supply – a reliable, long-term source of income compared to the destructive boom and bust cycle of shale gas drilling.

Every county resident has the capacity to become a hometown energy hero.  To make your pledge on the Finger Lakes Energy Challenge.  To get the help you need from local energy experts.

But also to step forward and be visible in our community on this topic of energy security — to speak up and tell your energy story and inspire others to take the time and make the investments that will lead to our individual and collective energy security.

To be willing to say “this is important” and to act as a change agent in your family, at work, and with your friends.  To speak to your local elected officials about their plans for transitioning local governments and schools to a safer energy system.  To tell state and federal officials to act responsibly and treat us fairly when crafting energy and climate policy.

To be willing to donate and invest locally in helping other people achieve energy security, such as through the Finger Lakes Climate Fund, or simply by becoming a member of Sustainable Tompkins so that events like the Energy Fair can be offered to our community.

This is the path to community energy security.  Transitioning our systems and our lifestyles, and watching out for each other along the way.   It is not the goal of the fossil fuel industry to make us more secure.  We will have to do that for ourselves.

Don’t miss the Energy Fair on April 6 where we’ll explore the math behind e_S = mc² !

True energy security is the result of motivated community cooperation to reduce our dependence on risky fossil fuels.

Every citizen has an important and necessary role in phasing out wasteful energy consumption and investing in efficiency and local self-renewing energy sources.  Energy is tied into almost everything we do.  Together we can make sure our families are secure and our economy resilient.  Together we can transform the energy marketplace and support our growing number of green collar workers.  Sustainable Tompkins and its partners are proud to host you and your family for an evening devoted to community energy security.  Download the Energy Fair poster and share widely!

Doors open at 6:30 pm to mingle with energy experts and take the Finger Lakes Energy Challenge – our online platform where you can choose your own goals to achieve greater energy security, and connect to resources to help you meet your pledge. 
 
Our program starts at 7:15 and will help you understand what is happening at the federal, state, and local level on energy and climate, what resources are available, and what we need to do next.  Music, door prizes, energy-related coupons, and delicious treats make this a family-friendly event.  Come to the Energy Fair and be part of our community’s journey toward energy security.  (Stay until 9:00 pm for a chance to win the grand prize of a $100 gift certificate to La Tourelle Spa!)

Cosponsored by Shaleshock Action Alliance, Tompkins County Environmental Management Council, Tompkins Community Action, Tompkins County Planning Department, Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative, Green Resource Hub, Sustainability at Ithaca College, New Roots Charter School, EcoVillage at Ithaca – Center for Sustainability Education, TC3 Environmental Studies Program, Ithaca Carshare, Energy and Sustainability at Cornell, Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, Catholic Charities, Shaleshock CNY, Coalition to Protect NY, Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation, People for a Healthy Environment, GDACC, Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee of First Presbyterian Church of Ithaca, Social Action Committee of Temple Beth El.

Poster for Energy Fair to download and share