Read about the bill (AB 711) details and follow the status at California Legislative Information.

4/16/2013 motion: ”Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations”.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — In November, one of the oldest condors in Central California died from lead poisoning after being found with tiny bullet fragments and a .22-caliber slug in his gullet that he apparently swallowed with a mouthful of meat.

Anna Emma and the Condors DVD. A portrait of a family as they work together to save and reintroduce the Californian condors back in to the wild

The 9-year-old giant was one of the earliest released in a condor recovery program along the Big Sur coast. His death — and the recent death of a golden eagle near Sacramento — are being highlighted by health and environmental groups who want California to become the first state to impose a statewide ban on the use of lead bullets for hunting.
While supporters say the future recovery of the prehistoric birds hangs in the balance, that issue alone hasn’t been enough to get statewide lead bullet bans in the past.
Now health-care advocates are taking a different tack, arguing that lead bullet fragments in game such as venison are neurotoxins that can harm children and developing fetuses.

“There is no safe level of lead for human consumption,” said state Assemblyman Anthony Rendon, whose closely watched lead bullet ban bill was passed this month by the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.

Although hunting with lead bullets already is prohibited in eight counties with endangered California condors, the bill would make the ban statewide. About two dozen states have partial bans, mostly in sensitive wildlife refuges.

The National Rifle Association and other gun advocates strongly oppose banning lead bullets throughout California, saying it is a slippery slope that would lead to gun controls and end hunting in the Golden State.

They argue that hunters who abandon lead and turn to harder bullets such as copper or tungsten could technically be in violation of federal regulations barring armor piercing ammunition.
“We have regulatory uncertainty,” said Ryan Bronson of the National Shooting Sports Foundation in Minnesota, who opposes the bill and notes that 95 percent of bullets use lead slugs. “The potential exists for a de facto ammunition ban.”

The Parish family tests a condor for lead poisoning while working for the Peregrine Fund’s Condor Project for the at Vermillion Cliffs, AZ.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that nationwide there are 400,000 pieces of lead shot per acre in wild game territory that can be eaten or washed into waterways, and that the 60,000 metric tons of lead fired off in 2012 is second largest use of lead behind storage batteries.

While fewer than 1 percent of Californians hold hunting licenses, their advocates point out that the money from those licenses funds a host of wildlife protection programs.
Lead ban opponents acknowledge that some individual animals may die after accidentally ingesting bullet fragments. But they said that, with the exception of the condors, there is no study showing significant overall reductions in wildlife populations from lead poisoning. ”Not for doves. Not for eagles. Not for loons,” Ryan told the committee shortly before the wildlife committee passed the bill 9-5. It next goes to the appropriations committee then the Democrat-controlled legislature.

Those in favor of a ban say meat that contains lead fragments simply is not safe. “This isn’t just about the health of the wildlife population,” said Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield, D-Woodland Hills, who voted for the measure. “It’s about the health of the human population and the health of the environment.”

A 2008 study by the Centers for Disease Control and the North Dakota Department of Public Health concluded with a recommendation that lead is so prevalent in meat harvested through hunting that pregnant women and children should never eat it. Gun supporters say that those studies have never conclusively linked consumption with illness in humans.

Lead is by far the leading cause of death for the remaining 234 California condors in the wild, which live in California, Baja California, Arizona and Utah. U.S. Fish and Wildlife records show the mature male that died in November was found inland from Big Sur on a ranch near Pinnacles National Park in southern San Benito County. Eight others are in wildlife hospitals, three with confirmed lead poisoning, federal officials say.

Anna Emma and the Condors, by Katja Torneman, is the 2013 winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in childrens video. 20 mins. Awarded by the American Library Association. DVD is available for purchase.

“Ground squirrels and coyotes are typically shot and left in the field, so it seems logical that there is a high potential for scavenger lead poisoning in areas with this type of shooting compared to other areas,” said Kelly Sorenson of the Ventana Wildlife Society, which runs the Big Sur recovery program and gives away lead-free bullets.

Critics say the continuing problems with lead poisoning in California’s condor territory show that lead bullet bans there don’t work — and neither would a statewide ban.
Supports of the bill — including the Audubon California, the Humane Society of the United States and the Defenders of Wildlife — say it closes an important loophole that condor experts believe could be the reason that condors continue to be poisoned: it would require ranchers and farmers — who shoot wild pigs, coyotes and other varmints that don’t require hunting permits— also to use lead-free bullets.

“There are gaps in the prohibition with depredation being one and private ranching being another,” said John McCamman, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service condor coordinator. “And the other thing that nobody talks about is the poaching that goes on, and they probably don’t care that there’s a lead prohibition.”

Set in the foothills of the Appalachians, this film explores one man’s vision of using green burials to conserve land. Dr. Billy Campbell, the town’s only physician, and his efforts have radically changed our understanding of burials in the United States. Dr. Campbell’s dream is to conserve one million acres of land. Dying Green focuses on the revolutionary idea of using our own death to fund land conservation and create wildlife preserves.

26 mins

Produced and Directed by Ellen Tripler

BUY DVD

Dying Green in the News
VIDEO: Six Feet Under Can Be Green for Eternity
PBS NewsHour host, Hari Sreenivasan interviews Dr. Billy Campbell and filmmaker, Ellen Tripler on the documentary.

Dying Green to appear late 2013 in the PBS Series Natural Heroes

Awards
Student Oscar: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 39th Annual Student Academy Awards competition
Bronze medal prize in the documentary category at the College Television Awards.

Environmental issues with conventional burial

Each year, 22,500 cemeteries across the United States bury approximately:[2]

30 million board feet (70,000 m3) of hardwood caskets
90,272 tons of steel caskets
14,000 tons of steel vaults
2,700 tons of copper and bronze caskets
1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete vaults
827,060 US gallons (3,130 m3) of embalming fluid, which usually includes formaldehyde.[3]
When formaldehyde is used for embalming, it breaks down, and the chemicals released into the ground after burial and ensuing decomposition are inert. The problems with the use of formaldehyde and its constituent components in natural burial are the exposure of mortuary workers to it[4] and the destruction of the decomposer microbes necessary for breakdown of the body in the soil.[5]

Video productions that receive the Andrew Carnegie Medal meet criteria that include the following: 

they show respect for a child’s intelligence and imagination, and reflect and encourage children’s interests; they take advantage of the special techniques of the medium, including visuals, voices, music, language, and sound effects; and, if adaptations of materials originally produced in other mediums, they remain true to, expand, or complement the work.

In a world of climate change and environmental challenges, two sisters, Anna and Emma and their companions, the California Condors, stand out as a beacon of hope. Their father, Chris Parish is the director of the Condor Project for the Peregrine Fund at Vermillion Cliffs. Their mother, Ellen Parish is a teacher and leader for the organization Roots and Shoots, founded by Jane Goodall. Together, the family work together to save and reintroduce the Californian condors back in to the wild

Learning of and from the condors, as well as their parents, Anna and Emma’s lives are unique in their growing understanding that if we do not take care of the life surrounding us, we will in the end face the possibility if our own extinction. The California Condors have shown us the very beauty of life itself. As long as they soar the sky, there will always be a hope for the future.

Producer Katja Torneman is a 2011 graduate of the Zaki Gordon Institute for Independent Filmmaking (ZGI) in Arizona. Anna, Emma and the Condors was her thesis film project. This award demonstrates that filmmakers attending the various schools for getting quality direction in documentary filmmaking can produce works that stand side by side with well known production houses and seasoned producers.

CREDITS:
Produced and Directed by: Katja Torneman

Region: All Regions
DVD Release Date: 2012
20 min.

AWARDS/FESTIVALS
Best Picture Zaki Gordon FIlm Institute Film festival 2011
Best Student Film Flagstaff Mountain International Film Festival 2011
Honorable mentioning for best conservation message Cine International Film festival 2011 Missoula
Official selection for Wild and Scenic International Film festival 2012 CA.
Invited and Official Selection of Environmental Film festival at Nations Capital March 2012 WA DC
Invited and official selection at Madeira Film Festival March 2012 Portugal
Invited and official selection on Sedona International Film festival Feb 2012
Invited and official selection at EcoFocus film festival Marsh 2012 Georgia
Official selection at International Wildlife Film Festival Missoula 2012
The Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival (DREFF) 2012 Audience Award Winner

REVIEWS
School Library Journal August 2012
Viewers will be captivated by this charming and gorgeously photographed look at the llife of an environmental biologist and his family as they work to save the California Condor.
Geri Diorio, Ridgefield Library, CT

I just love your film – I love it on its own, and I love it for our festival. You’ve done a fantastic job.
Sara Beresford
Festival Director & Programmer, EcoFocus Film Festival

A lovely well shot film that helps us to understand the plight of the Condor.
Sedona International Film Festival 2012

January 28, 2013 press release from the ALA announcing the 2013 Andrew Carnegie Medal awarded to Anna, Emma, and the Condors.

SEE PREVIEW / BUY DVD
http://greenplanetfilms.org/product_info.php?products_id=819

PURCHASE:
$89 Educational Institutions
$49 Public Libraries

Show Me the Way was created to raise awareness about the value of MENTORING — in keeping students in high school and ensuring that they go to college.

“Show Me the Way” shares the stories of five urban high school kids with very diverse needs and backgrounds as they navigate the challenges of home and school life while utilizing the dedication of a Mentor. We watch as these young people attempt to realize their dreams via partnership, education and very hard work. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also shares his story, and points out the difficulties facing children today all across the U.S.

There are three versions of Show Me the Way, all available for use:

FEATURE LENGTH VERSION:
72 MINUTE VERSION: with complete in-depth personal stories and interviews.
56 MINUTE VERSION:
PBS Version. The basics. For public screenings where time is limited.
30 MINUTE VERSION:
Condensed version. For classroom use, youth screenings and short presentations.

All 3 versions are available on one DVD and all have SPANISH and ENGLISH subtitles

Use the DVD to educate people about the importance of MENTORING. Use it to encourage your friends and colleagues to become Mentors. Use it to show children that help is available if they need it.

WHO can use Show Me the Way?
PARENTS Is your child struggling in school? Having problems with friends? Not enough support to succeed?
STUDENTS Is peer pressure or lack of support causing you to fall behind in school? Could you use an extra boost to help you graduate from high school? Are you considering dropping out of school?
TEACHERS AND COUNSELORS Do you have students who could use extra attention to achieve their goals? Not enough resources to provide for their needs?
COMMUNITY LEADERS Are there youth in your community that need extra guidance and a helping hand?

WHAT can you use Show Me the Way for?
COMMUNITY AWARENESS Use the movie to build awareness within your community about a proven solution for youth success: Mentoring.
GANG PREVENTION PROGRAMS Show young people and their parents Mentoring in action – and show them how Mentoring works.
PTA MEETINGS If you let parents know that help is available, and teach them that success is possible, they can better help their children to become productive citizens – and they may even become Mentors themselves.
EXISTING MENTORING PROGRAMS Use the movie for educating people about the benefits of Mentoring. This will assist in Mentor recruitment, student recruitment and fundraising.

You can also watch Show Me the Way in your own home, to educate yourself and your family on this important solution to our nation’s incredibly high dropout rate.

“Dropping out of high school is no longer an option.
It’s not just quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on your country.”
President Barack Obama

Commissioned by
Fulfillment Fund: Empowing Youth Through Education
http://www.fulfillment.org/

Produced and Directed by Sheila A. Laffey & William Gazecki
Associate Producer: Timothy Kitz

POV’s website has a compilation of features from around the Internet that explore environmental legislation, events and other milestones of the last 100 years.

The list includes

70 Years of Environmental Change
This visual timeline from The New York Times covers key environmental events and news stories under the last 13 presidencies.

Earth Days: Modern Environmental Movement
This American Experience timeline covers the American environmental movement post-World War II.

Environmental History Timeline
Probably the oldest timeline in the POV roundup (it was first published online in 1996!), this independent project produced by an American scholar at Radford University details the history of environmentalism from the rise of civilization in Babylon to the 21st century.

Milestones in Environmental Protection
This Infoplease timeline offers a comprehensive listing of government and non-governmental organizations’ attempts at preserving the environment from as early as 1849.

Organization Histories

The Greenpeace Book: Greenpeace History
In 1970, a handful of U.S. expatriates and Canadian ecology activists set sail off the coast of Alaska, in a boat named “Greenpeace,” to investigate underground nuclear testing on the island of Amchitka.

History: Sierra Club Timeline
This list is comprised of events from the beginning of the Sierra Club’s formation in 1892 under the guidance of naturalist John Muir to the present time.

Wikipedia: “Timeline of Earth Liberation Front Actions”
Although this article is unverified and disputed by Wikipedia editors, it is an interesting compendium of the guerilla group’s acts of eco-sabotage over the past 14 years.

The Future of Forests

The Guardian: The World’s 10 Most Threatened Forests
A slideshow depicts the world’s most at-risk rainforests and describes their ecosystems, the economies of surrounding villages and endangered animals that inhabit them.

Recommended forest films are GREEN set in Indonesia, and ALMA, set in Brazil.

Peter Proctor is New Zealand’s father of biodynamic agriculture. Peter has been making compost for over 65 years. “Biodymanics makes organics work.”

Compost is the fundamental element in all gardening & farming. This master class takes you through the compost making process from gathering and assembling your materials to creating the perfect compost heap.

Rudolf Steiner believed biodynamic compoast was the foundation of humanity and the vital link between the cosmos and the earth.

The DVD is designed to go with e-book Biodynamics in the Home Garden, written by Peter Proctor. Biodynamics in the Home Garden contains lists and photos and is the point-by-point guide every home gardener needs.

Running Time: 24 Minutes

Produced by: Cloud South Films

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEA
Brian and Nicole try to solve an educational riddle at their computer. When they hit their escape key, they are taken on a magical journey through vegetation zones on a Hawaiian mountain where they discover why Hawaii harbors such a rich diversity of life. The DVD includes footage of rare Hawaiian plants and animals.
Year Completed:  1992 [Reissue] (2012) DVD
Length (mins):  18:30

WE ALL NEED THE FOREST
Engaging drama of a Hawaiian boy discovering ancient principles of nature and life after meeting the Spirit of the Forest, resulting in the healing of his ailing tutu (grandfather).
Year Completed:  1989 [Reissue] (2012) DVD
Length (mins):  18:30

Walden, a short legacy film, was inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s classic book, Walden:  Or, Life in the Woods. Stunningly filmed by Rick Cardin at the height of New England’s fall foliage season, Walden is one of the first films to capture the magical sense of place that inspired Thoreau.

Through the selection of quotes, images and a soulful score by legendary musicians this film gem suggests the major themes of Thoreau’s work: the reflection of the  universal in the tiniest leaf or pebble, the connectedness of all things, the quest for eternal truths and the search for a way of living in harmony in the world.

Walden is an excellent resource for classroom discussion on a variety of subjects.

Director/producer : Sheila A. Laffey
Co-producer/cinematographer:  Rick Cardin
Associate producer/editor: Douglas S. Clapp
Narrator: John D. Ogden
Composers/musicians: Bruce Langhorne, Gordy Ryan and Al Schackman

© 1981, 2012 re-mastered on DVD

10 minutes (plus 8:25 minute bonus video)
Includes bonus video – Scoring Walden with the film’s composers

Vegucated is a feature-length documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks. There’s Brian, the bacon-loving bachelor who eats out all the time, Ellen, the single mom who prefers comedy to cooking, and Tesla, the college student who avoids vegetables and bans beans. They have no idea that so much more than steak is at stake and that the fate of the world may fall on their plates. Lured with true tales of weight lost and health regained, they begin to uncover hidden sides of animal agriculture and soon start to wonder whether solutions offered in films like Food, Inc. go far enough. Before long, they find themselves risking everything to expose an industry they supported just weeks before.

But can their conviction carry them when times get tough? What about on family vacations fraught with skeptical step-dads, carnivorous cousins, and breakfast buffets?

CREDITS
Marisa Miller Wolfson, Writer/Director/Editor
Mary Max, Executive Producer
Frank Mataska, Producer
Demetrius Bagley, Producer
Sara Leavitt, Editor

2011
76 minutes

“Chemerical” explores the life cycle of everyday household cleaners and hygiene products to prove that, thanks to our clean obsession, we are drowning in sea of toxicity.

The film is at once humorous, as we watch the Goode family try to turn a new leaf by creating and living in a toxic free home, and informative, as director Andrew Nisker works with many experts to give audiences the tools and inspiration to live toxic free.

Chemerical tackles “the toxic debate” in a truly informative and entertaining way, not only by raising awareness, but most importantly by providing simple solutions.

Topics covered: chemicals used in cleaning, make your own, detoxify.
Run time: 75 min. | Canada | Language: English | Director: Andrew Nisker

“Filled with humor, scientific facts and music, makes a profound impact.”
- School Library Journal