A GUIDE FOR USING THE FILM AS A CATALYST FOR CHANGE WWW.LIVINGDOWNSTREAM.COM Produced by With the generous support of KENEDA SUSTAINABILITY FUND OF THE ADELAIDE GOMER A GUIDE FOR USING THE FILM AS A CATALYST FOR CHANGE By Chanda Chevannes In Collaboration with Sandra Steingraber www.livingdownstream.com © 2012 by The People’s Picture Company Go Home. Talk to Your Fish © 2012 by Sandra Steingraber Any part of this written publication may be reproduced for nonprofit or educational purposes, provided that full attribution is made to The People’s Picture Company Inc. and Living Downstream. TheLiving Downstream Educational DVD, used in conjunction with this publication, is designed for use by educators, organizations, community groups, activists, and other professionals. Purchase of the DVD gives you and your group the right to screen the film publicly for educational or nonprofit purposes. Unauthorized reproduction, broadcast, or resale of these discs or their contents is strictly prohibited. For more information go to www.livingdownstream.com. Written by Chanda Chevannes In collaboration with Sandra Steingraber Substantive and stylistic editor Stephanie Sauvé Copy editor and fact checker Susan Fitzgerald Contributing author and researcher Liz Armstrong Living Downstream title art and design concept Adam Hunt Graphic designer Dominic Wong Photographs by Benjamin Gervais P. Marco Veltri Outreach manager Adam Shamoon Outreach assistants Anam Abbas Kaitlyn Kochany Irene Meimaris Zachary Pedersen Kathy Threlkeld Website developer pixelpusher Produced in association with Insight Productions, Inc. Women’s Healthy Environments Network Produced with the generous support of The Ceres Trust Kendeda Sustainability Fund of the Tides Foundation The Fledgling Fund Adelaide Gomer Ontario Arts Council ISBN: 978-0-9867616-1-4 The People’s Picture Company Inc., Toronto, Canada [email protected] / www.theppcinc.com All rights reserved. Published 2012. Printed in Canada For Mike Smith, whose enthusiasm for this project was infectious, whose phone calls came at the right time, and whose voice always made us smile. Mike’s death from cancer brought deep sorrow, yet knowing him gave us a lasting joy. Contents What’s in This Guide?..........................................................................................................xiii Foreword by Sandra Steingraber ................................................................................. xv Preface .......................................................................................................................................... xix Acknowledgements ...............................................................................................................xxi LIVING DOWNSTREAM | THE FILM About the Film ..............................................................................................................................1 The Book that Inspired the Film .....................................................................................3 The Featured Experts ................................................................................................................5 The Educational DVD ..............................................................................................................9 WALKING UPSTREAM | THE MOVEMENT About the Environmental Human Rights Movement ..................................... 21 Hold a Screening .................................................................................................................... 23 Part 1: Goal and Vision ................................................................................................. 24 Part 2: Logistics ................................................................................................................. 27 Part 3: Promotion ............................................................................................................. 32 Part 4: Audience Engagement .................................................................................... 35 Part 5: Next Staps ............................................................................................................... 41 Train Others to Hold a Screening ............................................................................. 45 Lead a Workshop ...................................................................................................................... 49 What You Need to Know .............................................................................................. 50 Workshop 1: Gaining the Knowledge that Inspires Change .............. 54 vii Workshop 2: Finding Your Place in the Movement ................................... 66 Workshop 3: Taking Public Action ........................................................................ 76 Create a Campaign ................................................................................................................... 91 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES Background Information ................................................................................................. 97 Glossary of Terms ............................................................................................................. 99 Facts and Figures ............................................................................................................113 The Precautionary Principle ..................................................................................117 Fossil Fuels and Cancer Prevention ..................................................................119 Learning from Europe .................................................................................................123 Stories from the Movement ....................................................................................127 Evaluation Form ..............................................................................................................133 Workshop Handouts ..........................................................................................................135 Workshop 1 Myths about Cancer and Chemicals ...........................................................137 Chemical Exposures at Home ............................................................................141 Chemical Exposures in Our Institutions ................................................145 Chemical Exposures in Our Communities ................................................149 Workshop 2 Common Concerns about Toxics ..................................................................153 Assessing Challenges and Opportunities ................................................157 Building on Your Strengths ...........................................................................159 Workshop 3 Chemicals Quiz ..........................................................................................................163 Broken Squares Template ....................................................................................169 Recommended Reading and Viewing ........................................................................171 Living Downstream Online .....................................................................................173 Cancer and Environmental Health Websites ..............................................177 Film and Social Change Websites ........................................................................185 viii Books and Reports .........................................................................................................187 Films and Videos ..............................................................................................................191 Other Publications by Sandra Steingraber...................................................195 More Living Downstream Resources ................................................................197 ix There was once a village along a river. The people who lived there were very kind. These residents, according to parable, began noticing increasing numbers of drowning people caught in the river’s swift current. And so they went to work devising ever more elaborate technologies to resuscitate them. So preoccupied were these heroic villagers with rescue and treatment that they never thought to look upstream to see who was pushing the victims in. This guide is a walk up that river. xi What’s in This Guide? All across North America, people are using the film Living Downstream to create change in their communities. And you can too. Use the ideas in this guide to raise awareness about the links between toxic chemicals and cancer incidence, to encourage public involvement in prevention of environmental contamination, and to brainstorm ways to take action to improve your community’s environmental health. A supplement to the Living Downstream Educational DVD, this guide supports the creative use of the film by organizations, community groups, activists, and other professionals. Its contents have been designed for easy customization according to your group’s mandate, goals, and expertise. The tools within will help you encourage others to think differently about environmental health. They will help you move people beyond questions about preventing personal exposures to realizing that true prevention requires public efforts to stop the manufacture of toxic chemicals. This guide is divided into four sections: Introductory Content This section includes a thought-provoking foreword by Sandra Steingraber about the reasons to take