A Fierce Green Fire: The Battle for a Living Planet is the first big-picture exploration of the environmental movement – grassroots and global activism spanning fifty years from conservation to climate change. Directed and written by Mark Kitchell, Academy Award-nominated director of Berkeley in the Sixties, and narrated by Robert Redford, Ashley Judd, Van Jones, Isabel Allende and Meryl Streep.

Inspired by the book of the same name by Philip Shabecoff and informed by advisors like Edward O. Wilson, A Fierce Green Fire chronicles the largest movement of the 20th century and one of the keys to the 21st. It brings together all the major parts of environmentalism and connects them. It focuses on activism, people fighting to save their homes, their lives, the future – and succeeding against all odds.

6:30 PM conversation, networking, and a light meal
7:00 PM film screening, followed by a panel discussion

Free to the public, though donations are kindly appreciated.

Rice Media Center is located at 2030 University Blvd, near Stockton and University.

The least expensive University parking is in the lot on the West Side of the stadium. Enter on Greenbriar, drive to the most southeastern spot you can find, then walk along University towards Stockton.

The Woodlands G.R.E.E.N. is sponsoring a Going Green Sustainability Lecture “Texas Forest Pests; Some Old and Some New”. Allen Smith, Forest Health Coordinator for East Texas for the Texas Forest Service, will speak to the group about the common threats to forest health in Texas and the region, as well as updating the group on the new threat to Ash and other tree species from the Emerald Ash Borer. For more information, visit www.thewoodlandsgreen.org/lectures.

Join the Green Building Resource Center in celebrating their tenth year anniversary. Stop by to network and enjoy light refreshments as you catch up with their environmental initiatives and hear from their two new leaders, Paula Paciorek of Houston Public Works and Marissa Aho. This is a free event and is open to the public. Please RSVP Steve.stelzer@houstontx.gov or 832-394-9050.

On April 25, 2019, beginning at at 7 p.m., The Woodlands G.R.E.E.N. is sponsoring a Going Green Sustainability Lecture by Mary Anne Weber, education director for Houston Audubon’s Raptor and Education Center, titled “Enraptured by Raptors: What Would We Do Without Them,” at the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), 8801 Gosling Road, The Woodlands. Weber will discuss the environmental benefits of these magnificent birds and the dangers they face in an urban and suburban setting. For more information, visit thewoodlandsgreen.org.

Environment for the Americas coordinates World Migratory Bird Day in North and South America to increase awareness and promote the conservation of migratory birds that we share across borders. Armand Bayou Nature Center will host a full day celebration dedicated to WMBD, featuring 3 Events for you to choose from.

1. Fun-filled Family Event (12-4 p.m.)
   • Lectures, games, and demos
   • Advance tickets available, no reservation required
2. Guided Morning Birding Hike (7-9 a.m.)
   • 1.5-mile hike
   • Reservations required (limited)
3. Behind The Scenes at the Rookery (9:30-11:30 a.m.)
   • Watch herons, egrets, ibis, spoonbills, and anhingas
   • Reservations required (limited)

Join Houston Renewable Energy for a networking breakfast and discussion highlighting the latest trends in renewable energy development in Texas and around the U.S. The discussion will feature Vice President of the North American Development at Pattern Energy, Cary Kottler.

The AIA Historic Resources committee welcomes Michael Kubo, PhD, Asst. Prof. of architectural history and theory at UofH College of Architecture & Design, to present Concrete & Steel: Reimagining the Modern, Thu, May 30, 6:00pm at Café Brasil. Register here.

This workshop, led by CTRA, will focus on needs and solutions specific to rural recycling centers and options for rural communities to support sustainable programs. For further information visit www.facebook.com/events

Experts are alarmed that climate disruption could collapse our global civilization. In July 2018, U. K. sustainability professor Jem Bendell published the academic paper “Deep Adaptation: A Map for Navigating Climate Tragedy”. In it, he predicts the “near-term collapse in society with serious ramifications for the lives of readers”. He asks us to shift our focus to Deep Adaptation, that is, resilience, relinquishment, restoration and reconciliation.

Our speaker, Tim Mock, will summarize this academic paper.

Citizens took Bendell’s warning seriously. They dowloaded his paper 500,000 times. A growing movement of visionaries have repeated the call to action. In April, David Attenborough said in a special BBC TV program “… if we have not taken dramatic action within the next decade we could face irreversible damage to the natural world and the collapse of our societies. … if we better understand the threat we face, the more likely it is that we can avoid such a catastrophic future.”

In May, Australian experts issued a similar paper “Existential climate-related security risk”. They predict collapse of agriculture in the tropics and a billion climate refugees. They warn that unless we take serious action in the next decade, there’s a good chance society could collapse as soon as 2050.

On May 1, the UK Parliament declared an environmental and climate emergency. On June 14, Pope Francis declared a climate emergency.

The cloud of collapse has a silver lining. Only twice since 1970 have emissions dropped: the 1990 collapse of the Soviet Union and the near-collapse of the global economy in 2008.

The future is calling us to greatness says Reverend Michael Dowd.

Visit their website to register for this event.