In particular, this year’s festival showcased three films that our panel of organizers felt had a significant impact on our audiences. As tradition calls for, we award three major awards at the end of each year’s festival, and this year’s candidates did not disappoint.

Home-grown The Clean Bin Project, a feature film about an everyday couple and their journey to answer the question “is it possible to live completely waste free?” picked up this year’s Best Canadian Documentary Award: “The film depicts a year’s journey as partners Jen and Grant go head-to-head in a competition to see who can swear off consumerism and produce the least landfill garbage in an entire year. This film presents the serious topic of waste reduction with optimism, humour, and inspiration for individual action.”

The award for Best Documentary went to Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson. This film was a crowd pleaser, igniting a sold-out house. It tells the story of a man on a mission to save the planet and its oceans: “The film follows “professional radical ecologist” Paul Watson as he repeatedly flouts the law so that he may apprehend what he sees as the more serious law-breakers: the illegal poachers of the world.”

The Projecting Change Award goes to the film that we feel truly encompasses the philosophy behind our festival. Director Susan Edwards’ Marion Stoddart: The Work of 1000 was this year’s award recipient: “The film details the parallel journey of two characters: one, a young woman discouraged at her future as a suburban housewife, the other, a river – once beautiful and teeming with wildlife – now a hopeless, toxic sludge pit. The basis of this documentary lies in the fact that acclaimed environmental pioneer Stoddart took on and singlehandedly accomplished a huge goal – cleaning up the Nasua River.”

To spice up this year’s festival we ran a contest through social media where we asked our friends and followers to submit a 60 second video documenting how they project change in their everyday lives. We received some inspiring entries – everything from locals creating international movements to one little boy who projects change through being a positive and loving human being in his daily life. The winner of our contest, who also received a $1000 cash prize and the premiere of their video at our closing gala film screening, was the brilliant and hilarious Fair Trade Gangsta Rap video created by the SFU chapter of Fair Trade Vancouver.

Congratulations to the minds behind all of these amazing films! To our audience, we hope you enjoyed each and every one, and if you haven’t gotten the chance to check them out, we highly encourage you to do so. Each film we handpicked for this year’s festival is a beacon for change and hope, and we hope it will inspire a passion within you to fulfill your own goals of projecting change in this world.

– Marisa Woodham (@MarisaWoodham)

I’ve seen Andrea speak at a number of different events from The Great Turning Unconference to a recent encounter at Epic The Vancouver Sun Sustainable Living Expo – she has been a continual force and inspiration driving Vancouvers Green initiatives.

If you didn’t know that as a Vancouverite you can boast that you live in the city with the smallest carbon footprint in North America, or that we (Vancouverites) are considered leaders in green building planning and technology than you should definitely check out some more info on the Greenest City 2020. Vancouver is heading towards green greatness with a goal to be the greenest city in the world by 2020.

Once again, incredibly proud to be a Vancouverite!

Rebecca – @rebeccaapeel

Tom is a carbon finance and clean-tech IT entrepreneur. He works on emission reduction and renewable energy projects, recently founding Habitat Carbon Assets. In addition to his work with Habitat Carbon, Tom also works with Green Angel Energy. Hopefully I managed to ask the right questions to get us all informed on what clean tech is and how we can get involved – checkout the interview!
 

 

Q: Tell us about your work with Habitat Carbon?

Habitat Carbon has developed software that allows anyone who is installing clean technology – technology that reduces energy, reduces carbon, or produces renewable energy – to find out exactly what incentives they can get and to secure those incentives.

90% of clean technology installations rely heavily on incentives. 60% of people aren’t properly accessing the incentives – like solar or carbon credits – they are able to get. With the computing power and data mining available today, we think its a no brainer to use software to solve that problem.

Q: How does Habitat Carbon contribute to positive shift in Vancouver’s green initiatives?

Vancouver is doing a ton of positive things to reduce carbon and reduce energy usage in the city and is trying to become the greenest city in the world in a few years. That work is going to require the help of incentives like tax incentives, carbon offsets, and renewable energy credits. We aren’t working with the City yet, but its possible they could use our software to optimize their carbon and energy incentives to accelerate more of the carbon and energy reducing work they are already doing.

Q: How can an event like the Projecting Change Film Festival affect climate change?

I think the most important thing about projecting change is that it is really inspirational. For years I have been supporting the festival and bringing friends to it. Fighting climate change is hard – it is the biggest issue we face. Keeping the energy up of those fighting it, and keeping a community inspired is incredibly important. Projecting Change does that better than anything else in Vancouver in my opinion.

Q: GreenAngel Energy?

My work with GreenAngel Energy stems from my work with Habitat Carbon. Habitat is one of the six companies that Green Angel has invested in, I become a shareholder of Green Angel as part of that transaction. We are working with Green Angel to find promising companies in BC that are commercializing technology that reduces energy or carbon. Early stage, Angel style, investing in technology companies is key to new crazy ideas getting off the ground growing into the game changing solutions we need to combat climate change.

Q: What is the biggest challenge Vancouver faces in fighting climate change?

We’re in a fortunate position to act as a leader but being a leader is never easy. Vancouver must work hard to show the world what’s possible in terms of the technologies that we can commercialize to help fight climate change and reduce energy and carbon. This also means political commitment to policies to clean energy, cap and trade, and carbon taxation. Because Vancouver operates in the context of BC, it means the Premier must step up in the ways that Mayor Robinson is and Premier Campbell did. Our biggest challenge will be staying the course of commitment to being a leader, even though that might seem scary and hard to do.

Q: What action can individuals take to get involved with clean technology and organizations like Habitat Carbon?

The best ways to get involved are investing in clean tech start-ups, starting clean tech start-ups (or related impact focused ventures), or setting/supporting the right types of policy. Depending on who you are, pick one of these. If we want real results, we as individuals must commit our resources – time or money – to real change. Carrying cloth bags is good, but bigger commitment is being demanded of all of us by the planet at this point. Habitat is working with a number of local clean technology and a few clean tech investment funds to give them access to the maximum potential incentives they can get to make their work more profitable and more doable. GreenAngel allows anyone with $5000 they want to put into clean tech to invest in a basket of 6 promising clean tech start-ups that are all based in BC. This is huge, before GreenAngel, non-”accredited” investors, those with under a million in liquid capital or a very large annual income, could not invest directly in early stage clean tech companies.

Find out more about clean technology, GreenAngel Energy http://greenangelenergy.ca/, and Habitat Carbon Assets http://habitatcarbon.com/ and how to turn your carbon and energy reductions into revenue.

If you find clean tech and energy efficiency interesting you’ll want to be in attendance at the Projecting Change 2011 premier of Powerful: Energy For Everyone. http://projectingchange.ca/schedule/powerful-energy-for-everyone-2/ After the film Power Plant Vancouver http://www.powerplantvancouver.com/ will be hosting guest speakers and clean technology conversations.

Rebecca – @rebeccaapeel

Enter to win 2 free tickets to Powerful: Energy For Everyone by tweeting the following: 

I just entered to WIN 2 tickets to Powerful Energy For Everyone @pcffVancouver http://ow.ly/4WTyx ^A #pcff2011 RT to ENTER

Throughout Karen’s career as an avid planet fighter she has led projects related to northern B.C. pipelines, gas development and climate change policy. Karen moved to Ecojustice to use direct legal means to effect real and positive change.

Karen has a B.A. (with Distinction) from the University of Western Ontario, LL.B. from Dalhousie University in Halifax and an LL.M. (with Merit) from the University of London (England). I’m feeling pretty good about how she has chosen to apply her skills, check out our video interview for some inspiring stories.

Q: How is Ecojustice Projecting Change?

Ecojustice uses the law to protect and restore the environment. We hold people, corporations and governments accountable. We‘re a team of lawyers and scientists, not lobbyists, sustained by a staff seeking the long-term protection and health of our rich and diverse environment. Ecojustice also partners with other environmental NGOs in Canada and the United States. And we offer our legal services free of charge to citizens and community groups to ensure equal access to environmental justice. Our tactics are intended to set legal precedents and strengthen environmental laws. We provide the legal teeth to environmental ideals.

Learn more about Ecojustice

Q:What role does a film festival like Projecting Change play?

Awareness before action. I was on the Projecting Change website and they said it best: “Watch, engage, act.” Action is sometimes limited until people see up close the bonds that link climate change and energy. Projecting Change Film Festival is an opportunity to flip the switch in someone’s head. Sometimes it takes a story that inspires. Inspiration has many forms — one is film.

Q: How does the film White Water, Black Gold relate to Ecojustice’s work?

Ecojustice has five key priorities: access to environmental justice, climate change and energy; environmental health; the marine environment; biodiversity and health. The filmmakers in White Water, Black Gold say they’re going to follow a drop of water from Mount Snow Dome at the border of British Columbia and Alberta to the tar sands near Lake Athabasca. It winds through all of our priorities along that journey.

Two issues, in particular, speak to Ecojustice’s past and present.

The film’s trailer shows an image of birds stuck in tailing ponds and talks about the irreparable damage to wildlife. On June 25, 2010, Syncrude was found guilty of failing to take adequate measures to prevent the death of more than 1,600 ducks that died after landing in a tailings pond north of Fort McMurray. Syncrude on Oct. 22, 2010, agreed to pay more than $3-million in fines, the largest in Canadian history for an environmental offence. That was a major victory for the environment and Ecojustice, which pursued the case until the government took over the prosecution. The victory confirmed the need to eliminate toxic tailing ponds and revealed the risks they pose.

More info about Syncrude victory

The film also examines the impact of oil pipelines on communities and the environment. One of our ongoing cases involves a plan to ask the National Energy Board and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency to scrap the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline. If completed, the pipeline will snake its way from the Alberta tar sands to the B.C. coast, pumping more than a half a million barrels of oil per day. It will affect everything and everyone, including Alberta and B.C. waterways, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and the territory of at least 40 First Nations and Aboriginal communities.

Recently, a pipeline in northern Alberta’s boreal forest spat 28,000 barrels of crude oil into a wetland near Peace River. It’s the worst spill in that province in 35 years. And it happened just miles from the nearest homes. Ecojustice is hoping to spare B.C.’s coastline, and any land and water the pipeline might traverse, a similar fate.

More info about Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline

Q: How is Ecojustice able to achieve its goals?

Our work is possible only with the support of our donors—concerned individuals and foundations. As an independent organization, we rely 100% on their funding. Remove their gifts and there are no Ecojustice victories for the environment, no outreach campaigns, no workshops and no investigations. To fulfil our role as stewards of the earth, preserving and safeguarding the environment, we need their help.

To learn more about the imperative work Ecojustice does please visit their website http://www.ecojustice.ca. Be sure to checkout their delightful and informative Stop Soot Campaign, including one of my personal favorite social media for social change tools – an auto-generated letter to Harper! I absolutely love organizations that make it easier to take action – Am I possibly a lazy activist (?).

If you are in the position to, support Ecojustice financially you can do so here. Sign up for the Ecojustice Newsletter to stay up to speed on the latest Ecojustice news.

Rebecca @rebeccaapeel

Jeremy is projecting change all over the place. In addition to co-founding a work space for local change-makers to collaborate (Hive), he is a Director with Sustainability Solutions Group. Jeremy uses his skill sets as an urban planner, public facilitator and green building expert to create innovative sustainable solutions to climate change which are employed across Canada and internationally. Sitting down to play Q&A (question and answer) with Jeremy was a blast–check out the video & highlights below!

Q: Tell me about your work with Sustainability Solutions Group?

Sustainability Solutions Group is a workers’ cooperative. It’s different from the typical business model in that it is a flat job complex. We have 6 directors working across Canada and 25 associate members who we draw on for specific projects. They don’t work with us full-time but, when we need an economist we have an economist, when we need an engineer we have an engineer – it’s great to be able to draw on these resources for specific projects.

Q: Tell us about some of Sustainability Solutions Group’s more recent projects… I hear you guys are winning some awards?

Sustainability Solutions Group works on a variety of different sustainability projects across Canada, some of the things we are most proud of are our green building work, our work with university campuses and our work with local governments. One of our recent green building projects, the new Vancouver Convention Centre, was a $1 billion+ project and is winning architectural awards around the world. We are also doing green building projects for BC housing, which are socially assisted projects, which we hope will have an impact on poverty levels in Vancouver’s downtown east side.

Our campus work has mostly been out East in Ontario and Quebec. It has transformed the way university campuses think about sustainability in their curriculum their operations and their buildings, multiple campuses and everything they do, that is really inspiring to us and to the students and the faculty who work there.

For local communities we do a lot of green house gas emissions land use planning with them trying to meet their commitments for the provincial legislation on green house gas emissions and climate change targets. Working with local communities is really rewarding because we can see how our work really impacts their land use plans and how they are going to plan for the future and meet and tackle climate change problems.

Q: How does the power of film effect social change?

Video is the mainstay of modern communications, it really inspires you and makes information stick with you. Film is a very powerful median for portraying any sort of message. Nothing captures inspiration and emotion and messages the way video does. Projecting Change Film Festival really captures that in a fantastic way with its documentary style and appeal to a broad audience.

Q: Tell us about the Hive Vancouver? (I really want to work there).

The Hive is Vancouver’s up and coming sustainability and creativity co-working space. It will be home to non-profit organizations, small businesses, social entrepreneurs and independent contractors all working in creative and sustainable industries. The Hive will provide individuals with the capacity to have a fantastic working space, networking opportunities, and access to knowledge, capital and resources that will help make their world changing ideas into realities.

Interested in checking out the Hive for yourself? We’re hosting Projecting Change Through Social Media at The Hive on May 17. Limited tickets so get them early! TICKETS

- Rebecca @rebeccaapeel

Being a new writer/photographer in the social development scene, when Rebecca asked me to write a post on the event, I jumped at the chance.

I’ve been working a lot with Fair Trade Vancouver recently – an incredible organization. Fair Trade Vancouver will be responsible for putting on one of the largest pavilions at Epic Expo. Each year, Fair Trade steals the show with their ever-growing network of support. Be sure to check them out at the Vancouver Fair Trade Pavilion, which will feature some of the best business and organizations in the community. You’ll be able to see me there Saturday and Sunday where I’ll be providing information on Fair Trade and snapping photos of all the wonderful people and activities. Check out some of the photos from the Epic Expo and Fair Trade Vancouver mothers day event we hosted yesterday.

Check out all the pics from Fair Trade Vancouver’s “Epic” Mothers Day

While I’m at the Expo, you can be sure that I’ll stop by the Projecting Change booth where I’ll kick back and enjoy some of the new films that are screening for the 2011 Projecting Change Film Festival, AND I’ll also be sure to get a snapshot done in the projecting change photo booth. In addition to setting up a minnie movie theater Projecting Change will have a photo booth set up with old school movie props & a fun dress up bin – can’t wait to see the pictures!

At the event, there will be over 300 exhibitors ideas, entertainment, and shopping from the leading names in sustainable development. Discover which companies are leading the change in sustainable consumer goods and producing earth-friendly products without compromising style or function. Learn how to make sound choices when shopping for products and services that are better for the environment. Buy directly from the producers of these sustainable products and services and learn what makes them different. Hear leading experts on the EPIC Main Stage and learn how simple choices in your day-to-day life can make a big impact on the environment, your community and your health. See Vancouver’s top chefs create local, sustainable cuisine and sample some of the best foods and beverages in the world.

Also, make sure to see the event’s featured speakers , which include: George Stroumboulopoulos – Canadian journalism icon and host of the hit current events show “The Hour” (recently renamed ‘George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight’), which has earned 9 Gemini awards. Richard Louv – Author of the smash success book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, Richard will launch the Canadian tour of his brand new book The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and The End of Nature-Deficit Disorder at EPIC.

EPIC will be held in the NEW Vancouver Convention Centre West building.
1055 Canada Place
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Phone: 604.689.8232
Toll-free: 1.866.785.8232 (North America only)
Fax: 604.647.7232
Email: info@epicexpo.com
Friday May 13 1pm – 8pm
Saturday May 14 11am – 7pm
Sunday May 15 11am – 5pm

Buy tickets online https://tickets.epicexpo.com/ and save $3!

Hope to see you down there!

-Bryce @BryceTarling

Since high school Tim has been busily projecting change, completing graduate research on China’s climate change foreign policy, working for the European Union (EU), as well as both the federal and provincial governments of Canada. Tim’s work with DesSmogBlog is an inspiration of positive individual effort towards calling out planet killing zombies and assisting the average joe (me) in better understanding the false propaganda surrounding climate change. When I originally conjured the idea to interview environmental & social issues experts as a ramp up to the 2011 Projecting Change Film Festival Tim was the first person I thought of – details below!

Q: What is the importance of an event like the Projecting Change Film Festival for an issue like climate change?

The Projecting Change Film Festival is about engaging with citizens on green issues and promoting sustainable living. Climate change affects us every day and is the most important issue humanity has ever faced. Through powerful films and speakers, this event has tremendous potential to make people more aware of climate change. Ideally, individuals will take an interest and be motivated to make a difference producing positive change. This year’s festival is very exciting because through the use of social media like Facebook and Twitter, the event and its green and sustainable message will reach more people than ever before.

Q: What makes Vancouver special when it comes to fighting against climate change?

Vancouver is special because it has so many initiatives in place to reduce its environmental footprint and fight against climate change. Some of these very important programs include mandated carbon reductions, energy-use reductions, improvements in water use, the growth in recycling programs, the massive expansion in bike lanes and public transport, the city’s sustainability mandate or the city’s goal to become the world’s greenest city by 2020 http://vancouver.ca/greenestcity/. Vancouver is unique and is an example for other cities trying to incorporate green and sustainability principles.

Q: What is the key to Vancouver’s success in communicating climate change?

The scale of the challenge we face in reducing our carbon emissions and environmental impacts is daunting. Importantly, the city of Vancouver has not been shy about communicating the climate change issue to the public. The approach is to engage with the public at events and through municipal programs. As well, strong communication strategies help to show the public that their ideas are being directly incoprorated into climate action plans. All of this means that the public is a well-informed partner and stakeholder when it comes to addressing climate change. Reaching consensus and working together is a key to Vancouver success in fighting against the dangers and impacts of climate chance.

Q: How does Vancouver fight through climate relations smog?

A major reason for the difficulty in communicating climate change is the fact that there are powerful dirty energy interests who pay a lot of money to confuse politicians and the public on the issue. Nationally in the U.S. and in Canada, people like the Koch Brothers and companies like Exxon Mobil have been highly effective in convincing some politicians not to act on climate change. Media campaigns by industry have frequently tried to say that human’s influence on the climate is still debatable. This is not true, but a large portion of the public is still unsure.

Thankfully, polluting industries do not have the same influence in a city like Vancouver. It is important to remember that cities and regions are where the worst effects of climate change are taking place. Cities and regions will also have to adapt to the consequences from climate change. Pretending that everything is fine is not going to be helpful for a coastal city. Citizens and politicians see the need to protect the environment and have worked together in this. Decision-makers do not have to convince Vancouverites of the need to protect their environment since they are surrounded by mountains, forests and the ocean.

Q: Why is Vancouver more successful than other places when it comes to climate action?

Part of what makes the city of Vancouver so effective in dealing with climate change and reducing carbon emissions is that on an ongoing basis, the city has taken a proactive approach to learn about climate change and has been relying on the advice from top scientists and experts to inform policy decisions. In practice, what this means is that mayors, city councilors and staff feel confident in the difficult choices they have to make because they are supported by the latest science.

Rather than get caught up in a political debate about whether or not climate change is happening and who is causing it, the city is figuring out what is the best way to deal with the issue. The city is working to reduce its carbon footprint and continues to be highly successful in these efforts.

For a long time now, Vancouver has taken a leadership role when it comes to climate action and recently, the World Wildlife Fund rightfully named Vancouver the top Canadian city when it comes to fighting against climate change.

Q: What is the biggest challenge Vancouver faces in terms of dealing with climate change?

While it is hard to choose one thing above all others, linking is a very important challenge. The city of Vancouver is part of the Greater Vancouver region which is full of municipalities with rapidly expanding populations. When it comes to reducing the city of Vancouver’s carbon footprint, any actions it takes will ideally be copied elsewhere. The challenge here is to make this happen. Deciding where to zone development is very important. This means that the city of Vancouver must work hard to get buy-in from communities like Burnaby, Richmond and Surrey. A project like the Evergreen Skytrain expansion from Vancouver into Surrey is a tremendous way to reduce carbon emissions; however, deciding how to share costs is still a major concern.

To stay up to speed on the plethora of missinformation campaigns on global warming I urge you to take a look through the work of DesSmogBlog. Tim and DesSmog are working hard to put the information out there, all we have to do is read it – and of course take action where and when we can! If you wan’t to get up to speed on some local planet fighters come down and join myself and the Projecting Change Social Media team tomorrow at The Great Turning – an Unconference with an exceptional list of speakers.

Planet fighters unite!

-Rebecca @rebeccaapeel