Film salutes Orlando, clean-energy leader
The documentary “Paris to Pittsburgh” is a call to action on climate change, but it’s also an admiring portrait of Orlando.
“This will make Orlando internationally recognized, more than we already are, for leadership in clean energy,” said Chris Castro, director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability & Resilience.
The film debuts at 9 p.m. Wednesday on National Geographic, and Castro said it will send a message to 172 countries in 45 languages.
“We see this as an economic development opportunity for Orlando,” Castro said. “We want to make Orlando a leader for solar in the Southeast.”
The film from Bloomberg Philanthropies takes its title from a
comment by President Donald Trump. When he announced he was withdrawing the country from the Paris climate agreement in 2017, he said, “I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.”
In the documentary, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto voices support for the Paris pact. Orlando and Mayor Buddy Dyer are featured early in the film, after stops in Pittsburgh and Miami. The documentary later shifts to Puerto Rico, Iowa, California and New Jersey, but the City Beautiful stands out.
“Orlando has shown real leadership on the issue of climate change, both in words and action,” said Sidney Beaumont, the documentary’s co-director. “After the administration pulled out of the Paris climate agreement, Mayor Dyer and the city really stepped up to passionately affirm the importance of this issue. And the work they are doing on the ground there continues to be an inspiration and example for other cities in Florida and beyond.”
Castro and Sara Isaac of the League of Women Voters of Orange County came up with the First 50 coalition to make Orlando one of the first 50 U.S. cities to commit to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. The city council unanimously passed the motion in August 2017.
“I felt an urgent need to do something real and concrete about climate change, and I thought the best place to start was right here in my community,” Isaac said. “I wanted to make sure the coalition involved a range of organizations, including the League of Women Voters and the NAACP, because fighting climate change isn’t just about saving the environment. It’s very much about protecting people and preserving our community, too.”
The film shows Orlando’s testing floating solar on ponds, using a community solar farm and moving to electric buses. Lawns are being converted into edible landscapes through Fleet Farming, a program of the nonprofit IDEAS For Us. Castro founded IDEAS For Us as a student at the University of Central Florida in 2008, and it has expanded to more than 200 communities in the United States and 30 other countries.
“We wanted to show how grass-roots efforts such as Fleet Farming are paving the way with inspired and innovative thinking around needed changes in our food system, a key component to addressing climate change,” Michael Bonfiglio, the film’s other co-director.
But there’s also a chilling warning: Geologist Harold Wanless of the University of Miami predicts that city will be unlivable later this century and that Orlando better plan for the influx of those people.
“As available water becomes more and more scarce, people are going to move. Orlando is one of those destinations for them to seek safe haven,” Castro says.
The film puts climate change in economic terms, and Dyer said he was honored to share Orlando’s story.
“Cities are the front lines for making this shift happen and by leading in this important effort, we can ensure not only the health and safety of our residents, but also continue to further economic resiliency in our community with new jobs and business investments here in Orlando in the growing clean energy industry,” Dyer said.
The general public doesn’t understand a lot about climate change but is more receptive when the issue is put in money terms, Castro said.
“Clean energy transition is the greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century,” he said.
He cited clean-energy training programs at the UCF and Valencia College. He pointed to Orlando Utilities Commission’s efforts on decarbonizing electricity. He applauded efforts to bolster financing for homeowners to go solar.
“Climate change is such an overwhelming problem that it can be easy to get discouraged,” Isaac said. “But I want people to know they can make a difference. Get involved, gather your friends, agree on shared goals, and go for it.”