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Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

Funding provided by:
Life Saves the Planet

Regenerating Life: a New Look at the Climate Crisis

In partnership with:
Date and time
Wednesday, September 27, 2023

As many interconnected climate crises escalate, we are challenged to see what we have overlooked in our understanding of the causes - and of what the best path forward might be. John Feldman’s film, Regenerating Life, proposes that it is humankind's destruction of nature that has been a primary cause of the climate crisis and that it is in nature we find crucial solutions. Feldman traveled widely to meet people who are working on solutions, innovative ways to repair the damage done to our extraordinary home. By working with nature, they are restoring the forests, fields, wetlands, and oceans, and are regenerating soils to grow healthy food and build healthy communities.

John Feldman is joined in conversation by environmental journalist and author Judith D. Schwartz whose books also present leading scientists and regenerative practitioners.

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John Feldman’s career spans over 40 years and covers a wide range of genres, from independent dramatic feature films and documentaries, to experimental, educational, and business films. His films have won numerous international awards. Feldman’s current film Regenerating Life looks at the climate crisis from an ecological perspective. Prior to this he made Symbiotic Earth (2018), a documentary about the maverick scientist Lynn Margulis, which combines his lifelong passions for filmmaking and the natural sciences. Since 2005 he has focused on making documentaries in the arts and sciences including EVO: Ten Questions Everyone Should Ask about Evolution (2011, CINE Golden Eagle; Parents Choice Award); Energy and You: Renewable Resources and Innovative Solutions (2009, commissioned by San Diego County Office of Education); The Little Plant that Could IS BACK (2013, about a community-based hydroelectric plant); and video portraits of Jessye Norman, Ming Cho Lee, Helen Frankenthaler, and Merce Cunningham (2007, commissioned for the Nelson A. Rockefeller Awards). His earlier feature fiction films include Alligator Eyes (1990, first prize at the San Sebastian International Film Festival), Dead Funny (1995), and Who the Hell is Bobby Roos? (2002, “New American Cinema Award” at Seattle International Film Festival).
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Judith D. Schwartz is an author who tells stories to explore and illuminate scientific concepts and cultural nuance. She takes a clear-eyed look at global environmental, economic, and social challenges, and finds insights and solutions in natural systems. She writes for numerous publications, including The American Prospect, The Guardian, Discover, Scientific American, and YaleE360. Her latest book, “The Reindeer Chronicles”, is a global tour of earth repair, featuring stops in Norway, Spain, Hawai’i, New Mexico, and beyond. Judy has a B.A. from Brown University, an M.S.J. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern. She lives and works on the side of a mountain in Vermont with her husband, author Tony Eprile, and cherishes visits from their musician son, Brendan. When it snows, she cross-country skis, and when ski season is over, she’s in the garden. Three times a week she trains in Uechi-Ryu karate, and has reached the rank of shodan. Whatever she’s doing, she will stop to listen to the song of the hermit thrush.

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