After people see the new global warming movie, Open Your Eyes and See, they'll want to buy a bunch of squiggly light bulbs, a metal thermos and an electric car - at least that's the hope.
The movie, produced and filmed by Pius XII Grade 8 students, was premiered to an audience of students, parents, friends and city leaders on June 4 at Science North.
Director of education Catherine McCullough was so struck by it, she ordered a DVD for every school in the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.
The project was launched when McCullough invited school principal Louisa Bianchin to take part in the Entrepreneurial Adventure Program, which teaches students entrepreneurial skills.
Bianchin knew exactly what class to approach, the one led by Paul Mailloux.
The flamboyant teacher rallied his students, who decided to make a movie on one of two topics - health and fitness or global warming. They enlisted the help of professional videographer Marc Poirier.
"People thought (global warming) would be a hot topic and convey a message," said student Skyler Slywchuk, who wrote the script, co-directed the movie and played a lead role.
The movie follows a group of students as they interview 13 local experts on the subject.
Each expert weighs in on the issue. Science North scientist Franco Mariotti tells the students global warming is happening because of human activities. Mayor John Rodriguez says the city is trying to get people out of their vehicles and into public transit. And Father Tony Bigwood alerts them to the fact that Pope Benedict XVI has named pollution a deadly sin.
The students said they loved working on the project.
The biggest surprise for Slywchuk was "how major it was - how professional we had to be."
Sarah Armstrong, who plays Bernice, said she'll keep the teachings close to her heart.
Dr. David Pearson of Science North congratulated the students for their months-long endeavour.
"Congratulations, you did something," he said. "Don't be afraid, now that you've done what you've done, to tell people to do other things."
And then he shared an astounding fact. Since your teacher was born about 30 years ago, he said, the average annual air temperature in Sudbury has gone up by one degree. To put that nugget into perspective, he said the temperature has only gone up by five degrees over the last 10,000 years. "One degree is not to be sneezed at," he said. "It's an indication of the rate of change of our planet. By 2050, winter will be 90 days shorter."
Forty-six years ago, he said, President John Kennedy told the world the U.S. would put a man on the moon before the decade was out.
"If you put a man on the moon," Pearson said, "surely you can develop a car that doesn't run on gasoline."
To learn more, go to: nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/com/eneene/effeff-eng.php or climateprojectcanada.org or zerofootprint.net
