A Fierce Green Fire

Inspired by the book of the same name by Philip Shabecoff and informed by advisors like E.O. Wilson and Tom Lovejoy, A Fierce Green Fire chronicles the largest movement of the 20th century and one of the keys to the 21st. It brings together all the major parts of environmentalism and connects them. It focuses on activism, people fighting to save their homes, their lives, the future--and succeeding against all odds.

The five main stories--David Brower and the Sierra Club halting dams in the Grand Canyon; Lois Gibbs and the people of Love Canal battling 20,000 tons of toxic waste; Paul Watson and Greenpeace saving the whales; Chico Mendes and the rubbertappers saving the Amazon forest; and (what else could we end on?) the twenty year struggle to deal with climate change--are emblematic of strands and eras of environmentalism. So we built the acts into an hourglass shape. Each begins wide, with origins and context. Next we narrow in on the main story. Then they open up again, to explore ramifications and evolution. [Mark Kitchell, Director]