CRUDE Filmmakers Subpoenaed by Chevron

As a film I have supported on this blog by promoting it, to find out this news about CHEVRON going after this filmmaker is very unnerving to say the least. The oil industry is general is on shaky grounds with the BP oil spill, something I have yet to write about on this blog. Please read the following correspondence about how you can support this film against CHEVRON, the 3rd largest corporation in the US.
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Join the fight for the First Amendment rights of the makers of CRUDE and documentary filmmakers everywhere!

As many of you may have seen in the press, the makers of CRUDE were recently served with subpoenas by Chevron, in an effort to gain access to the nearly 600 hours of raw footage accumulated during the making of the film. Our attorneys filed a response, stating that our footage is protected by the journalist’s privilege and forcing us to hand it over to a third party (either Chevron, the plaintiffs’ lawyers, or anyone else) is a violation of our First Amendment rights. A hearing was held on Friday, April 30th in New York. But on Thursday, May 6th, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ruled in Chevron's favor.

We are appealing this decision, as we feel it is a violation of our First Amendment rights and could have a seriously chilling effect on documentary filmmakers and journalists everywhere. We appreciate the incredible outpouring of support from people in the documentary community and allies all over the world, and we hope that this extremely troubling situation will conclude in our favor, but we need your help to put up the fight.

Defending ourselves against Chevron, the third largest corporation in America, is extraordinarily costly. We have set up a Kickstarter page as a way for our supporters to help us raise funds for our defense against Chevron and stand up in favor of the future of documentary filmmaking and investigative journalism.

Please donate whatever you can and pass this email and Kickstarter link on to others who may be interested in supporting the cause. On the Kickstarter page, we are offering signed CRUDE DVDs and posters as well as CRUDE American Apparel T-shirts as small tokens of thanks for your generous support.

In addition to the substantial amount of personal funds Joe Berlinger has already put toward this case, we have set our public funding goal at $20,000 (a small fraction of the total cost) by the end of June. With your pledge, you can play an active role and make a very real difference in what has quite rapidly spiraled into an historic battle for the freedom of the press, the protection of journalists, and the foundation of documentary film.

For more articles on the case, please visit the CRUDE Blog.

Thank you.

-Joe Berlinger & Team CRUDE

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End Paper Receipts

Software Advice is hosting a poll to end paper receipts. Remarkably, 9,600,000 trees are cut down each year just to produce paper receipts. To top that, the amount of CO2 emitted by producing one ton of receipt paper - just one - is equivalent to the amount of exhaust a car emits while driving for an entire year.

Paper receipts are a remnant of the past. With today's electronic alternatives, there is no reason why consumers or retailers need paper receipts. Electronic versions are not only legal and valid, but much more efficient. So what's keeping retailers and consumers from adopting electronic receipts?

The main problem is inertia. There are millions of consumers and retailers, and getting everyone to change their ways isn’t easy. We need strong incentives to move to electronic receipts, primarily monetary. To see a list of potential motivators and take the poll, head to: Please Kill the Paper Receipt

The idea of getting rid of receipts is an interesting one, especially because they are so prevalent in our everyday live. However, in this era of modern technology, the question begs to ask whether or not we really need the paper trail at all?

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Portland Plans to Spend $600 million on Master Bike Plan

Portland, Oregon is leading the nation with a 2030 master bike plan that calls to spend up to $600 MILLION! Talk about a lot of money for bicycles! The more people that get out of their cars, the more livability will improve and hopefully improved air quality.

The city of Portland has already committed to spending $20 million this year for bike boulevards. Portland is taking some cool steps toward making travel via bike more safe and easy. The newly implemented techniques in the video below show how the city is taking steps to improve the experience for cyclists and drivers. The greenest city in America has also installed several "swales" alongside many city streets to filter street water run off, which also double as barriers between pedestrians and auto traffic. Implementations like these are only a few of the strategies Portland has taken to make alternative travel fun and safe for even those who are new to biking in the city. Along with the title of Greenest City in America Portland has claimed the #1 spot for most bicycle friendly city in the nation.

On the Right Track from Mayor Sam Adams on Vimeo.

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Eliminate and Decrease Styrofoam

An email sent to The Environmental Blog to help promote the elimination of styrofoam:

I am a third year biology major at SFU and am currently taking a Conservation Biology Class. We have been assigned a project to make an impact on the environment by invoking a conservation action. I have created an ongoing online petition as my project which is promoting the decrease or elimination of the use of Styrofoam. The process of making Styrofoam is the 5th largest contributor to hazardous waste and it poses serious threats (respiratory and gastrointestinal tract infections, headache, depression) to the makers of the product. Styrofoam is not biodegradable, and a styrofoam cup lasts for 500 years in a landfill before it is completely broken down. As the product is slowly broken down, it releases a harmful monomer called styrene which combines with nitrous oxides to increase greenhouse gases. The petition will be sent to major electronic companies to increase their awareness on the issue and hopefully get them to reduce their use of Styrofoam. I would appreciate your support in this cause with a link to the petition on your website to raise more awareness. Thanks very much for your time, the petition can be found at Help Eliminate Styrofoam Effects on the Environment.

Thanks very much, lets reduce greenhouse gases!

-Kendall Chan

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