Documentaries are a difficult medium to make interesting but this one-hour film kept my attention. One aspect that made it more fun for me personally is that it focused on things happening in the Southeast, including East Tennessee, where I once worked for an environmental non-profit. I even saw two friends interviewed in the movie.
In fact, it covered the topic that first got me involved in coal-fire power plant issues: air-pollution in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Smoky Mountains are the most visited National Park in America and it's also the most polluted park, largely due to coal power plants in the area built by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
There are few things I love more than hiking in the Smoky Mountains. I would go at least every other weekend when I lived in Knoxville. Every summer, the Park releases warnings on bad air days when the pollution reaches levels that present a health threat to anyone with respiratory problems.
I took particular notice of this because I have asthma. What I came to realize during the time I lived there is that, despite my severe allergies, the things that aggravate my asthma the most are indoor and man-made pollutants. The Smoky Mountains are the most biologically diverse area in the United States but it was the air pollution that made me sneeze and wheeze more than any pollens or natural allergens.
There are now two kinds of smoke visitors may now see when they visit the Smoky Mountains. One is a natural, low-lying blue smoke that most often appears after a rainfall. This is how the mountains earned their name.
I took the picture below during a hike on a rainy day when you could see the low-level blue smoke that is natural to the area.
Today, visitors are more likely to see an unnatural haze that limits visibility in the park. I took the next picture of Mt. Cammerer on a day without a cloud in the sky. The Mountains in the background on the left half of the picture should be clearly visible but you can hardly make them out because of the polluted haze.
Unfortunately, many people visit the park each year without realizing that the yellow haze blocking their view is pollution, not natural smoke.
This is what first drew my attention to the problems of coal power plants in 2002 and I've become even more involved in the issue since learning more about the global warming problems they cause as well.
TVA is a big part of the problem, but they're also helping to find a solution. Living in Knoxville is when I first learned about the concept of green energy buy-in programs that allow utility customers to pay more to ensure that a portion, or all, of their energy comes from clean, renewable sources. The extra money paid helps to fund the purchase and development of more renewable energy, such as wind.
TVA has had a green pricing program for several years and soon CWLP will have one due to the agreement with the Sierra Club.
Those were the parts of the film that stuck out for me personally, but there were other interesting ideas and concepts that make it worth watching. After the movie there was an informal group discussion, mostly with UIS SAGE students, that I enjoyed. I always have fun when I find an excuse to visit SAGE.
Something interesting I didn't know that came out of the discussion is that one of the new buildings at UIS will meet the LEED Silver standard. I don't know if any other buildings in Springfield have done that yet, so that's exciting news.
The next (and last) film in the festival will be Too Hot Not To Handle on Wednesday, February 28 at Noon in the Lincoln Library Carnegie Room.