I like to sleep with my windows open, which unfortunately means that if there’s a storm at night, I wake up to puddles by my bedside. The breeze and fresh air feel worth the occasional water damage, but this summer, the storms in Chicago reached an intensity that made me reconsider my preference for a ventilated sleep environment.
Since its inception in 1907, the forbidding Blackhawk Generating Station was the polar opposite of a friendly next-door neighbor to Beloit College’s quaint, leafy campus, located across Pleasant Street in Beloit, Wisconsin. Whenever winds blew from the west, the coal-fired, steam-generating electric power station’s 135-foot-high smokestack would belch plumes of polluted air toward the college green. This continued for years, as the brick, concrete, and steel plant expanded in stages until 1947, and finally ended in 2010 when its owner, Alliant Energy, ceased operations, slating the plant for demolition.
On May 29, 2025, the lawyers at Our Children’s Trust (OCT) filed Lighthiser v. Trump, on behalf of 22 youth from Montana, Oregon, Hawai‘i, California, and Florida, asserting their constitutional rights to life, health, and safety. This youth-led constitutional rights lawsuit challenges three of the Trump administration’s recent Executive Orders, each of which has the capacity to intensify the climate crisis and worsen the youth plaintiffs’ climate-related health injuries.
See a futuristic battle over the last available fresh water resource, peer at wildlife living in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, hear an ironic love song about a polluting power plant, and more. View all 10 winning short films from the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest at 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, in person at Davis Theater, 4614 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago, or online virtually anywhere in the world. Be ready to stretch your imagination and expand your understanding of going green. A special online screening for those in Asia/ Pacific will also be available.
Climate change doesn’t just scorch forests and melt glaciers — it also gnaws at the edges of your daily peace. There’s a name for the ache in your chest every time another headline forecasts ecological collapse: climate anxiety. It's a natural response to a world that feels like it's hurtling toward catastrophe, yet the fear it stirs can often paralyze more than it motivates. While the warming planet poses serious threats, there’s a path through the unease — one grounded in practical action, connection, and the power of agency.
Young environmental filmmakers will find two opportunities to showcase their work through the collaboration of two non-profits: the Youth Climate Report (YCR) based in Toronto, Canada, and One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest (OEYFC) based in Chicago, IL, USA. Both organizations seek films about climate change and related topics.
"You could say we're 'doubling down' on the power of environmental filmmaking to create greater impact," says Dr. Mark Terry, Executive Director of the Youth Climate Report. "Our decision to collaborate with the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest stems from the shared values and common goals we have in addressing climate issues. Our efforts align so closely, and together, we can amplify the message in ways that truly make a difference."
