Nominated by Edward C. Wolf
Indian renewable energy activist Vinay Jaju and his Dutch compatriot Huub Dekkers cycled 1800 kilometers from Kolkota to New Delhi in early 2009, crossing the coalfields of Jharkhand to ask their countrymen and the world “Why New Coal?” Their 80-minute film tells the story of their human-powered effort “to question India’s dangerous over-reliance on fossil fuels and to highlight alternatives.”
Produced by Jaju and filmmaker Ekta Kothari (co-founders of the grassroots climate action project Switch ON), “Why New Coal?” will premiere in New Delhi at the Indian Youth Summit on Climate Change this July 18-23. Combining footage from their journey and interviews with government officials, coal industry representatives, NGO leaders including Vandana Shiva, and ordinary citizens, the film makes a compelling case that coal offers misery, not prosperity, to hundreds of millions of Indians still living beyond the reach of the country’s power grid.
More than 3.5 billion people – over half the world’s population – are younger than 30 years old. “Why New Coal?” asks the most important question their generation will confront. The possibility of a Bright Green Future hinges on the answer they demand.
Nominator Edward C. Wolf is a board member of Focus the Nation, a US-based organization working to empower young people to accelerate the transition to clean energy.
This piece is part of Worldchanging's Attention Philanthropy campaign. All week long, the Worldchanging Network will be delivering "attention grants" to worthy projects, individuals, resources and more. You can learn more about these gifts of notice and find other entries by clicking here.
Photo credit: Flickr/√oхέƒx™, Creative Commons License.
Information on the 2009 Indian Youth Summit on Climate Change, Badlaav 2009, can be found at this link:
The summit runs from July 18 through July 23. Please visit!
Posted by: Ted Wolf on 9 Jul 09
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