Documentary: On Coal River

In the words from Mother and Director Francine Cavanaugh: We are documentary filmmakers but parents first. I was four months pregnant when we began filming over 6 years ago in Coal River Valley WV. Our first visit was to the local elementary school and we were blown away by its proximity to a large coal facility plant and looming sludge pond. We were also blown away by the spirit of resistance and resolve of a few individuals who took on the mission to have the school moved to a safer ground as well as taking on the coal industry that has been entrenched in their community for over a hundred years.

Judy Bonds whose story we follow says “I am first a mother and a grandmother and to the young people in the world today I have to say I am sorry for what we have done to your world because this is your planet first”. I feel her words today as our son is now seven and I continue to feel the responsibility to do as much as I can to make this a better world for him and all of the worlds children to live in and I continue to receive inspiration from people like Judy Bonds, Maria Lambert, Ed Wiley, and Bo Webb who are all parents and grandparents first.

Documentary: Ecosystem in Crisis (Full Length Video)

Documentary: Greedy Lying Bastards Trailer (Video)

Documentary: Chasing Ice Trailer (Video)

Greedy Lying Bastards: A Documentary about the Fossil Fuel Industry

Greedy Lying Bastards is a feature length documentary that exposes the insidious domination of the fossil fuel industry. In this documentary filmmaker Craig Rosebraugh pursues a trail of environmental destruction, illness and death.

What happens when an industry has too much power? Greedy Lying Bastards presents a searing indictment of the influence, deceit and corruption that defines the fossil fuel industry. From the Gulf Coast to the tiny nation of Tuvalu, from Nigeria and Uganda to Peru and Alaska, filmmaker and political activist Craig Rosebraugh documents the impact of an industry that has continually put profits before people, waged a campaign of lies designed to thwart measures to combat climate change, used its clout to minimize infringing regulations and undermined the political process in the U.S. and abroad.

Chasing Ice: A Documentary about Vanishing Ice and Evidence of Climate Change

In the spring of 2005, acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky assignment for National Geographic: to capture images to help tell the story of the Earth’s changing climate. Even with a scientific upbringing, Balog had been a skeptic about climate change. But that first trip north opened his eyes to the biggest story in human history and sparked a challenge within him that would put his career and his very well-being at risk.

Chasing Ice is the story of one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. Within months of that first trip to Iceland, the photographer conceived the boldest expedition of his life: The Extreme Ice Survey. With a band of young adventurers in tow, Balog began deploying revolutionary time-lapse cameras across the brutal Arctic to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers.

Tea Party Candidates and O'Donnell's Constitution Confusion

The Tea Party has already had a powerful impact on the forthcoming midterm elections, however, many are asking questions about the competence of Tea Party candidates.

Jobs are a predictable indicator of electoral outcomes, but the Republicans inclusion of Tea Party candidates, with radical conservative agendas, may test this theory.

The Tea Party movement is putting pressure on Republican leaders to significantly cut spending and taxes, to repeal health care legislation and financial regulations passed this year, and to phase out Social Security and Medicare in favor of personal savings accounts.

Will the Tea Party's radical conservatism succeed? Will misinformation campaigns paid for with corporate cash be enough to cause Americans to confuse political gridlock with advancing the national interest? Will anger cause Americans to overlook the questionable intellects of Tea Party Candidates?

In Delaware, the nomination of tea-party-backed Christine O'Donnell, has clearly helped her opponent, Democrat Chris Coons. Coons has said he supports efforts to control greenhouse gases blamed for climate change. O'Donnell, who worked with Sarah Palin's people, is using scare tactics claiming that a vote for her opponent will cost the average Delaware family up to $10,000. There is no basis for this statement, even O'Donnell was not able to explain how she came up with that number, however, her campaign does make use of reports from the conservative propaganda machine known as the Heritage Foundation.

The O'Donnell campaign has offered some unbelievable soundbites. Christine O'Donnell's now infamous statement, "I am not a witch, I am you" was eclipsed by a classic moment that epitomizes the worst of this new slate of Tea Pary Republicans. On October 19, Christine O'Donnell seemed incredulous when she was told that the separation of church and state was in the Constitution.

O'Donnell, who badly trails Coons, is leading many Republicans to believe that the nomination of O'Donnell, has given away Delaware. Had she not won the nomination, Rep. Michael Castle (R), Delaware would likely have been a Republican win.

Kentucky is a Republican held state where many are also asking questions about the GOP nominee Rand Paul, another tea party candidate.

Of the eight nationally known Tea Party supported candidates, pollsters now say only a few have a chance of winning. But Tea Partiers are involved in at least 35 races across the country.

The Tea Party may end up hurting Republicans more than helping. Polls suggest that in the Senate, the hurt may outweigh the help. O'Donnel is not the only The Tea Party candidate whose questionable grasp of the issues, are undermining Republican chances. In Nevada, for example, Sharon Angle, has improved the odds that Senator Harry Reid, the leader of the Democratic majority, hangs onto his seat.

Americans are angry, but are they so mad that they will vote for a slate of incompetents? We will have to wait until November 2, 2010 to find out if protest votes are enough to carry either the House or the Senate.


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Small Business Guide to Social Media

Dell is a leader in social media and a good example of the trend towards increased corporate environmental stewardship. Like many other firms, Dell has been hit hard by the global recession. However, despite a halving of profits, Dell's commitment to the environment represents the kind of positioning that can help many companies to weather this historic downturn.

Dell's environmental programs, "conserve product energy consumption, reduce or eliminate materials for disposal, prolong product life span and provide effective and convenient equipment recovery solutions. By streamlining business steps and processes to be as efficient as possible, Dell helps minimize stress on the environment while achieving speed, responsiveness and cost savings that are passed along to customers."

Based on Dell's conversations with customers, they have created a series of social media guides. Each guide includes an overview of the approach, the opportunity, tips for getting started, examples of best practices and case studies.

1. Listening to customers, prospects and influencers is the foundation of all successful social media programs. By listening to online conversations happening in blogs, forums and social networks, you can bring the voices of your customers directly into your organizations.



Download the guide



2. Many people equate "PR" to "digital PR" or "digital influencer relations." While they are similar in many ways, there are some important nuances to consider. Most importantly, online conversations are much more direct and personal, requiring the highest level of transparency and candor.



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3. Twitter is fairly new to the social media scene, but many companies have already found ways to use it for business, from announcing new products to helping out customers in need.



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4. Crowdsourcing is the process of enabling your customers to play an active role in creating a new product or service, or in some cases, solving a business challenge for your company. Let's face it – our customers know what they want and need better than anyone.



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5. Facebook is the fastest growing social network in the world with more than 100 million active members. Facebook offers a variety of solutions for small businesses to connect with customers and prospects more deeply and leverage the huge, viral potential of this community.



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6. Photos and videos can engage customers and convey more about a company and its people, products and services than text alone. Today, new technologies and Web sites like Flickr and YouTube have made it easier than ever for businesses to produce and share multi-media content.



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7. It's important to understand how a social media program is performing against specific business objectives in order to maximize the impact and justify further investment. The beauty of social media is that it is highly measurable using tools like Google Analytics.



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By following these guides you can use social media to grow your businesses and better serve your customers.
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Next: Shortening Your Sales Cycle With Social Media / Twitter / Social Media and ROI


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