Bellingham is doing it up for Climate Action Week! There are so many inspiring and educational events going on it might be hard to keep up. There are too many events for me to list them all here, these are the ones we’re considering our top 10. We hope to see you around town at one of Climate Action Week events!
Bellingham Youth Climate Action Strike
This is a youth-led, all ages climate strike, kicking off the week of actions to demand action to end an age of fossil fuels and climate justice for everyone.
When: September 20 from 11-1:15
Where: Bellingham City Hall
Climate Action for Peace
Bellingham’s annual celebration of International Day of Peace is hosted by
the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center. This year’s theme, Climate Action for Peace, recognizes the importance of combating climate change to protect and promote peace throughout the world. We’re proud to be a sponsor of this event.
When: September 21 from 6-9
Where: Majestic Ballroom
Racing Extinction
Racing Extinction is a film about extinction. Scientists predict we may lose half the species on the planet by the end of the century. They believe we have entered the sixth major extinction event in Earth’s history. Number five took out the dinosaurs. This era is called the Anthropocene, or “Age of Man,” because the evidence shows that humanity has sparked this catastrophic loss. We are also the only ones who can stop it.
When: September 23 at 5:45
Where: Pickford Film Center
Bringing Climate Action Home– An Energy Efficiency and Home Improvement Fair
At Bringing Climate Action Home attendees can learn the basics of home performance and how certain changes can make a big impact in improving their home’s energy efficiency. Folks will get a close-up look at how diagnostic tools are used during an energy audit, tour the training test houses, and learn about services offered by Puget Sound Energy and Cascade Natural Gas. Local contractors, including us, will be on hand to talk about building performance and strategies to improve the durability and efficiency of your home.
When: September 24 from 5-7pm
Where: The Building Performance Center
Green Power X
Green Power X brings you fast paced ideas from Bellingham energy experts for achieving a better energy future. In a “TEDx” style slam, hear about district energy, solarize business campaign, renewable energy projects and much more. This event is an opportunity to learn, mingle with energy experts and meet WWU’s newest Professor of Energy Studies, Froylan Sifuentes.
When: September 26 from 4-6pm
Where: Aslan Depot
And there’s more!
That’s right, to keep the momentum going, Doctober starts in late September. A few of the movies centered around the climate crisis and housing that we’re keen to see include:
Push– Push is a new documentary from award-winning director Fredrik Gertten, investigating why we can’t afford to live in our own cities anymore. Housing is a fundamental human right, a precondition to a safe and healthy life. But in cities all around the world, having a place to live is becoming more and more difficult. Who are the players and what are the factors that make housing one of today’s most pressing world issues? We’re proud to be a sponsor of this film, because while much of the conversation in this documentary is centered around large cities around the world, a housing crisis exists in Bellingham and we think we could learn a thing or two from their experiences. Show times are Saturday, Sept. 28 at 7:30pm and Monday, Sept. 30 at 8pm.
Anthropocene: The Human Epoch: Anthropocene follows the research of an international body of scientists, the Anthropocene Working Group, who, after nearly 10 years of research, are arguing that the Holocene Epoch gave way to the Anthropocene Epoch in the mid-twentieth century, because of profound and lasting human changes to the Earth. From concrete seawalls in China that now cover 60% of the mainland coast, to the biggest terrestrial machines ever built in Germany, to psychedelic potash mines in Russia’s Ural Mountains, Anthropocene traverses the globe to document evidence and experience of human planetary domination. Show time is Saturday, Oct. 3 at 3:15pm.
The Hottest August: Set in a sizzling New York City, The Hottest August is Brett Story’s visionary look at a culture on the precipice as both climate change and disaster capitalism eclipse our future. Despite an edgy undercurrent of anxiety, the film locates a warm humanity in interactions with a cross section of New Yorkers expert at “rolling with the punches,” as one Staten Island couple says outside of their garage. The rich set of characters includes a futuristic Afronaut, Hurricane Sandy holdouts, a Zumba instructor, and 1920s-style dancers who could be deckhands on the Titanic. While this smart, incisive essay taps into passages by Zadie Smith, Karl Marx, and Annie Dillard, Story’s presence can be felt strongly throughout: she acts as free-ranging poet/meteorologist with a farsighted ability to forecast our uncertain destiny. Showtimes are Sunday, Oct. 6 a5:15pm and Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 5:15pm.
Finding Home in Boomtown: Finding Home in Boomtown is a cinéma vérité documentary about Briana and John-Mark Echols, and their dream to build a tiny house community for the homeless in oil boom-town Midland, Texas. Showtimes are Saturday, Oct. 12 at 5:30pm and Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 5:30pm
And there are more! Doctober is a month long celebration of the art of the documentary featuring some of the most diverse and varied programming offered all year. This year there are over 60 films! We hope to see you out and about during Climate Action Week and if I missed any events that you consider, must attends, contact me. I’d be happy to add them to this list.
by Intellitonic