One Fine Day

The film itself focused on the two biggest contributors to the problem: fossil fuels and deforestation. However, I made sure that there was information on food and the impact that a meat-based diet has on climate change on the Inconvenient Truth website, because it is important. What it really boils down to is how much information you can get across in 90 minutes, and what is most compelling.

We started and funded The Climate Project with Al Gore. The Climate Project is a program where Mr. Gore is training 1,000 people here in the U.S. to give his presentation, then sending them out into the world. The idea behind The Climate Project was to train people who could give the presentation in arenas where Mr. Gore (and the film) could not. The presenters have been heading to churches, Rotary clubs, Daughters of the American Revolution meetings, and other places since last September, and seem to be having a lot of success.

I'm always bad at giving advice on how to get my job (or one just like it) since I sort of fell into my work. Using film as a medium for creating social change is a relatively small but growing field. If you're interested in the filmmaking side of things, check out internships with production companies, studios, or talent agencies. It's a great way to gain an understanding of the film industry and how it works. If you're more interested in the social-change side, consider working with a nonprofit that does a lot of work in communications. That's how I got here -- it's a combination of both worlds, and it's a great way to learn how to use (and abuse) media.

Producing anything uses energy, but if you were to look at energy use across industries, you'd actually find that making movies is relatively benign. The entertainment industry has been shown to use less energy than a lot of other industries in California, and the studios here in Los Angeles are leaders when it comes to reducing waste and finding new ways to save energy. Studios are often early adopters of new, greener technologies. Like it or not, Hollywood yields a big megaphone, and I believe that if companies like Participant can use that megaphone to shed light on social issues and work to further green the industry itself, it's worth it.

There is so much potential for "green" development in developing countries, from building out an energy infrastructure based on clean technologies, to sustainable agriculture. I've done a lot of environmental work with people and organizations in India and have seen such incredible progress in the past five to 10 years. I don't know Peru as well, but I'd be willing to bet that there are some fantastic NGOs you could get involved with. A great place to start the search is online, through websites like GlobalGiving, UniversalGiving, or the Clinton Global Initiative. They can all connect you with local organizations working on issues you're interested in.

There are production companies located outside of Los Angeles, but, unfortunately, a lot of our time is spent in meetings with folks in the "industry" here in L.A. So if we were to locate outside of L.A, we'd spend a lot of time on planes -- and at the end of the day, we'd probably have a greater environmental impact than we do by being located in Los Angeles and dealing with the L.A commute.

I think we're starting to see a lot of interesting work being done within Christianity to counter those attitudes and ideas: from the work of groups like The Regeneration Project with their Interfaith Power & Light campaign, to The National Religious Partnership for the Environment, to the statement from evangelicals who believe it's an issue that needs to be addressed. Will we (as environmentalists) win over everyone? Probably not. But I have been pretty amazed at what I've seen developing over the past two years.