Films examine global warming's impact on Southeast treasures

Speaking of global warming, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy has produced two short films documenting the potentially devastating impact climate change could have on natural treasures in the Southeast: the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and the Florida Everglades and Keys.

When we Americans think about global warming, we tend to think about faraway places like the glaciers of Greenland or ice shelf of Antarctica -- places we've never seen in person and are unlikely to visit. To bring the issue closer to home, SACE decided to focus on beloved places we visit each year by the millions.

"Instead of just burying people with a lot of factual information, we wanted to give them a sense of emotional connectedness to these places so they understand what's at stake," says SACE Executive Director Stephen Smith.

Titled "Treasured Places," the film series was produced by Benjamin von Cramon, a Georgia-based independent filmmaker who studied his craft at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Another film about warming's threat to the South Carolina coast is scheduled to be completed later this year.

You can view the films on SACE's Web site here or order DVD copies by contacting Jennifer Rennicks at JRennicks@cleanenergy.org or (828) 254-6776.