On today’s show, I speak to documentary filmmaker Alexandra Lexton about her latest film entitled, “Fools’ Paradise (lost?) – A Love Letter To The Wild”. Opening at the Mill Valley Film Festival on October 12th, Fool’s Paradise (lost?) poses the questions to her subjects:
How do we heal ourselves through reconnecting to the natural world? How do we heal what is left of the wild – our own inner wild and the outer wild?
Alexandra Lexton:
“In a time when climate change and environmental degradation pose dire consequences for both humanity and the planet, we hope that by revealing pathways for healing through our reconnection to the natural world, we will learn to care for it – and if the earth benefits, we will all benefit.”
We switch gears and speak to The Climate Center’s Chief Operating Officer Barry Vesser on the Polluters Pay Package that was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. These bills consist of: AB 3233 – the Local Environmental Choice and Safety Act, AB 1866 – the Idle Oil Wells Clean Up Bill, and AB 2176 – the Low Producing Wells Accountability Act.
- AB 3233 affirms the rights of local governments to protect their residents from oil and gas pollution.
- AB 1866 requires oil companies to plug their idle wells more quickly or pay increased fees, protecting public health and creating thousands of new jobs.
- AB 2716 imposes fines on low-production wells that are putting communities at risk in the largest urban oil field in the country.
The Governor also signed SB 59, the electric vehicles (EV) bill. This piece of legislation aims to unlock the potential for California’s millions of electric vehicles to shore up the electric grid, power homes during outages, and lower energy bills for Californians. The bill would authorize the California Energy Commission (CEC) to require that EVs sold in California have bidirectional capability.