Last weekend Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek went to Power Shift, the world’s largest youth gathering of climate activists. The film was one of several showcased there by Reel Power, a project of Working Films that brings together filmmakers and activists “fueling the energy revolution.” This is the fourth Power Shift event, and this year there was a special emphasis on “frontline” communities disproportionately impacted by dirty energy and climate change.
It was exciting to be surrounded by so much youthful energy and to meet up with a contingent of Gulf Coast community leaders, including Derrick Evans of Turkey Creek. Gulf Coast participants from Bridge the Gulf, the Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal and Ecological Health and Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (T.E.J.A.S.) spoke on several panels, joined the Q&A for the film and decorated the notorious FEMA trailer featured in Come Hell or High Water, which led Monday’s march for a green economy. More than 2,500 joined in, but I had to leave just as it started, rushing across the Rachel Carson Bridge to catch my plane home to California.
