What Does Our Energy Future Look Like?

The Geological Society of America Partners with SWITCH Energy Project

Is fracking polluting our water? How dangerous is nuclear? Will gasoline prices continue to rise? Can we clean up coal? Can renewables really power our future? A multi-platform campaign to educate the public about these critical energy issues and to stimulate a national dialogue about our energy future is under way with help from The Geological Society of America (GSA).

The partnership aligns GSA's mission to "advance geoscience in service to society" with the goal of the Switch Energy Project to "build a balanced national understanding of energy and promote efficiency."

The Switch Energy Project is anchored by the new feature documentary Switch. As no documentary before it, Switch has been embraced across the energy spectrum: environmentalists and academics, fossil and renewable energy experts, scientists and economists. The Washington Post recently called Switch "smart and refreshingly free of hot air," while DC Film Review called it "must-see entertainment for every person in America."

Switch screens in major U.S. markets this fall and internationally next spring. The Switch Energy Project also includes a huge video-driven website with more than five hours of short clips organized by topic; a video-driven primary education program developed with the American Geosciences Institute, coming in 2013; and the GSASwitch Energy Awareness & Efficiency Program, a university program to help a new generation shape our energy future.

The GSA Switch Energy Awareness & Efficiency Program operates through GSA's extensive network of Campus Representatives, who helped launch the pilot program at 50 universities this fall. The program includes film screenings, organized follow-up energy discussions, and campus energy-efficiency drives. The program will go to more than 200 additional schools in spring 2013. For more information, visit www.geosociety.org/switch/. The GSA Foundation administers grant funding obtained for the program through the Verizon Foundation.

On a related note, GSA sponsored and helped arrange Switch screenings on Capitol Hill, including a briefing for the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, and a public screening at the AAAS headquarters for the Washington, D.C., science policy community.

Switch will be screened for GSA members at the 2012 GSA Annual Meeting & Exposition in Charlotte (North Carolina, USA), 4-7 November. Also at the meeting: Film narrator and renowned energy expert Dr. Scott Tinker will present the 2012 Michel T. Halbouty Distinguished Lecture, "Switch: the Global Energy Transition," at the GSA meeting at noon on Tuesday, 6 November. Dr. Tinker will also conduct a Q&A at a public showing of Switch at the McGlohon Theatre in Charlotte on Monday evening, 5 November, at 7 p.m.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Scott Tinker or film director Harry Lynch, please contact Rachel Ecklund, recklund@arcosfilms.com. Visit switchenergyproject.com for information and downloadable materials.

About Dr. Scott Tinker
Dr. Scott Tinker has been exploring energy for 30 years. His passion is bringing government, industry and academia together to solve some of the world's toughest challenges. Toward that end he has given nearly 500 invited and keynote lectures in nearly 50 countries. Dr. Tinker is the Director of the Bureau of Economic Geology and the State Geologist of Texas. He is a Professor holding the Allday Endowed Chair of Subsurface Geology and the acting Associate Dean of Research in the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin. Before coming to the Bureau, he worked for Marathon Oil's Research Division.

About Film Director Harry Lynch
For 17 years, Harry Lynch has been a documentary director, producer, writer, cinematographer and soundtrack producer, whose films include Switch, Unconventional, Recapturing Cuba, Ride Around the World and Making the Modern. He is the co-founder of Trinity Films, and the founder of Arcos Films, a multimedia production company dedicated to building awareness and understanding of the most important issues of our time.

About The Geological Society of America
Founded in 1888, GSA is a scientific society anchored in history, and shaping the future with more than 25,000 members from academia, government, and professional practice in more than 100 countries around the world. Through its meetings, publications, and programs, GSA enhances the professional growth of its members and promotes the geosciences in the service of humankind. Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, USA, GSA encourages cooperative research among earth, life, planetary, and social scientists, fosters public dialogue on geoscience issues, and supports all levels of earth science education. For more information, visit www.geosociety.org.