There is a brand-new film called “Renewal” that starts with a story about evangelical Protestants in Appalachia fighting uncontrolled coal mining including mountaintop removal mining. One of the people  interviewed is West Virginia’s own Allen Johnson, co-founder of The Christians for the Mountains. Marty Ostrow, the director of the film, called me to tell me about it. It consists of eight separate stories about various religious groups fighting the destruction of the environment.

The groups include Christian, Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim and Native American. If a person joins their Renewal Project, they will send them a copy of the DVD for showing in their local communtiy. The entire film is 90 minutes long, but each story can be watched separately. The first one that includes Johnson is 11 minutes, 20 seconds long, including footage not shown in the 90 minute feature. He told me, “Most peple are completely unaware of what is happening in Appalachia about mountaintop removal mining.” Hopefully the film will be shown all over Appalachia, and all over the country, and world.  To contact Marty Ostrow directly - finecut@comcast.net.

The RENEWAL Project

Across the nation, people of faith are standing up for the environment. Evangelical Christians are fighting mountaintop removal, a coal mining process that is decimating
Appalachia. Muslims are supporting sustainable farming. Jews are helping children experience the bond between nature and spirituality. Interfaith Power and Light is mobilizing people of all faiths in a religious response to global warming.For the first time, the combined energy of these diverse activists is the driving force behind a feature-length documentary, entitled RENEWAL. Veteran film producers Marty Ostrow and Terry Kay Rockefeller have crisscrossed the country to capture these exciting stories of people whose passion and deep moral commitment are making a difference in a time of grave ecological threats.The RENEWAL Project has been designed to make the documentary and its inspiring stories available to people and organizations who want to be a part of this growing movement to protect life on our planet and reverse the damage that humans have done to the environment. Learn how you can get involved today!

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