April 4, 2012 by Mark.

This review was recently written up by author Mat Stein, who wrote “When Technology Fails” among other books. Definitely worth a read.

Mark Dixon and Ben Evans have produced an outstanding piece of environmental filmmaking. The challenges facing our planet can often seem overwhelming, and many environmental films fail to either inspire or excite by using the standard formula of telling us how bad things are followed by some glimmer of hope that if we could only manage to make a few real changes then the future of our world would not be so dim and catastrophic—hardly a recipe for excitement and engagement! YERT serves up a banquet of comedy, education, and inspiration as they travel to all 50 states under self-imposed “rules” that crank up the entertainment factor. Along the way they meet with environmental shakers and movers like Bill MCKibben, and other lesser known but equally inspiring folks, with a few sprinkles of the outrageous and quirky to add spice to the mix. Highly recommended!

By Matthew Stein, P.E., Author of When Disaster Strikes: A Comprehensive Guide to Emergency Planning and Crisis Survival and When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency. http://www.matstein.com & http://www.whentechfails.com

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April 2, 2012 by Mark.

Friends of Mark’s have started a fun video series all about climate change. Please do check it out. Then DO SOMETHING!!

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March 30, 2012 by Mark.

Dear YERTians,

In honor of Earth Day on April 22 and Climate Impacts Day on May 5, YERT is offering five (5!) free (resalable) DVD’s with every screening license purchased now through May 5. We want you to screen YERT to help us all bring a positive attitude to the planetary challenges we face, and Earth Day and Climate Impacts Day provide opportunities to creatively organize people to do just that.

Click here to buy a YERT screening and receive five additional free YERT DVD’s!

On May 5, 2012, 350.org is encouraging citizens around the world to host events to “connect the dots between climate change and extreme weather.” We at YERT think that a great way to do that is with the YERT film — tackling climate change head-on with powerful quotes from Bill McKibben and David Orr — spiced-up with funny, inspiring, YERTy stories from the frontiers of sustainability. Even climate change deniers admit to enjoying YERT!

Host a fun, conversation-starting YERT screening with one stop to our online store.

So whether you want to plan events for Earth Day, Earth Week, Earth Month, or Climate Impacts Day (or any day!), we’d like to help you make it more fun - and more affordable. If you find buyers for each of your five YERT DVD’s, you’ll earn $100 to offset some or all of your screening license fees. If you can’t find buyers, you’re welcome to give away the YERT DVD’s to eager moviegoers.

Questions? Feel free to write to us directly at team@yert.com. We can’t wait to hear about the events you’ll plan!

YERTfully Yours,
Ben, Mark, and Julie
team@yert.com

P.S. After purchasing a YERT screening, click here to officially register your Climate Impact Day event at 350.org’s special site: http://www.climatedots.org/.

SPECIAL OFFER DETAILS: All standard screening licenses purchased from http://yert.com/screenings.php between the dates of March 30, 2012 and May 5, 2012 will have five additional free YERT film DVD’s included with the purchase - for a total of six (6) DVD’s. Actual screening date may occur at any time, even after May 5, so long as the purchase is made during the special offer period.

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March 18, 2012 by Mark.

Dear YERTians,

YERT’s West Coast Tour is moving into its final days with a flurry of Bay Area screenings, big news from the San Luis Obispo Int’l Film Festival, and much more…

• Upcoming Screenings in Berkeley, Stanford, Sebastopol, Davis, and Santa Cruz, CA
• Screening TODAY at Charlotte Film Festival, NC
• Audience Award at San Luis Obispo Int’l Film Festival
• New YERT Educational Cut Coming Soon!
• Majora Carter Endorses YERT

Upcoming Screenings in Berkeley, Stanford, Sebastopol, Davis, and Santa Cruz, CA

Our current West Coast Tour tally? 3,800 miles traveled, screenings completed at 14 locations for 1100+ people, with just 7 screenings to go before we return home. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, sparking a new batch of screening requests across the country. We’ll be spending the next 8 days in the San Francisco Bay Area, and you can find all of those screenings here. Please grab blurbs and pics from our online press kit to share with friends and family.

SCREENING in Berkeley, CA on Thursday, 3/15, at 7pm
The Ecology Center in Berkeley, featured in the YERT film, is hosting this screening. Mark Dixon (Producer) will be there for Q&A. [Facebook event link here] (Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave, near Dwight Way, Berkeley, CA)

SCREENING at Stanford University, CA on Friday, 3/16, 9pm
Both YERT filmmakers, Mark and Ben, attended Stanford during the 90’s and sang in an all-male a-cappella group called “The Stanford Fleet Street Singers,” so we’re absolutely THRILLED to see the film screen at Stanford on Friday. Come on by if you want to see extra-goofy Q&A. Mark (Producer) will be there in-person, and Ben (Director) will be beaming in from Louisville. [Facebook event link here] (Stanford University, Arrillaga Family Dining Commons [map])

SCREENING in Sebastopol, CA on Monday, 3/19, 6:30pm
We’ll have a few special guests at this screening - Raven Gray, co-founder and President of Transition US, and Carolyne Stayton, executive director of Transition US, will both be in attendance to see themselves featured in the YERT film! Mark Dixon will be there for Q&A, too. [Facebook event link here] (The Sebastopol Grange Hall, 6000 Sebastopol Road [Hwy. 12 just east of the Chevron Station], Sebastopol, CA)

SCREENING in Davis, CA on Tuesday, 3/20, 7pm
Cool Davis is hosting this screening of YERT, and Mark Dixon (Producer) will be there for a reception before the screening (starting at 6:15pm), and Q&A after the screening. Please be sure to RSVP here: http://cooldavisyert.eventbrite.com/. [Facebook event link here] (Veterans Memorial Center Theater, Davis, CA)

SCREENING in Santa Cruz, CA on Wednesday, 3/21, 6pm
The YERT film features ocean researcher and scientific rock star, Wallace J. Nichols, who will be in attendance at this screening event! Mark Dixon (Producer) will be there, too. Tickets are $5 in advance. Please call 831-423-7200 to reserve. [Facebook event link here] (Greenspace, 1122 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, CA)

Additional Screenings:
(click here for detailed calendar and new screenings updated daily)

3/13 - Charlotte, NC (Charlotte Film Festival - Ben will be there on Southeast TOUR)
3/15 - Berkeley, CA (TOUR)
3/18 - Presidio Sustainable MBA Program, SF, CA (Private Screening on TOUR)
3/19 - Sebastopol, CA (TOUR)
3/20 - Davis, CA (TOUR)
3/21 - Athens, GA (EcoFocus Film Festival - Ben will be there on Southeast TOUR)
3/21 - Santa Cruz, CA (TOUR)
3/25 - Denver, CO (TOUR)
3/27 - Concord, NH
3/30 - Concord, NH
3/30 - YERT’s UK Premiere at Botanic Gardens Edinburgh
4/10 - Ashland, OH (Ashland University)
4/17 - Buffalo Niagara Film Festival, NY
4/19 - Newton, NJ
4/19 - Medford, MA (Tufts)
4/22 - Providence, RI (Providence College)
4/25 - San Diego, CA (SD State University)
4/27 - Cape Cod, MA
5/18 - Reel Earth Film Festival, New Zealand

Screening TODAY at Charlotte Film Festival, NC
Ben is currently hanging out in Charlotte, NC for the Charlotte Film Festival. YERT screens there tonight at 8:15pm, and we’ve learned that we have been nominated for Best Documentary! You can find more information here. Tickets are $10.

Audience Award at San Luis Obispo Int’l Film Festival

YERT’s latest award showed up on Saturday at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival (SLOIFF), where YERT received the Audience Award in the feature documentary category! We had two filled screenings and plenty of questions after each one, not to mention tons of enthusiastic compliments, so we knew that audiences were enjoying the film, but you never know until the very end if the votes add up to an award. We’re honored to receive it, and hope that it helps us get the word out about what is possible if we dedicate ourselves to a thriving, sustainable future.

New YERT Educational Cut Coming Soon!
We’re happy to announce that we are very close to finishing a short version of the YERT film that will be handy for teachers and professors to screen during a single class period. Ben has been making progress in the editing cave, carving the film down to a duration of 68 minutes, and we’re looking to get it into the 50 minute range. We’ve added it as an option on our screening request form, so let us know if you’re interested!

Majora Carter Endorses YERT
Majora Carter offered her support for the YERT film recently, and we’re delighted to share this quote with you:

“With YERT, the journey to discover what is possible will take you on an amusing and informative detour.” -Majora Carter

If you don’t know who she is, check out this legendary TED talk, in which she describes her environmental justice work in the Bronx.

That’s all for now, folks! We’re sending daily updates on our Facebook page if this just isn’t enough for you.

Enjoy the spring temperatures!

Cheers,
Mark, Ben, and Julie
team@yert.com

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February 26, 2012 by Mark.

Dear YERTians,

YERT’s West Coast Tour is in full swing, with screenings scheduled or complete in over 21 cities. This week we have an update about some awesome upcoming screenings, and a quick review of the ones we’ve completed.

• Upcoming Screenings in Vancouver (BC), Bellingham, Bainbridge, and Seattle
• Glowing YERT Review in Huffington Post
• Standing Ovation at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
• Great Screenings in Madison, Minneapolis, and Fargo
• The New, More Challenging Garbage Challenge

Upcoming Screenings in Vancouver (BC), Bellingham, Bainbridge, and Seattle

We’ve now traveled over 2,500 miles and screened at six locations for 700+ people, with over 15 screenings remaining before we call this “West Coast Tour” complete. Basically, we’re just getting started, and having a blast the whole way. We’ve even sold enough DVD’s along the away to pay for our travel expenses to-date. Woohoo! Don’t forget to take a look at our growing tour schedule here, and feel free to grab blurbs and pics from our online press kit to share with friends and family.

SCREENING in Vancouver, BC, CANADA on Sunday, 2/26, at 3pm
Village Vancouver, the local Transition initiative, is hosting the event. Their schedule is so full of sustainability events up there that we could barely squeeze in! But squeeze in we have, and we look forward to meeting those individuals who make up the green powerhouse that is Vancouver. Mark Dixon (YERT Producer) will be there for discussion during and after the film, and will be staying a couple extra days to soak up all the green activity they have around town. Contact him if you’d like to hang out! mark@yert.com. [Facebook event link here] (Langara College room A130, West 49th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada)

SCREENING in Bellingham, WA on Wednesday, 2/29, 7pm
The very first “on the street” interview filmed for YERT was with Atul Deshmane, CEO of Whole Energy, who has been supporting the project with thoughts, words, deeds, and donations ever since. We’re honored that he’s hosting this YERT screening in his home town. [Facebook event link here] (Limelight Theater, 1416 Cornwall Avenue, Bellingham, WA)

SCREENING on Bainbridge Island on Thursday, 3/1, 7pm
We’ve been building up to this screening event for years! Bainbridge Island is the home of so many YERT friends we can barely count. David and Fran Korten, Kat Gjovik, Sustainable Bainbridge, the entire staff at Yes! Magazine, and friends from previous jobs around the world– have somehow converged on Bainbridge Island, and YERT can’t wait to join them for a big screening event with pre and post receptions. [Facebook event link here] (Historic Lynwood Theater, 4569 Lynwood Center Road Northeast, Bainbridge Isle, WA 98110-2238)

SCREENING in Seattle on Friday, 3/2, 7pm
With the help of some of our Bainbridge friends, we’ve squeezed onto the weekly screening calendar of the Meaningful Movies Project in Seattle. We’re thrilled to be included in their program! This event is co-sponsored by the Bainbridge Graduate Institute, a groundbreaking sustainable MBA program in Seattle. [Facebook event link here] (Keystone Congregational United Church of Christ, 5019 Keystone Place N., Seattle)

Additional Screenings:
(click here for detailed calendar and new screenings updated daily)
2/29 - Pittsburgh, PA
2/29 - Bellingham, WA (TOUR)
3/1 - Bainbridge Island, WA (TOUR)
3/2 - Gainesville, FL (Cinema Verde Environmental Film & Arts Festival)
3/2 - Seattle, WA (TOUR)
3/3 - Portland, OR (TOUR)
3/3 - Louisville, KY (Film excerpts + Director Q&A)
3/9 - San Luis Obispo, CA (SLOIFF Film Fest on TOUR)
3/10 - San Luis Obispo, CA (SLOIFF Film Fest on TOUR)
3/13 - Charlotte, NC (Charlotte Film Festival - Ben will be there on Southeast TOUR)
3/15 - Berkeley, CA (TOUR)
3/18 - Presidio Sustainable MBA Program, SF, CA (Private Screening on TOUR)
3/19 - Sebastopol, CA (TOUR)
3/20 - Davis, CA (TOUR)
3/21 - Athens, GA (EcoFocus Film Festival - Ben will be there on Southeast TOUR)
3/21 - Santa Cruz, CA (TOUR)
3/25 - Denver, CO (TOUR)
3/27 - Concord, NH
3/30 - Concord, NH
3/30 - YERT’s UK Premiere at Botanic Gardens Edinburgh

Glowing YERT Review in Huffington Post
With a title like this, what’s there not to love? “Beyond Hope: Groundbreaking Environmental Road Trip Film Takes Climate Change Solutions Back Home.” Jeff Biggers has gone above and beyond the call of duty to write a thoughtful, eloquent, and ultimately glowing review of the YERT film. It’s almost as nice to read it as it is to see the faces of audience members after they see the film. Here’s a little snippet from the review:

“…the YERT film crew has managed to pull off the impossible in the world of cinema: A deeply absorbing and often hilarious road trip that confronts the badlands of our nation’s spiraling descent into dirty energy darkness, only to emerge along the solar roadways and wind-swept plains into the myriad possibilities for new power and sustainable living.”

Can you help us share the article with friends via Facebook and e-mail? Here’s the link to share: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-biggers/your-environmental-road-trip_b_1280954.html

Standing Ovation at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
We had no idea how much of a YERTy town we would find here in Missoula! From our gracious host, Vicki Watson, to our festival sponsor, The Biomimicry Institute, to the fun, friendly and helpful staff of the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, this entire week has been a blast. It’s difficult to decide what has been more fun to encounter - the long and enthusiastic standing ovation by some 200 audience members at our Big Sky screeining? The fist bump from one of 300 high schoolers who saw our new hour-ish long educational cut? Or the cooing of 50 middle schoolers as I showed them our little fuzzy adopted mascot, Harry the Hairy Eared Dwarf Lemur (originally from the Xeko game), during a very active Q&A session at their school? I suppose we’ll never know. Thank goodness we don’t have to decide.

Great Screenings in Madison, Minneapolis, and Fargo
The West Coast Tour of YERT started out with three fun screenings as we drove west. Ryan, the Director from the awesome Within Reach Movie assembled a double feature for the thoughtful community at Arboretum Co-Housing in Madison, Wisconsin. Ryan and Tina literally rolled out the “green carpet” for our screening at Moss Envy in Minneapolis. And last but far from least, Nicole and David Crutchfield gathered their community together for a screening of YERT at the Historic Fargo Theater. All three screenings ended with lengthy discussions about the film and local sustainable community events and issues. Based on the audience response at these first few screenings, America appears to be ready for such discussion. Perhaps even yearns for it. Pictures below…

(Photo 1 is Arboretum Cohousing, 2 is Moss Envy, and 3 is Fargo!)

The New, More Challenging Garbage Challenge
In the original YERT adventure, we kept our garbage in the car for the whole year, trying to restrict garbage to just one shoebox per month. We estimate that’s about 1/100th of the average American’s garbage. (Know better? Let us know!) For the current West Coast Tour, we’re taking the garbage challenge to a whole new level - all garbage for the entire 50-day tour goes into one small ziplock bag. That bag goes into Mark’s cargo pants pocket. We took a picture of the garbage after 13 days on the road. Take a look at the picture and let us know what you see– the person who guesses the most items correctly during the next week gets a free YERT ChicoBag! (Send guesses to team@yert.com)

(Click to zoom in on the 13 days of garbage shown above.)

Phew! That’s the latest news. Want more? Are you sure? Get the most and fastest updates about the YERT screening and tour schedule on our Facebook page. Next week we’ll also have an update about a new educational (i.e. SHORT) cut of the YERT film that Ben has been feverishly working on– while he also prepares for upcoming Southeast and Northeast YERT screening tours. Good stuff!

Hope to see you soon, somewhere in the country!

Cheers,
Ben, Mark, and Julie
team@yert.com

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February 12, 2012 by Mark.

A big thanks to Arboretum Co-housing in Madison, WI. We had a great “double feature” screening of YERT and Within Reach — a five hour extravaganza of sustainable adventures. It was most fun to hang with Within Reach filmmaker Ryan Mlynarczyk, and also to see that we visit so many similar places but picked mostly different ones to feature in our film. Near-perfect dovetailing! The photo shows everybody who was still there after all 5 hours. We also sold several DVD’s and received a few generous donations, which will help propel us along the road without starving!

We’re currently on the road driving to Minneapolis, MN, for our 4pm screening of YERT at Moss Envy, owned by our friends Tina and Ryan (who we met and filmed on the original YERT road trip). Then we’ll be staying overnight with Tony and Brenda Kvale. Thanks to all of them for helping to get the word out - we can’t wait to see them again in person! (Screening is at 4pm today at Moss Envy, 3056 Excelsior Blvd, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55416)

The road trip is going pretty well so far– and we are doing a new version of the “One Shoebox Garbage Challenge.” We’re now trying to keep the garbage down to ONE CARGO PANTS POCKET. So one pocket of garbage for nearly 2 months of road tripping. I have been trying to coach my road-trip co-traveler, Brendon, on the rules of the road for keeping garbage down to a minimum. He’s done a great job working with them, but his coffee habit ultimately led him to create the very first piece of garbage on the road trip: a raw sugar packet. You can see him owning up to it in the photo below, as he places the paper garbage into the little baggie we’re using to store (we hope) all garbage for the road trip.

More open road ahead. Trying to make the most of the carbon we’re spewing into the atmosphere along the way by having as many screenings as possible all along the way. Check out our spreadsheet here to find upcoming screenings. Tomorrow we’ll be screening in Fargo, ND!

Signing out,
Mark

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