MI Earth Day Films

Documentary Films

Take in the latest in documentary films about some of the most pressing environmental issues of our time. Films will be shown in a screening room near the north entrance of the firehouse. Many will be hosted by the Sierra Club and one by the film-maker himself.

Coal Country – Saturday, 2:00 PM
Coal Country is a stunning new documentary that reveals the devastation of mountaintop removal coal mining to the forests, streams, and communities of Appalachia. Come view the new documentary and learn what you can do to help! The Michigan Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign is working to stop the MI coal rush with 6 proposed dirty coal plants that will pollute our air and water, affect our health and increase our electric bills.

A Fen in Flower: The Shiawassee Basin Preserve – Sunday, 2:00 PM
A 15-minute video showing the Shiawassee Basin Preserve in Springfield Township, why it's special and how it's being preserved. Bob Gross is a former print journalist for The Oakland Press in Pontiac. He has more than 30 years experience writing about the environment and other topics.

FLOW: For the Love of Water – Saturday, 4:00 PM
Award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century - The World Water Crisis. This film builds a case against the growing privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel. Presented by the Sierra Club.

Food, Inc. – Sunday, 12:00 Noon
Filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer 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 are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Garbage Dreams – Sunday, 3:00 PM
Welcome to the world's largest garbage village located on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. The Zaballeen (Arabic for "garbage people") recycle 80 percent of the trash they collect — far more than other recycling initiatives. But now multinational corporations threaten their livelihood. Follow three teenage boys born into the business who are forced to make choices that will impact the survival of their community.

Living a Nightmare: Animal Factories in Michigan – Saturday, 3:00 PM
CAFOs are massive animal factories that house thousands of livestock in close quarters, and that produce as much untreated sewage as cities. Animal factories are increasing in number throughout Michigan's countryside, they're often inappropriately placed, and often designed to pollute. Sierra Club has led the fight to protect the health and economic well-being of Michigan's rural communities by working for more stringent regulation, to bring these operations under the same kinds of environmental and health regulations as all other industries.

Love Your Lawns, Love Your Lakes – Saturday, 1:00 PM
The products you use on your lawn to kill insects and weeds may ultimately end up in your body, your children's or pets’ bodies and in Michigan waters. Even small amounts of pesticides can play a role in serious health problems. The Love Your Lawns, Love Your Lakes film was made here in SE MI. Come watch the film and also pick up materials with tips for safe lawn care practices.

No Impact Man – Friday, 5:00 PM
Colin Beavan decides to completely eliminate his personal impact on the environment for the next year, but he and his family live in Manhattan. So when his espresso-guzzling, retail-worshipping wife Michelle and their two-year-old daughter are dragged into the fray, the No Impact Project has an unforeseen impact of its own. Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein's film provides an intriguing inside look into the experiment that became a national fascination and media sensation, while examining the familial strains and strengthened bonds that result from Colin and Michelle’s struggle with their radical lifestyle change.

Where do children play? – Saturday, 12:00 Noon
For children play is like eating and sleeping - one of the vital signs of health. Where do children play? is a thought provoking and intriguing a short film that you won’t want to miss. Elyse Swenson is the CEO of got play? LLC. got play? Is a grass roots advocacy organization advocating that play is essential to all human life. As a play worker and advocate Elyse is restoring play in our everyday lives thru workshops, retreats, and tele-classes.