Carbon Nation
Are people tired of apocalyptic information about climate change? Did we start to tune out some time after An Inconvenient Truth and before the 11th Hour? Well, a hot new documentary – so hot it is still in the works – is taking a different approach to the whole global warming genre. Carbon Nation is a self-described climate change solutions' documentary. We caught up with director Peter Byck to ask him a few questions about what makes his film different and if we really need another global warming film.
Tell us about Carbon Nation.
Carbon Nation is a film about solutions to climate change. It's about the people working on the ground; installing wind turbines, figuring out which type of algae would be the best for airplane fuel, inventing new ways to capture geothermal energy, working hard on how to implement a price on carbon, and reinventing farming and grazing practices to sequester massive amounts of carbon from the air.
Why are you making this film?
I saw "An Inconvenient Truth" and got it. Okay, we've got a huge problem – now what? How do we solve this? Can we solve this? Is it too late? Are there solutions? So, along with producers Artemis Joukowsky, Craig Sieben and Karen Weigert, we set out to answer our questions. That's the why.
We're not making a global warming film, we're making a global warming solutions film.
—Peter Byck
Why do we need another global warming film?
People are clamoring for a way to feel inspired – to feel like we have a chance – to be able to follow leaders who want to tackle climate change. So this film isn't a scary movie about the problems. Carbon Nation is about solutions and hope and inspiration. So we're not making a global warming film, we're making a global warming solutions film. And this is just the beginning – the last frame in our film is "to be continued..." We're just at the starting point.
Is Carbon Nation a call to action?
A big part of the solution is government leadership – and in particular, U.S. presidential leadership. Our call to action is for people to make sure they elect people who understand the problem – and hopefully our film will inspire some of the solutions.
Will it inspire people to do something about climate change?
That's our goal. To inspire people to action. Whether it's turning off the water while brushing your teeth to turning off your car's engine while you're waiting to pick someone up. We also want to inspire companies – heads of companies - to push hard on energy efficiency and have a win-win situation of both saving money and the environment. We want to inspire young people to make climate change solutions the focus of their careers. We want to celebrate the folks in the military who are jumping in with both feet on greening the military – that's one huge chunk of the U.S. budget, and as Tom Friedman says in our film, "When the military goes green, the country goes green."
It's geared towards an American audience because we use 25% of the world's energy, and put out that much of the world's emissions.
—Peter Byck
Is the film still being created?
We are in post production – 2 editors working full time, an animation house cranking away, a graphics house gearing up.
Who is the target audience?
It's geared towards an American audience because we use 25% of the world's energy, and put out that much of the world's emissions; and unlike China and India, we've been doing it for a long time. There really is a great potential for America to kick the solutions into high gear. Look how happy the world was that Obama was elected. When we get creative and put our resources towards the common good, the whole world benefits – and that's exactly what I would like our country to be doing – something positive in this time of crisis.
Will the film be heavy/light/witty?
We're hoping for witty and as light as possible. Inspiration is our key phrase. Films are hard to make – let's see how we do.
When will the film be available for the public?
Great question. I simply don't know yet. We'll be adding sneak previews to our website: www.carbonnation.tv - but we'll be screening for distributors once the film is finished in early 2009.
