Watershed School and Evergreen Home Performance to Host Screening of Carbon Nation: A Climate Change and Energy Solutions Documentary.

Tired of the doom-and-gloom news about climate change?  Carbon Nation bypasses the arguments about climate science to offer a pragmatic, optimistic look at climate change solutions.  Watershed School and Evergreen Home Performance will host Midcoast’s first screening of the non-partisan film on Saturday, June 4th at 3 pm at Rockland’s Strand Theatre.  Richard Burbank, Evergreen’s CEO, will introduce the film and moderate a post-screening video conference with director Peter Byck.

Carbon Nation introduces a fascinating cast of characters, including Virgin Group CEO Richard Branson, New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman, Former CIA Director James Woolsey, Alaskan geothermal pioneer Bernie Karl, Earth Day founder Denis Hayes, and U.S. Army (Ret.) Col. Dan Nolan.

They may disagree on the science and politics of carbon change, but the 82-minute documentary suggests that those details don’t matter.  The bottom line is that a low-carbon economy is good for the economy, good for national and energy security, and good for our health and the environment.  Anyone who puts gasoline in a car, is concerned about heating oil costs, or worries about our country’s reliance on foreign oil will find this a compelling and relevant film.

The film captures the spirit of Watershed School’s Global Climate Change Class and the mission of Evergreen Home Performance, one of Maine’s premier energy efficiency contractors.  Evergreen provides energy audits, implements comprehensive retrofits that increase the efficiency of existing homes, and educates the community about energy solutions.

This spring, Evergreen staff members Richard Riegel Burbank and Brian Robinson have shared their expertise as Watershed students learned about the science, politics, and ethics of global climate change in collaboration with Nancy Glassman of the Green Sneakers program and Janet Mcmahon of Watershed.  Students shadowed an Evergreen energy audit, did preliminary energy audits of their own homes, and are currently working on a street light inventory for the City of Rockland.

Together, the students at Watershed School and the staff at Evergreen Home Performance looked beyond the problems to identify and create solutions – just as Carbon Nation does. They are thrilled to bring this important and inspiring film to the community.