Every day more people realize the current global system is unsustainable: cheap energy is over; climate change, pollution and loss of habitat are wiping out many species; and while resources are being stretched to the limit, billions still live in poverty, and the gap between global rich and poor continues to grow. Even in the industrialized world life is increasingly difficult, more stressful with less meaning. But in the major media, while problems of energy, global warming, poverty and disease get covered, the success many people are having in living more sustainably are rarely mentioned. And even those who agree with the need for change are left to think that the current global model of industrial production and consumption, however flawed, is the only way there is. This emphasis on problems without solutions is a recipe for despair and inaction. To address this disparity, award-winning PBS documentary makers Melissa Young and Mark Dworkin (In the Midst of Winter, Retooling America, How Can I Keep on Singing?, Net Loss, Not For Sale, Another World is Possible, Argentina: Hope in Hard Times) are producing a new documentary series called Finding Solutions. The good news is that many in the global North and South are already making life better for themselves while enhancing both the environment and social justice. Some of these efforts are old, others new, some come from business, others government, others from civil society. None have all of the answers, but many have achieved a success and sophistication that deserves to be shared. There are the innovative transportation and land use policies in Curitiba (Brazil) which vastly reduce energy use and greenhouse gases, and the remarkable social policies in Kerala which brought first world social standards to the poorest region of India. One of the most densely populated Indian states, Kerala also set up some of the finest protected areas for wildlife on earth. And throughout the world, small scale and family farmers using traditional and organic practices grow more nutritious food, use less energy and are more sustainable than the approaches promoted by global institutions. In the U.S. Collins Pine is a giant lumber company whose forests are a refuge for birds and other wildlife, with more standing timber today than when the company began decades ago. And in Philadelphia Judy Wicks and her prosperous White Dog Café offer a great place to work that provides healthy food to patrons and a reliable market for local organic farmers. The region of Emilia-Romagna around Bologna boasts a complex network of worker run industrial cooperatives in a sophisticated human scale economy that provides the highest quality of life in Italy. And in Cuba, where loss of Soviet support in 1991 led to the collapse of a farming system that depended on toxic agrochemicals, of necessity they turned to local organic production. Now there are urban gardens throughout the cities, and every region is self sufficient in food. Argentina in the 1990's was a poster child for the World Bank, but instead of the prosperity that was promised, the result was economic collapse. Government officials were discredited as millions of Argentines turned to self-organization and production for local needs rather than global trade. Employees took over bankrupt factories and continued production. People cleaned up unused tracts of industrial land to build housing together and plant huge gardens for food. In the U.S., global trade agreements led to a massive loss of manufacturing jobs, which we were told were unavoidable. But in Chicago, a project that grew out of the labor movement, the Center for Labor and Community Research, develops public-private partnerships, supports worker buyouts, and provides business and technology consulting to help local businesses remain viable and keep living wage jobs in Chicago. Each of these sustainable enterprises is place-based: controlled by local people, adapted to local environmental and cultural conditions and changing as those conditions change. And they engage in economic markets but in ways that bring returns to all stakeholders. These engaging stories of just and sustainable ways of living will demonstrate that we can lead modern sophisticated lives in an interconnected world without continuing to destroy the earth and one another. Who is developing these new approaches and rediscovering old ones? What have they learned, and what can they teach others? How must global financial institutions be changed to allow such sustainable solutions to flourish? As the world faces crisis after crisis, many yearn for the security of smaller, diverse societies that safeguard the welfare of their members and the health of the environment. But re-thinking globalization should not mean turning inward or rejecting the rest of the world, even if that were possible. With internet and mass media technologies, societies can develop in tune with local customs and eco-systems, while they are enriched by the experiences of others, and informed by universal ideas of dignity and human rights. It can be done; it is being done. This series will help spread the word, build support, and improve the caliber of such endeavors. Watch the Finding Solutions preview video on-line. To learn more about the Finding Solutions series, go to the Moving Images website or contact - Moving Images Video Project 2408 East Valley Street * Seattle, Washington 98112 * 360/341-1269 info@movingimages.org 'Another world is not only possible, she's on her way. on a quiet day, if I listen very carefully, I can hear her breathing.' Arundhati Roy

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