Jackson Hole Environmental Health Trust Film Series
The Secret History of Environmental Pollution in the 20th Century: Progress and Problems
Teton County Public Library free admission
Environmental Health Trust launches its inaugural eight-part Environmental Health Film Series in Jackson Hole, Wyoming showcasing award-winning documentaries about how the environment shapes the quality and quantity of our lives from birth onward. The Series features stories of environmental disasters and pollution – from the London smog to cell phones to lead in Flint’s water supply – and includes original archival footage of what went wrong, what happened and what we do now. Each film will be followed by a short discussion with expert scientists and some of the original filmmakers. Showings will take place at Teton County Public Library (Most at at 6:00-7:30 pm) and will be free admission.
Read the Jackson Hole News and Guide News article on the film series “Films show how the environment kills” By Tom Hallberg Jan 10, 2018
Download the full page PDF with details on each film.
“Many of these films owe their origins to dramatic events of the last century, however, since that time, tremendous progress has been made on many fronts. Thanks to modern efforts to control emissions from transportation and stationary sources, people are no longer dropping dead from air pollution. But other problems are emerging that few people realize,” stated Devra Davis MPH, PhD, President of Environmental Health Trust (a local Jackson Hole nonprofit).
The Killer Smogs of Donora and London, January 10 6 pm
The Series kicks off on January 10th with a film that includes witness accounts of the killer smogs of Donora (1958) and London (1952). In London, more than 12,000 people died as a result of a sustained air pollution episode that triggered environmental awareness around the world. Davis wrote the National Book Award finalist book When Smoke Ran Like Water about the Donora smog- an incident credited with triggering the movement that lead to the Clean Air Act of 1970.
Stink Why Are Toxic Chemicals Hiding in America, January 30 6 pm
The second featured documentary film is STINK: Why Are Toxic Chemicals Hiding in America – an entertaining story about a single father who becomes interested in what chemicals are in his children’s products after his wife passed away from breast cancer. He stumbles on an even bigger issue in America, that some products on our store shelves have never been tested for their impacts on human health or the environment. Join us on January 30th at 6:00 pm.
The Killer Smogs of Donora (1958) and London (1952)
January 10th at 6 pm
- Three award-winning documentary films describing the killer smogs of Donora (1958) and London (1952). Pennsylvania’s Killer Smog tells the story of a freak weather event that caused the worst air pollution disaster in US history, gripping the small, industrial town of Donora in its clutches for 5 long days in 1948. By the time the smog lifted 20 townspeople were dead. Four years later a similar event occurred in London, England that killed thousands. The double tragedy radically altered the way we interact with our environment. The documentary brings the tragic events to life and reveals the science behind them through interviews with experts and survivors, gripping archive footage, lively science demonstrations and dramatic reconstruction. A discussion of current problems, policies and solutions will follow.
Stink Why Are Toxic Chemicals Hiding in America January 30th at 6:00 pm.
Exposure – Environmental Links to Breast Cancer, February 18, 4:30 pm
Our First February film Exposure – Environmental Links to Breast Cancer, produced and directed by award-winning Canadian filmmaker Francine Zukerman, won first prize for science documentary in the New York Film Festival and explores how toxins and radiation in the environment are affecting our health. The film is hosted by singer, actor and breast cancer survivor Olivia Newton-John and will feature a discussion with one of New York’s top breast cancer specialists, New York University Professor of Medicine, Deborah Axelrod MD, FACS, and other local experts.
Other films to be scheduled include:
Public Television Series NOVA investigates what happened in Flint, Michigan when local officials changed the city’s water source to save money but overlooked a critical treatment process resulting in extensive and avoidable lead poisoning. NOVA uncovers the disturbing truth that reaches far beyond Flint: How can we protect ourselves from contaminated water?
An eye-opening 2017 documentary reveals that wireless technology poses serious health risks – from infertility to cancer – and suggests practical ways to reduce your exposure and protect your family while living in the modern world.
This documentary follows the intimate journey of Chinese migrant worker Yi Yeting, a benzene-poisoned victim-turned-activist fighting work-induced leukemia, who takes on the global electronics industry in a fight against dangerous workplace conditions. It raises the important question of our own moral responsibility to ensure that products we rely on are produced in a safe manner.
A documentary that looks at how the manufacturing of doubt has become a big business. The film exposes pundits-for-hire who present themselves as scientific authorities as they speak about topics like toxic chemicals, pharmaceuticals and climate change. Harvard Professor Naomi Oreskes, on whose work the film is based, is invited to lead a discussion about the use of scientists as merchants of doubt.
This film follows a courageous group of firefighters, mothers, journalists and scientists, politicians and activists as they fight to expose a shadowy campaign that persuaded legislators that toxic flame retardants were critically needed. In fact, there is no evidence that chemical flame retardants prevented a single fire death and growing evidence of their toxic legacy in our homes and bodies. The campaign to require the widespread use of these unnecessary toxic chemicals has taken nearly 40 years to unravel. Invited discussants include acclaimed scientist-activist and mountaineer Arlene Blum PhD, Founder of the Green Science Policy Institute.
About Environmental Health Trust
EHT is a virtual scientific think tank of dedicated scientists and educators conducting cutting-edge research on environmental health risks with some of the world’s top research institutions and educating individuals, health professionals and communities about policy changes needed to reduce those risks. Currently, EHT is addressing health concerns about cell phones and wireless. The Environmental Health Trust maintains a regularly updated database of worldwide precautionary policies: more than a dozen countries recommend reducing children’s exposure exposure to wireless. http://box5219.temp.domains/~showthef/ehtrust
