When a country is at war, both its people and its biodiversity are under attack. As warfare kills, wounds, and traumatizes countless humans, it also destroys, damages, and endangers soil, air, water, wildlife, flora, and fauna—elements that all humans depend on for life. Warfare is, in short, an act of destruction that disproportionately affects all the planet’s essential ecosystems.
Against all odds, the old Main Post Office in the heart of downtown Chicago has been brought back to life after sitting idle for over two decades. Filled with antiquated mail-sorting machines and haunted by the ghosts of old postal workers, it was gutted and reopened in 2019 as the home of Walgreens and several other businesses. The historic landmark built in the 1920s is now crowned by a 3.5-acre rooftop park that includes walkways through fields of native perennial plants and grasses.
The annual One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest Global Awards Celebration is gearing up to take place at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, both in person at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St., and online virtually anywhere in the world. Featuring the top 10 winning films from among 403 submissions, this event is the first with global reach.
Reserve free tickets here: tinyurl.com/yfc23awards
Since its inception in 2013, the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest has grown from a local, Oak Park/River Forest, Illinois, project accepting just 12 submissions to a highly competitive international competition garnering 403 submissions. Countries such as Brazil, Australia and Mexico and states such as California, Georgia and Indiana will be represented among this year’s winners at the Global Awards Celebration at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, in person at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St., in Chicago, or online virtually anywhere in the world.
Reserve free tickets here: tinyurl.com/yfc23awards
Last month, the Plastic Pollution Coalition hosted an expert panel discussion, Safe Drinking Water for All: Protecting Communities from Plastic During U.S. Lead Pipe Replacement, for the UN 2023 Water Conference. It highlighted the need to keep plastic out of water systems because of its toxic impacts. Plastics are a health threat at every stage of existence and an environmental injustice issue disproportionately harming rural, low-income, and communities of color.
Audience discussions that follow One Earth screenings are meant to raise further awareness, but questions can arise that can’t always be answered on the spot. That’s exactly what happened on March 7. The five-minute film "Take Action Against Lead" by Young Filmmaker Contest winner Lion Birnecker touched a nerve in an audience full of activists wanting to know more about lead in water pipes and the dangers they pose.
