{ gathering home }

"Climate of Change" Comes to DVD

From the producers of An Inconvenient Truth, CLIMATE OF CHANGE is a rich and inspiring documentary that takes the viewer around the world to find the ordinary people taking action in the fight to save our environment. Releasing on dvd February 22, 2011 via New Video, the narration was written by British poet Simon Armitage and voiced by Tilda Swinton (Chronicles of Narnia, Adaptation).  The film seamlessly explores how teenagers in India, villagers in Papua New Guinea and Africa, self-described “hillbillies” in Appalachia and a PR expert in London are harnessing their global thinking to act locally within their respective communities. 

The entertainment biz trade publication Variety called it a “half eco-docu, half art…social-action cinema with a twist,”.  Director Brian Hill and his cinematographers create a real sense of ambience in each of the countries and communities they visit.

COAL COUNTRY Screening at NYC's Town Hall

 On October 20, 2009 at NYC's Town Hall, The Sierra Club and Earthjustice will present a special screening of 'Coal Country', the new feature length documentary that confronts the devastating effects of mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia.  The film reveals the truth about modern coal mining and is told by the people directly involved, both working miners and activists who are battling the coal companies in Appalachia. It’s a “new civil war,” as families and communities are deeply split over the issue of mountaintop removal mining (MTR). The tops of mountains are blasted away, exposing seams of coal, while debris is pushed into valleys and streams. Residents endure health problems, dirty water in their wells, dust and grime on their floors. The miners are frightened that, without MTR, they’ll lose their jobs and won’t be able to feed their families. 

The NYC event is part of a series of concerts, previews, and screenings of 'Coal Country' across the USA leading up to the release of the film on DVD on November 10, 2009 (order below thru GH ), the companion CD is available now. The film will debut worldwide on Discovery Networks' PLANET GREEN channel November 14, 2009.

The Town Hall event will feature musical performances by Diana Jones, the Klezmatics, Kathy Mattea and Jean Ritchie as well as special guests and a screening of excerpts from the film. Written, produced and directed by Phylis Geller with executive producer Mari-Lynn Evans, 'Coal Country' fearlessly confronts the repercussions of surface coal mining - the type of mining that requires the complete defoliation of mountaintops in conjunction with aggressive blasting, permanently altering the landscape and natural environment.

WHAT: 'Coal Country' screening and concert featuring special guests
WHEN: October 20, 2009 @ 6:30pm
WHERE: New York Town Hall
123 W 43rd St.
NYC, NY 10036-6507

More @ CoalCountrytheMovie.com , SierraClub.org and  EarthJustice.org

New Film, "FOOD, Inc" Examines the USA Food Industry

In the new film Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from  Americans with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of e coli--the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield Farms' Gary Hirschberg and Polyface Farms' Joe Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising -- and often shocking truths -- about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

Food, Inc opens June 12 with a limited run in NYC, San Francisco and Los Angeles, from Magnolia Pictures. Watch the Food, Inc trailer below -

Celebrate WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY !

  

Today, June 5th, is World Environment Day! Celebrate the wonderful environment that we live in and work to inspire others to do what they can to ensure and protect its beauty.   World Environment Day (WED) was established by the UN General Assembly back in 1972 to commenorate the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. It's celebrated every year on June 5th and is one of the main ways the United Nation generates worldwide awareness of the environment and serves to enhances political attention and action.

Each year the UN has a theme and host country for the day. The 2009 theme is ‘Your Planet Needs You-UNite to Combat Climate Change’. It reflects the urgency for nations to agree on a new deal at the crucial climate convention meeting in Copenhagen and the links with overcoming poverty and improved management of forests.  Click here for more info on the day and what you can do.

Around the world, there are hundreds of events and social media actions are being held, so pick how you can be involved, and jump in!  One event is the worldwide release of the highly anticipated film, HOME (watch it online here), by renowned photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand and produced by Luc Besson.  The beautifully made movie will be shown in more than 100 locations worldwide, in 23 languages and also available on DVD and BluRay today (order your copy below)!  Omaha, is North America’s host city for the United Nations World Environment Day, and will join cities around the world in the release of HOME, a stunning tour of our planet shot in high definition entirely from the air. Omaha and other cities, Paris (at the base of the Eiffel Tower), New York City ( Central Park) and London ( Trafalgar Square) will have free screenings today.

Earth Day DisneyNature Giveaway WINNER !!

And the winner in our DisneyNature EARTH contest is...  Sue from Durango, CO !  Congrats!!  We¹ll be sending Sue a variety of Earth products including a canvas tote, a biodegradable tumbler, and a tree seedling!  

Thanks to all who entered !

Share Your Earth Day 2009 With EARTH, And Enter Here to Win !

Trying to find a family-friendly activity to celebrate Earth Day this year?  How about Disneynature’s first film, Earth ?  It will be in theaters nationwide on Earth Day, April 22, 2009! To get you and your family excited about this new documentary, Gathering Home has joined with Disneynature to give away a variety of Earth products including a canvas tote, a biodegradable tumbler, and a tree seedling to one lucky reader (approx $60.00 value)!  To enter this contest, leave a comment below on this post telling us how you plan to spend Earth Day this year.  Contest closes at 11:59p EDT on April 21, 2009 !

And in case you don't know, EARTH is the first film in the Disneynature series, and is narrated by James Earl Jones.  It tells the remarkable story of three animal families and their amazing journey across the planet we all call home.   The film combines rare action, unimaginable scale and impossible locations by capturing the most intimate moments of our planet’s wildest and most elusive creatures and has been rated, G.  Directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, the acclaimed creative team behind the Emmy Award-winning “PLANET EARTH” series combine forces again to bring this epic adventure to the big screen, beginning Earth Day 2009.  More at  Disneynature/Earth !

                  

UPDATE 4/22/09- THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS & ENTRIES-- CONTEST CLOSED !!!

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Disney Promotes "EARTH" Film on April 22

Disney has announced an April 22 release (Earth Day) for their film, EARTH.  It's the first from their recent created DisneyNature division and award-winning British producer/director Alastair Fothergill, whose credits include the Emmy and Peabody award-winning "Planet Earth" series (BBC and The Discovery Channel) and The Blue Planet.  Earth, which was produced by BBC Worldwide and Greenlight Media, takes viewers on a one year tour of our home planet as it's never been seen before (not sure what that exactly means). The film will be narrated by actor James Earl Jones (see his films here).  

To promote the release, Disney has promised to  plant a tree for every moviegoer that sees EARTH during opening week.  Their goal is to ensure that trees are planted in areas that conservationists have identified as hot spots of biodiversity. Disney will oversee the planting of the trees in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, which is considered the most endangered rain forest in the world.  No word yet on how they will show proof of the plantings, stayed tuned.  In the meantime, view the trailer below the break and read more from Treehugger on Disney's green strategy .