Jan 6, 2016
Check the prices at gas pumps. Do we NEED to extract Tar Sands,
the dirtiest, hardest-to-refine, lowest value, Carbon-belching
petroleum squeezin' on the planet?
But we are, and St. Louis filmmaker Caitlin Zera has documented
issues with transporting it, across Missouri on the 593 mile
route called the Flanagan South Pipeline. It's run by Canadian
fossil fuel delivery giant Enbridge, the folks behind
a 2010 oil dump into the Kalamazoo River. Zera and her
crew traveled the Flanagan Pipeline's route through Missouri,
interviewing landowners, small-town civic officials, and
environmental advocates about the process and permitting (or
lax of it) associated with this pipeline - which typify
tar sands pipelines anywhere. One of her goals in making this film
is raising public awareness about tar sands pipelines and what
actions we can take in the face of this petroleum-based bum
deal.
From the Pipeline will be featured in five free local
January screenings with Q & A, January 12 through 26, as part of
the ongoing STL Eco Film Festival, a collaborative of local
faith-based environmental groups. Find details and view a
segment of the film at www.fromthepipelineproject.com.
Zera returns to Earthworms tonight with this major film focus. We
had the pleasure of
talking with her in 2013 about her short
feature End
of Line, a quirkly, loving portrait of two men and
their devotion to typewriters. She works now (when not directing
and producing) at the Missouri Coalition for the Environment,
coordinating membership and events for this regional
enviro-advocate organization. Thanks, Caitlin, for your perceptive,
articulate, diligent efforts!
Music: Hunter's Permit by Mr. Sun - recorded live at KDHX-St. Louis