PLASTIC PLANET
Director: Werner Boote Country: Austria Running Time: 95 mins Languages: English, German, Italian
Like a more charming Teutonic Michael Moore, Werner Boote presents an up-close and personal view of the controversial and fascinating material that has found its way into every facet of our daily lives: plastic. Investigating an industry that he has grown up to revere as his grandfather’s profession, he takes us on a journey around the globe, following plastic through its 100 year history, from humble beginnings to what seems like world domination as the debris accumulates of a substance that cannot easily be destroyed and an industry that cannot easily be infiltrated. Plastics are cheap and practical, but it takes up to 500 years for plastics to disintegrate and in doing so they release toxins that may harm our hormonal system. Why do we not change our consumer behavior? Why does the industry not react to the dangers of plastic? Can we curb our love for this ubiquitous material, or do we still need it despite the problems it causes?
6:00PM Wine Reception 7:30PM Film Screening
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Q&A: DAVID FERRIS
David Ferris is a journalist who covers technology and business as they address the triple challenge of adapting to climate change, transforming the electrical grid and supplying the power needs of the 21st Century. He is managing editor of the Matter Network, a one-stop hub for cleantech and sustainability news.
David also writes Innovate, an award-winning column in Sierra magazine that explores cutting-edge ideas in renewable power.
In 2008 David served as lifestyle editor of Sierra, the nation’s largest environmental news magazine. He has also written for Men’s Journal, Macworld, Streaming Media and Wired News, among many other publications.
David first corresponded for Reuters News Service in East Africa. He subsequently worked as a staff writer at several San Francisco Bay Area news outlets, including the Alameda Newspaper Group and the Contra Costa Times, covering crime, courts and city hall.
David’s love of outdoor adventure flavors his reporting and has diversified his portfolio. In 2000, David quit his newspaper job to participate in the Eco-Challenge, a 12-day, 300-mile race through the jungles of Borneo that was the forerunner to the reality show Survivor. In 2007, David made a perilous ascent of Mt. Aconcagua, at 22,841 feet the highest mountain in the Americas, and told of the experience via a daily satellite blog. Often he brings a sense of humor to bear, such as in his recently-completed blog, A Year In New York.
David holds a B.A. in communication from the University of California, San Diego, and a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University in Chicago.
