Monthly screenings of climate-themed documentaries continue this week at the Normal Theater.
Next up in the Green Screen Film Series is “The Human Scale,” about how urban design fails to keep up with rising populations as people flock to cities in search of economic opportunity. Future films focus on global plastic waste and environmental racism in a Newark neighborhood densely populated by immigrants and people of color.
The films are intended to strike a balance between the enormity of the climate crisis and what individuals can do to curb rising temperatures, increases in natural disasters and extreme weather and systemic inequities built on a mountain of garbage and toxic waste.
Do small acts of stewardship like taking a reusable bag to the grocery store and using public transportation really make a difference in the global climate crisis? Maybe, but it’s a complicated question with a complicated answer.
“This is a broader conversation we’re having in our office in how we talk to people about the little things,” said Christine Bruckner, assistant director of sustainability at Illinois State University. “What are sustainable swaps? Little things we can do that, over the course of time or with collective action, can move the needle.”
Climate scientists predict that in order to effectively slow climate change the global energy sector must reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. A recent report from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change indicates we’re not on track.
Bruckner is primarily focused on data. She tracks progress toward achieving ISU’s strategic sustainability plan and assesses how the university stacks up against its peers.
For the most part, Bruckner says ISU’s two-person Office of Sustainability works with other campus units and student workers and volunteers to make sustainable practices visible and possible.
“I think it’s important to consider our place in the country,” Bruckner said. “We see really amazing things at other campuses that are more urban or have a completely different culture.”
“Within campus, the visibility of the office has really helped with other campus offices taking this upon themselves — which was the plan all along.”
Proximity to Rivian has also sparked conversations about alternative energy.
A key piece of the sustainability puzzle is educating — and in some cases, re-educating — students, faculty and staff and dispelling myths that recycling doesn’t work.
“When we retrain folks on recycling, I often ask them, do you feel like you’ve been lied to? Because now, it’s totally different,” Bruckner said. “When recycling came about, there was a market for it.”
As plastic production and consumption rose exponentially in the United States, China enacted a policy banning the import of plastic waste.
“They bought our garbage,” Bruckner said. “And they don’t want it anymore. There’s just too much. The phrase has always been, ‘reduce, reuse and recycle.’ We tend to forget those first two.”
Campus dining is a key partner. The faculty/staff appreciation lunch earlier this month, for example, served over 1,000 people — waste free — by using compostable products. Student-led initiatives like Fix-it Friday and clothing swap raise awareness about fast fashion. Fix-it Friday is also looking to add a free bike repair service.
Raising awareness through stunning documentaries
Another partnership is with the Center for Math, Science and Technology, which co-presents the Green Screen Film Series.
Tuesday’s screening of “The Human Scale” projects that by 2050, 80% of the human population will live in megacities. This is seen already in Asia as families leave agrarian communities in search of economic opportunity. As those cities expand, they’ve largely approached urban design around cars, similar to American cities.
“We have cars and the high-rise, penthouse apartment being the symbol of ‘making it’ or being successful,” said Bruckner, adding that wealthy, urban lifestyles also perpetuate the idea of a disposable income. “That has dangers as it relates to the amount we consume—and then discard.”
“The Sacrifice Zone,” shown on Oct. 17, profiles a Newark neighborhood densely populated by people of color and immigrants who live dangerously close to toxic waste. The film follows an activist who is trying to break generations of environmental racism. And “The Story of Plastic,” on Nov. 14, follows plastic from its point of origin in the oil and gas industry to unmanageable mountains of single-use plastic waste.
“What we’ve lost is the sense that we’re all a part of the same community, even if we live in separate areas,” said Bruckner. “I think that’s something we see really clearly with climate change. It doesn’t affect us, so we don’t really think about it. But I think a lot of the movement, and a lot of the things we like to tell people is that you do have an impact. The things you choose to consume—the way in which you choose certain sustainable options—does affect everyone.”
The Green Screen Film Series continues at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19 at the Normal Theater, 209 W. North St. Screenings are free and open to the public. cemast.illinoisstate.edu/community/green-film-series.
