Sustainable Practices Film Series Launches 8th Season

          On Saturday, Sept. 7 at 9:30 a.m. the Chatham Orpheum Theater welcomes back the Sustainable Practices Sustainability Film Series for its eighth season of screening films focused on themes of social justice, environmental justice and economic equity.
           The films in this year’s series are “Backfired: When VW Lied to America” on Sept. 7, “Tar Creek” on Oct. 5, “Triple Divide [Redacted]” on Nov. 2 and “After the Spill” on Dec. 7. 
           Founder and executive director of Sustainable Practices Madhavi Venkatesan earned a PhD in economics from Vanderbilt University, a master’s degree in sustainability and environmental management from Harvard University, and a master’s degree in environmental law and policy from Vermont Law School. A recipient of a Fulbright Distinguished Lectureship, she is an author, activist and a faculty member in the department of economics at Northeastern University.
           “We are focusing on the theme of accountability to the community this fall, and these films all highlight the absence of collective action and the normalization of corporate exploitation of the environment,” Venkatesan said. “We hope that attendees will see themselves in the communities addressed. Our goal is to have a short overview in front of the film and a short discussion following.”
           Venkatesan said the Sustainable Practices Sustainability Film Series builds upon the convenience plastic reduction initiative started by Sustainable Practices in 2019 with the municipal plastic bottle ban, which has now been adopted in all 15 Cape towns. The group hopes for a retail ban on single-use plastic water bottles and a ban on plastic take-out and cutlery in all 15 towns in the near future. 
           “What is important to us is behavioral change,” Venkatesan said. “Basically, human convenience is a price the environment cannot afford. We are hoping our efforts will stimulate critical engagement with the life cycle impact of each consumption choice. Everything we consume impacts the environment, people, and increasingly, even our own health.”
Venkatesan pointed out that as a tourist destination which welcomes visitors from many regions, Cape Cod is uniquely positioned to provide an example of what can be done in other communities to reduce consumption and make meaningful steps toward nurturing a healthy, sustainable environment. As an example, she cited a statement by Joe Danielson, a New Jersey Assemblyman for the state’s 17th district, who said a recent visit to the Cape and exposure to Sustainable Practices’ successful municipal single-use plastic bottle ban in each of the 15 towns that comprise Barnstable County inspired his efforts to promote single-use plastic reduction in his own area. Danielson said though the year-round population of the Cape is approximately 230,000, more than 5.5 million visitors are attracted to the Cape every year, creating a perfect opportunity for local action to promote wider impact at a time when plastic pollution is a known and growing threat to human health and the environment.
           “We see the Cape as an opportunity for collective action and an example of what can be done,” Venkatesan said. “No doubt there are varying perceptions on the issue of convenience, but very little disagreement in wanting a healthy, sustainable environment. Being an example for a New Jersey Assemblyman for his state-wide initiative, as well as, more locally, the towns of Hingham, Arlington, and Cohasset, all of which have passed bottle ban legislation modeled on the bylaws passed on the Cape, is why I founded Sustainable Practices and why we are focused on promoting action on the Cape.”
           The first film in the new series, “Backfired: When VW Lied to America” showing on Sept. 7 reveals the truth behind the 2013 VW scandal in which a group of students at West Virginia University discovered and reported a stunning violation of the federal Clean Air Act by German Automaker Volkswagen Group. Exposed for intentionally programming their vehicles’ turbocharged direct injection diesel engines to activate their emissions controls only during emissions testing — but not during normal use — in 11 million cars worldwide, VW executives found their company slapped with the largest fine in US auto history: $15 billion in what's now known as "Dieselgate."
           Next up in the series is “Tar Creek” on Oct. 5. “Tar Creek” tells the story of the Tar Creek Superfund Site in northeastern Oklahoma, described in the film’s promotional material as “the worst environmental disaster you’ve never heard of.” Once one of the largest lead and zinc mines on the planet, Tar Creek is now home to more than 40 square miles of environmental devastation, including acid mine water in creeks, lead poisoning in children’s bodies and sinkholes that melt backyards and swallow baseball fields. Thirty years after being designated for federal cleanup by the Superfund program, Tar Creek residents are still fighting for decontamination, environmental justice, and the buyout and relocation of their homes to safer ground. “Tar Creek” exposes Superfund sites as not only just environmental tragedies, but community tragedies.
           The third film in the series is “Triple Divide [Redacted]” on Nov. 2, which explores the impact of fracking in Pennsylvania within one of the nation's most pristine watersheds. With exclusive interviews from oil and gas industry leaders, independent experts and impacted residents, this documentary covers five years (2011 to 2016) of investigations that reveal how regulators and industry insiders keep water contamination covered up.
           The series finishes up with “After the Spill” on Dec. 7, which explores the environmental destruction faced by the coastline of Louisiana. In 2005 Hurricane Katrina devastated the state’s coast. Five years later the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon exploded and spilled more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, creating the worst environmental disaster in North American history. Incredibly, those aren't the worst things facing Louisiana's coastline today, as the state is fast disappearing through coastal erosion caused largely by oil and gas industry activity.
 For more information on the Sustainable Practices Sustainability Film Series at the Chatham Orpheum visit https://chathamorpheum.org/sustainable-practices-1. For more information about Sustainable Practices visit https://sustainablepracticesltd.org/.