KAMLOOPS – Are you wondering how the recent collapse in oil prices will affect Canada? Can our economy survive without a booming oil and gas sector? The next selection in Kamloops’ newest community film series will shed some light on those questions. The award-winning* documentary The Future of Energy: Lateral Power to the People will be shown Wednesday, Feb. 25 at the Thompson Rivers University Alumni Theatre (Clocktower Building). Doors open at 6:30 p.m., the film starts at 7 p.m., and it will be followed by a panel discussion and question period. Admission is by donation.

The Sierra Club B.C. and the Kamloops Chapter of the BCSEA are co-hosting the film, which presents a fresh look at renewable energy technologies, how fast they're being adopted, and what happens in a society where energy is produced on every rooftop. After the film, local energy experts will share their insights and answer questions. Confirmed panelists are Dr. Michael Mehta, Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at TRU and co-founder of the alternative energy non-profit society GabEnergy; Ben Giudici, former TRU faculty member and principal director at Riverside Energy Systems; and Larissa Stendie, climate and energy campaigner at Sierra Club B.C.

Sierra Club B.C. is featuring the film as part of their “The Future is HERE! 2015 Alternatives Tour,” which will make stops in several other B.C. communities, including Merritt.  Showcasing local innovators, The Future is HERE! will explore how we can build resilient communities in the context of climate change.

“Powerful vested interests would like us to believe we have no alternative but to extract and burn tar sands oil and fracked gas,” said Sierra Club B.C. Campaigns Director Caitlyn Vernon. “Yet more Canadians now work in clean energy than are employed in the tar sands and renewable energy is becoming cost-competitive with fossil fuels and other traditional energy sources.

“Shifting away from fossil fuels is not an abstract idea for the future; it has already begun. In communities across B.C., individuals, businesses, and organizations are already building sustainable alternatives that enhance our local energy and food security, expand our transportation options, strengthen local decision-making, and provide jobs.”

This is the second film in the new series, entitled Films for Change ('cause a change is gonna do us good.) The series is sponsored by the TRU Sustainability Office and features a film on the last Wednesday of every month, hosted by a local non-profit each time, and followed by a facilitated discussion.

For questions about the event, please contact BCSEA at kamloops@bcsea.org. The B.C. Sustainable Energy Association is a non-profit organization that works with British Columbians to build a clean, renewable energy future. To learn more about it, please visit www.bcsea.org.

* Awards: in 2014 The Future of Energy received ‘Official Selection’ at Dances Films, California; Buffalo-Niagara Film Festival, New York; and Transitions Film Festival, Australia.

News from © iNFOnews, 2015