Film fest showcases how far we’ve come

Back in the late 1960s and early ’70s when I was in grade school, there was a big movement toward environmental issues. Up until then pollution ran rampant and was mostly unregulated, and quite frankly most people didn’t really give the condition of the planet a whole lot of thought.

In any major city you would drive by dozens of smoke stacks billowing out stinky toxins. You could see the exhaust fumes coming out of the back of every car on the road. Trash was thrown all over the place and, even here around our city of Golden, things were getting to be a mess.

Lookout Mountain became a favorite dumping ground for stolen cars. People would drive them up there and push them off the edge of one of the curves on the north side of the mountain. At least a dozen wrecks were strewn down the mountainside toward Clear Creek. People used to spraypaint their names and other graffiti all over the rocks by the side of the road heading up into the mountains. And there were still pipes pouring raw sewage into our streams and rivers in neighboring mountain towns.

But, during the course of the 1970s, a lot of that got cleaned up and regulated, and there was a very strong effort to be more conscious of how we treat our environment. It became a cause that most Americans embraced.

This was accomplished by heightening our awareness of just how bad things were getting. The use of television to get the message out was kind of new but very effective. It was an era that gave birth to the new documentary genre of environmental films. Up until then, few people knew about all the little hidden problems going on around the world that were rapidly turning the planet into an absolute dump.

Well, things have improved on a lot of fronts and, as a result, the air we breathe is cleaner, our water is protected and the land we love has to endure considerably less abuse. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that things still fall through the cracks. Whether it’s by blatant disregard, ignorance, greed or accident we are still having problems that need to be addressed. And the only way that’s going to happen is by raising awareness among people. It’s still these dedicated filmmakers who bring to light so many environmental situations.

But watching those films has become totally different from what it used to be. They don’t always get television air time, they are often posted somewhere on the Internet that may or may not get hits, and the media in general has changed enough to overshadow these important films.

That’s why it’s such a good thing to have the 10th annual Colorado Environmental Film Festival (CEFF) happening here in Golden once again. It starts on Thursday, Feb. 18, and runs through Saturday, Feb. 20. Most of it will be at the American Mountaineering Center at 710 10th St. World-class environmental films will be presented in two theaters with representatives from local and national organizations.

The CEFF will screen features, shorts, films by foreign and local filmmakers, films by young filmmakers and films for youth. In addition, it will also have an Eco-Expo running in the AMC exhibition room with booths set up by various environmental organizations. An environmental photography exhibition, speakers and lecturers as well as an electronics recycling station on Saturday also are scheduled.

This is a pretty jam-packed event. You can see the entire schedule and find out a lot more detailed information by visiting www.ceff.org. You can also call 303-885-4598.

Ticket prices range from $ 10 for a single session to $ 40 for the entire weekend, but free admission to all screenings is offered on Community Day, Friday, Feb. 19. Several “after parties” are scheduled at various locations after each day’s screenings.

This is an excellent opportunity to introduce young people to environmental issues and for adults to see what’s happening to the environment all around the world.

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