PVCC to Show An Inconvenient Sequel
Charles Stish, assistant editor
In 2006, Al Gore published An Inconvenient Truth, the documentary which is arguably his most renowned work as it enlightened people worldwide about the horrors of global warming and pollution. Now, eleven years later, the former vice president of the United States has given the world his follow-up documentary An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, where Gore once again tackles the solemn subject of climate change and how humans are causing the problem, but also how they can fix it. Through the support and dedication of the PVCC faculty, PVCC will be the only Virginia school showing the film and only one of three community colleges in the nation to do so.
“As a Climate Reality Leader, I received the offer from ROCO Films to participate in the Campus Screening event of the film. However, all educational institutions (K-12 and Higher Ed) across the country were eligible to participate and Dr. Friedman was supportive of our effort to host the event so I moved forward with it. I was surprised to see that UVA or other educational institutions in Virginia were not participating,” remarked Jennifer Scott, PVCC’s biology lab manager and biology of environment (BIO) 107 instructor.
“I am personally very excited to be showing this film. Similar to the first An Inconvenient Truth, it is a film about climate change, but, different from the first film, it has a message of hope. We already know that climate change is real and the dangers associated with climate change, now what we need to know is that we have the technologies and solutions to address climate change and make a difference to the future. This is the message that Al Gore brings to the film,” said Scott.
Scott noted the additional support she received from her colleagues, the PVCC administration, and Dean of Health and Life Sciences Dr. Jean Chappell, saying, “I feel fortunate to have such a supportive administration of this topic at PVCC.”
As part of the event, the schools screening the film were asked to submit a question to Al Gore for a live Q&A session on Oct. 26. Using this as a teaching opportunity, Scott had her BIO 107 class work in groups and compile questions. The finalized, two-part question was: “Who benefits from climate change and how are they influencing policy? Secondly, how can we de-politicize climate change to get more people to support climate change policies?”
“I decided to use the wall as a backdrop for recording our question to Mr. Gore. So during another class period, several students volunteered to do the chalk drawing, one student volunteered to ask the question and another student asked to do the filming. It was a great experience as an educator to see so many students using their strengths and working together to produce a really nice product,” said Scott. Even though the question was not selected, Scott says she plans on playing the class’ video after the showing.
An Inconvenient Sequel will be shown on Nov. 15 in the Dickinson Theater at 6:30 p.m. A food truck will arrive an hour before the showing so anyone who wants to eat a meal beforehand is welcome to do so. The event will be free on a first-come-first-serve bases, as the Dickinson Theater can hold only 500 occupants. If you are interested, be sure to arrive early to find a good seat and watch Al Gore’s newest film about one of today’s most concerning events. The screening is also sponsored by PVCC’s Horticulture and Environmental Club along with PVCC’s Earth Guardians crew.
