Spring 2023 Update
Greetings! We made it through winter and we have a lot of exciting updates for you. With the newest IPCC report just released, I am more fired-up than ever to distribute this film and spread the word about the importance of climate change activism. Here is a summary of what we have been up to recently…
Strategic Fundraising
Since December, I’ve been working with producer Jessica Daugherty to apply for grants and foundation partnerships. These are long-term partnerships and funding opportunities so we will hear about them in the coming months. Jessica is very passionate about Fracking the System and its potential for massive impact. Quoting her mentor, documentary legend George C. Stoney, she believes “The most important thing about a film is what happens when the lights come up.”
We are also strategizing for an upcoming crowdfunding campaign and a series of fundraising house parties this Spring. If you are connected to companies or owners of beverage companies, restaurants, or retail sellers or service providers who would donate cool raffle prize items, please visit this page and connect us. If you would like to host a fundraiser house party, please let us know.
Our Partners
Fracking the System’s Creative Producer, Doug Blush, wins Academy Award with The Elephant Whisperers
I LOVED The Elephant Whisperers and was rooting for it to win Best Documentary Short at this year’s Oscars. After it won, I was even more pleasantly surprised to see our Creative Producer Doug Blush take the stage. Doug has been a huge support and mentor of Fracking the System, offering many rounds of insightful impact about how to improve the edit. We are so proud of him and the whole team of The Elephant Whispers, available now to watch on Netflix.
New Fiscal Sponsors: DenverFilm and Creative Visions
We are very excited to have not one but TWO new fiscal sponsors. Check out their blurbs in our new web page for our Crew and Partners.
Archival Producer, Susan Johnson
Fifteen years ago, when I was an intern for Jigsaw Productions, I befriended fellow intern Susan Johnson. While seeking an archival producer for Fracking the System, I reached out to Susan after I saw she was the archival producer of Oscar-nominated short documentary The Martha Mitchell Effect (available on Netflix). She has been incredibly helpful in helping us navigate the archival licensing process and we are making great progress in this most important aspect of finishing the film: getting the rights to use the third-party and archival footage. When this step is complete, we will be a lot close to being able to premiere the film.
Starting the Impact Campaign
New Join the Movement Page!
This new page has been a vision in my mind for a long time. This page is the target for the film’s audience to show them the myriad ways they can join the movement and it will serve as a hub to connect the audience to the activist movement. Visit the page and let me know if you have any resources I should add.
Victory! McWhinney-Backed Fracking Project in Loveland Pulls Out, the Other Moves Forward (Westword)
Since the plans for two multi-well fracking sites in Loveland were released a year ago, community members have organized and protested this fracking site with the support of Colorado Rising. Just last week, the developer rescinded their application for the southern pad but is still awaiting approval for a larger multi-well pad to the east. Learn more and get involved here.
Safe and Healthy Colorado submits ballot language for 2024 ballot initiative
The next wave of anti-fracking and climate justice activism is underway! Safe and Healthy Colorado has submitted ballot initiative language to the state election board for approval. Once it is approved, they will be able to begin collecting signatures for the next ballot initiative effort. To support them, sign their Open Letter of Support for a Phase-Out of New Oil & Gas Permits in Colorado by 2030 and a Just Transition to a Clean Renewable Energy Future
The Colorado Financial Institute (CFI) released Clearing the Air: The Real Costs and Benefits of Oil and Gas for Colorado
Some of the findings were that:
“The oil and gas extraction industry, along with the pipeline construction and transportation industries and support industries for oil and gas make up just 1.8% of total wages in the state, 3.4% of total personal income, 3.3% of GDP and less than 1% (0.7%) of total employment.”
“The industry creates significant health, environmental, and other costs that are paid by Coloradans, not the industry. While some serious impacts of oil and gas development are not quantifiable, many are. Pollution emitted by oil and gas operations in Colorado will cause well over $13 billion of damages between 2020 and 2030, based on calculations of the social cost of oil and gas pollution that are set in state law.”
Read more findings from the report here or watch a webinar about this CFI report hosted by 350 Colorado in Spanish or in English.
Follow Our Instagram Account
We have started using social media to engage with and continue to inspire the film’s audience to action. Give us a follow to help us expand our reach. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.