March 18 – Pepperdine (Malibu, CA)
Location: Waves Cafe (next to the chapel, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway)
Time: 8-10 PM
Speaking: Leila Conners Petersen, co-Director, Writer and Executive Producer of The 11th Hour

Click here to read The Malibu Times article about The 11th Hour at Pepperidne

The Pepperdine screening held at Waves Café was attended by approximately 100 students, including numerous members of the student group Seaver Students for the Environment.

Blake Lown of Tree Media Group announced the film and spoke briefly about the 11th Hour Action campaign and Hewlett Packard’s sponsorship of the 11th Hour Campus Tour.

After the screening, Blake introduced Leila Conners Petersen, co-Director, Writer and Producer of The 11th Hour, who answered student questions. Leila emphasized the urgency of each individual moving forward with personal action in order to reduce humanity’s impact on the biosphere. Leila also stressed the negative impact that today’s culture of consumerism has on the planet. She noted that “a lot of people are completely disassociated from reality. Our culture cultivates selfishness. We are all aware, but we are too selfish to change.” “We have to change our ways if we want to live well into the future,” was the bottom line of her message to students. She suggested several choices students could make on a day-to-day basis to help the environment, such as eating organic and locally grown food, being energy and fuel conscious, and making smart consumer purchases.

Cliff Champion, our student contact at Pepperdine, further announced Dr. Chris Duran, Associate Professor of Religion at Pepperdine, who discussed the inter-relationship between environmental consciousness and Christian values. Dr. Duran also responded to criticism from students with respect to Pepperdine’s lack of environmental programs. He explained that Pepperdine is currently taking steps in the right direction, such as treating its own water on site, but is moving slowly due to limited resources.

Various students signed up to www.11thhouraction.com using the Hewlett Packard laptops after the event. Students also spoke with 11th Hour Action volunteers Alisa Ahmadian and Mariko Johnson who attended the event.

Freshman Cliff Champion, our student contact at Pepperdine University, had the groundbreaking idea of installing solar paneling to the roof of his dorm room even prior to the 11th Hour screening. With the help of Pepperdine staff and his friends, Cliff is now able to power all electrical appliances in his dorm room, including his computer, printer and telephone, through renewable energy. Cliff’s active leadership has sparked interest among Pepperdine students. Following the screening, the Pepperdine administration reached out to Cliff, and he is currently assisting them in developing strategies to make the campus more sustainable.

The 11th Hour screening also resulted in a staff editorial in the Pepperdine University Graphic on March 27, 2008 calling for Pepperdine to “go solar.”  The article opens by asking whether it will take screenings of environmental documentaries on global warming and conservation, article after article written in the student newspaper and a freshman installing his own solar panels on the roof of his dorm room for Pepperdine to take action. The article then makes the following concrete suggestions: “First, particular campus-wide systems could be wired with solar panels to make them completely self-sufficient. The sprinkler systems are one example. The water is already reclaimed, and pipes and infrastructure have already been constructed all over campus onto which the panels could be mounted. Pepperdine should power the whole filtration and pumping system on solar power and remove it from the power grid. The streetlights on campus could [become] solar-power streetlights, which are now popping up all over the nation. These are only becoming more affordable, and money saved on the light bills could be invested in other environmental projects such as improving recycling and water reclamation efficiency on campus.”

Copies of The Malibu Times article “College students urged to address impending environmental crisis”, published on March 26, 2008, and the Pepperdine University Graphic article “Solar Power: a no brainer in sunny Malibu”, published on March 27, 2008, are attached.
 

Director, Writer and Producer of The 11th Hour, Leila Conners Petersen speaks to Pepperdine students

"We have to change our ways if we want to live well into the future." - Leila Conners Petersen at Pepperdine screening

Promotional poster outside The Waves Cafe

Students signing up to Take Action on the HP computers