April 22, 2020 Schedule of Events
10 a.m. McLean County State of the Environment Panel Discussion Live
50 years ago the modern environmental movement was launched on the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970. This single event turned around a dangerous decline in environmental conditions impacting public health and the survival of many endangered species as it inspired the establishment of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and much more. We’ve come a long way and yet today we are facing unprecedented rollbacks of environmental regulations. What are the significant areas of progress we have seen in the past five decades and what does the future hold?
A panel of local environmental professionals explore these questions and take your questions live via Zoom chat. Confirmed panelists include:
- Shannon Fulton, StraightUp Solar
- Todd Shumaker, Midwest Fiber
- Krista Kirkham, The Nature Conservancy
- Michael Brown, The Ecology Action Center
- Terra Brockman, Founder of the Land Connection
- Moderator: Julie Elzanati (first Community Energy Coordinator for the EAC, first Director of the Green Institute at Heartland Community College, instrumental in the creation of the Illinois Green Economy Network)
Attendees will have the option to participate via Zoom Webinar and engage with the panel, asking questions by chat. Alternately, viewers can watch the live stream of the panel discussion via EAC’s Facebook Live.
Noon: Launch of Green Reads Book Club Zoom Discussion Group
limited space available-registration required
4 p.m. Importance of Renewable Energy for the Environment and the Economy
Hosted by StraightUp Solar. Learn how solar plays an intergral role in a sustainable future. Full details and registration via EventBrite.
5:30 p.m. EARTH DAY LIVE 2020
Join us for a short online family-friendly celebration of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day including a live reading of the Dr. Suess classic The Lorax, music by Bruce Bergethon, and a special compilation of crowd-sourced environmental activities. You don’t want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime production!
Viewers can watch the live stream of the event via EAC’s YouTube channel or Facebook Live.
7:30 p.m. Local premiere of “The Story of Plastic” – Virtual Showing with limited seating!
4/22/2020 7:20 p.m. update: VIRTUAL SHOWING NOW OPEN!
USE THIS LINK TO WATCH THE STORY OF PLASTIC NOW!
We are in a plastic crisis.
Plastic pollution is everywhere we look, smothering our oceans and poisoning communities around the world. Meanwhile, Big Plastic only plans to expand production. We need to chart a different course.
Plastic pollutes at every step.
Long before it reaches the environment, plastic harms people and the planet. From production to disposal, our plastic obsession has serious consequences.
As part of Earth Day 2020 observations, the Ecology Action Center is proud to host the local premiere of the new documentary, The Story of Plastic, as a virtual showing.
The link to the virtual showing will be provided on this page at 7:30 p.m. on Earth Day, April 22, 2020. We anticipate that our limited number of views will run out–please plan to start watching the film on Earth Day evening to ensure that you don’t miss your opportunity. Please bookmark this page and mark your calendar to join us for this special Earth Day 2020 virtual showing of The Story of Plastic.
