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Sustainability Film Series Kicks Off Tonight In Lexington

Bluegrass Earth

WUKY in partnership with over 20 environmental groups in Lexington and Central Kentucky is kicking off a free film series tonight at the Lexington Public Library’s Farish Theater.

Organizers hope the first annual film festival will build awareness for a number of pressing planetary issues including climate change.  Tony Brusate, president of the Central Kentucky Audubon Society, helped select the films.

"We have films about plastic, we have films about Kentucky's shift from tobacco to other sustainable agriculture practices...there's really going to be something for everybody here," Brusate told WUKY.

Brusate says the lineup most assuredly includes the divisive issue of coal.

"Most of our power still comes from coal and we don't expect there's going to be any shift from that.  However, one of the movies we're showing is Switch which is actually a very balanced view of all the different energy sources we have at our disposal today and what we'll probably need to amass and put together and make the planet work over the next several decades.  It's a film that's been embraced both by environmentalists and the energy industry," Brusate said.

Tonight's film, Ian Cheney's The City Dark, tackles the harmful effects of light pollution.

"In the film (Cheney) goes through an awful lot of research...everything from rates of breast cancer occurrence from people who work night shifts, to migratory patterns of birds, and the changes over time of the loss of night and loss of stars and what that means to us, not only from a physiological standpoint, but from a cultural standpoint as well.  If we didn't have the stars to look up and dream about would we be where we are today?" Brusate asked.

Tonight's screening of The City Dark gets under way at 6:30.  A panel discussion will follow.  The film series runs through May 8th.  Earth Day takes place April 22nd.

A complete list of Bluegrass Earth events is available here.