The following movies are owned by GPMI members. They are available for loan to Green Party locals who wish to use them for meeting and discussion. You can arrange to pick them up and return them, or you can arrange to pay the shipping costs.

An Inconvenient Truth
96 minutes (2006) DVD
Lots of Al Gore on screen, of course. The material presented is not particularly political. It is more of a summary of the causes and effects of global warming/climate change. This film's idea of solutions is literally on the level of recycling and turning out lights when you leave a room, so there is much to be desired on that level. Still, it is a useful waraning of the consequences of continued growth and continued increase in carbon emissions.
[contact Art Myatt, almyatt@earthlink.net]

The End of Suburbia
78 minutes (2004) DVD
This film was shown at the Feb 2006 SMM in Grand Rapids. It makes the case that the "American Way of Life," especially since WW II, has been based on using automobiles to the exclusion of most other forms of daily transportation, and that without an ever-increasing supply of cheap fuel, that entire lifestyle fails. It also makes the case that peak oil is both real and imminent, thus making aotomotive fuels neither cheap nor abundant. Cartoonish or bleak illustrations alternate with a variety of talking heads. No solutions are proposed. many viewers found it useful but depressing.
[contact Art Myatt, almyatt@earthlink.net]

Who Killed the Electric Car?
93 minutes (2006) DVD
Focused largely on the short history of General Motor's EV-1 project, this film gives the distinct impression that the project was killed because it was too successful, too popular, too likely to undercut the production and sale of standard internal combustion vehicles. The people on screen include auto industry executives, engineers and service mechanics; various politicians; and an array of Hollywood environmentalists - some actors, some not - who really liked the cars and attempted to fight GM's decision to remove every one from the road.
[contact Art Myatt, almyatt@earthlink.net]
[contact Ken Mathenia, kmatheni@gfn.org]

A Crude Awakening - The Oil Crash
85 minutes (2007) DVD
Similar to "The End of Suburbia," but certainly more political, more straightforward and less depressing. This film covers some of the early oil-producing regions whose reservoirs are now thoroughly depleted, which makes the idea of peak oil more concrete and comprehensible than the earlier film. Several of the commentators make the point that the war in Irag is a war for oil, as were many earlier political and military moves made in the region by the United States and allies, going back many decades. The people speaking in this film for the most part do not duplicate the people interviewed in the 2004 film, with the exception of Matt Simmons. The quality of the production is not the best, with some needed subtitles and text identification of speakers being difficult to read.
[contact Art Myatt, almyatt@earthlink.net]

American Blackout
~1 hour, DVD
"American Blackout" chronicles the recurring patterns of voter disenfranchisement from Florida 2000 to Ohio 2004 while following the story of Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. McKinney not only took an active role investigating these election debacles, but has found herself in the middle of her own after publicly questioning the Bush Administration about the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Featuring: Congressional members: John Conyers, John Lewis, Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, Bernie Sanders and jounalists Greg Palast and Bob Fitrakis.
[contact Ken Mathenia, kmatheni@gfn.org]

An Unreasonable Man
~3 hours, DVD
Crusading consumer advocate Ralph Nader's extraordinary career -- and his recent Presidential campaigns -- are thoughtfully chronicled in "An Unreasonable Man." A basically admiring if critical portrait, documentary by Henriette Mantel and Stephen Skrovan (strangely, both standup comics and TV comedy writer-producers) finds more than enough absorbing material to hold interest through nearly three-hour runtime. Straightforward PBS-style effort will be most at home on the small screen. With: Ralph Nader, Jay Acton, Theresa Amato, Pat Buchanan, Peter Camejo, Scott Carter, Joan Claybrook, John Conyers, Jr., Karen Croft, Phil Donahue, James Fallows, Michael Feinstein, Todd Gitlin, Richard Grossman, Greg Kafoury, Jason Kafoury, Carl Mayer, Tarek Milleron, Morton Mintz, Ross Mirkarimi, Jim Musselman, Claire Nader, Laura Nader, Bryce Nelson, James Ridgeway, Harvey Rosenfield, Donald Ross, Rob Weissman, Dr. Sidney Wolfe.
[contact Ken Mathenia, kmatheni@gfn.org]