Student videos debut on PBS

Author: Kate Siegner

"A Cleaner Tomorrow." "Baking with Solar Energy." "Algae Fuels the Future." These titles accompany three of the videos that have been uploaded to Planet Forward, the new social networking video site devoted to publicizing issues related to climate change and clean energy. Frank Sesno '77 created the Web site and is hosting a national PBS special on April 15 that will showcase the project and include clips from selected videos. Sesno is a strong advocate for expanding the dialogue on renewable energy so that larger sectors of the population will have access to information as well as a forum in which to discuss new and innovative ideas.

"In this age of citizen journalism, we are inviting all Americans to join the debate, offer opinions and let their voices be heard," said Sesno in a press release on the Middlebury College Web site.

In particular, Sesno has expressed interest in having students become involved with the project; he has made several trips to the College, where he has attended a meeting of the Sunday Night Group, the largest environmental group on campus, and spoken with the head of the Film and Media Culture department about encouraging Middlebury students to submit videos.

Students have responded enthusiastically to Sesno's encouragement, and have already produced five videos that have appeared on Planet Forward. Two of them, "Going Under" and "Choose Earth," were selected to appear on PBS. "Choose Earth," created by Leslie Stonebraker '09, features the new biomass plant on campus. A clip from Stonebraker's film will appear in the opening of the channel's special, and she, along with the creators of "Going Under," flew to Washington D.C., to be in the audience for the show's filming.

Stonebraker, a film and media culture major, had been hired by Facilities Services to document the opening of the biomass plant which launched on Feb. 19, so when she was presented with the opportunity to make a film for Planet Forward, she jumped at the chance. Stonebraker feels her film is important because the College is "on the forefront" of the green movement and yet "lots of people here are unaware." For example, when she talked to friends about her film, many did not even know there was a biomass plant on campus. "Choose Earth" is therefore about spreading awareness.

Matt Vaughan '09, who co-produced the chalkboard stop-motion animation "Think Hydrogen" with Michaela O'Connor '11, also hopes to educate the public about his cause - using hydrogen gas for energy "in the most simple way possible."

Vaughan is a physics major interested in applying physics to green engineering, and used his thesis as inspiration for the video. After participating in Power Shift from Feb. 28 to March 2, he realized "there's a real hunger for knowledge" and that "people want to get involved but don't know how."

Vaughan sees Planet Forward as an opportunity for people to learn, and highlights the "differing views" that the Web site presents.

Planet Forward has the potential to be a successful organizing force in the green movement, since it is open to such a diverse array of people and opinions. In the words of Bill McKibben, scholar-in-residence in Environmental Studies, who was interviewed in the film "A Message from Bill McKibben" by Middlebury students Alex Consalvo '09 and Evan Griswold '09, it's time to "stop worrying about light bulbs and start worrying about organizing."