Come See Merchants of Doubt and After Coal

merchantsOn Tuesday, October 20 at 6 p.m. the local chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby presents Merchants of Doubt as part of the WV International Fall Film Festival. The documentary draws parallels between early public relations campaigns in defense of the tobacco industry, and the ongoing PR orchestration of climate change denial. This film will rock your world!

CCL’s Jim Probst will lead the post-screening discussion. At the La Belle Theater, 311 D. St., South Charleston, WV. While most other screenings

This film is presented free thanks to CCL. Most other films screened during the festival have ticket prices of $8 for regular admission or $5 for students. You can also purchase a ticket six-pack for $30.

On Wednesday, October 21, also at 6 p.m., WVIFF screens After Coal, followed by a discussion session with director Tom Hansell and panel. This film looks at what happens when fossil fuels run out by profiling inspiring individuals who are building a new future in the coalfields of eastern Kentucky and South Wales. This hour-long documentary brings viewers to
the front lines of the transition away from fossil fuels. The stories of coalfield residents who must abandon traditional livelihoods will certainly resonate here.
The WVIFF begins on Friday, October 16 and runs through Sunday, October 25. See the full schedule of films here.

Update:

This Letter to the Editor was published in the Charleston Gazette on Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Letter: We are being duped by ‘merchants of doubt’

We are being duped by ‘merchants of doubt’

Editor:

For decades now, we — the public — have been duped into doubt and inaction and it has cost us the health and lives of many people. I learned this watching the movie, “Merchants of Doubt,” which will be shown for free today at 6 p.m. at La Belle Theater in South Charleston, as part of the West Virginia International Film Festival.

The movie exposes campaigns of lies about tobacco, CFCs, acid rain, and global warming. I have personal experience with being attacked by one of these doubt mongers. In June, 2014, I submitted an announcement to the Daily Mail about a Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) meeting. Two days later (June 6, 2014), the Daily Mail published a letter from Tom Harris, “War on coal driven by deceptive language.”

Harris, of Ottawa, Canada, attacked my invitation to those “concerned about carbon in the atmosphere,” claimed that my word choice was a form of propaganda, and went on with his assertions against the certainty of every published, peer-reviewed climate scientist. That’s right — in the movie we learn that 100 percent of these scientists agree about global warming.

Harris’s organization, Climate Science Coalition, is part of the Heartland Institute, which is one of these “merchants of doubt.” Jim Probst, Director of Citizens Climate Lobby in West Virginia sums it up: “They never prove anything; they just insert doubt into the conversation.” I encourage journalists, editors, and the public to see the film “Merchants of Doubt” at LaBelle Theater, as it will arm us to see through the deception and move into action.

Becky Park

(an active member of CCL and OVEC)

 

 

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