CHASING CHIMERAS: THE LURE OF DECEPTIVE CLIMATE SOLUTIONS will be showing again at Cinema 21 on Wednesday, September 24 at 7 pm. This screening is dedicated to the memory of my wife, Portland filmmaker Elaine Velazquez, who died on August 11.

Just as it seemed that we were making real climate progress, the fossil fuel industry is sidetracking elected officials, regulators and business leaders with a rash of climate solution diversions: renewable diesel, hydrogen, “renewable" natural gas, biofuels, carbon capture and storage and carbon offsets. Chasing Chimeras: The Lure of Deceptive Climate Solutions tells stories of people living in the crosshairs of these proposals, working to expose the dangers that these projects pose to their lives, homes, communities and the planet. 

The documentary shows how city, state and federal governments and regulatory agencies are swayed by the fossil fuel industry’s self-promotion as purveyors of clean, low-carbon energy, and scrutinizes how state and federal programs promote and fund “renewable" diesel, biogas and hydrogen development, while disincentivizing the adoption of proven climate solutions. In contrast to fossil fuel industry solutions, the documentary examines the need to implement verified and trusted renewable energy sources (wind, solar and geothermal), energy conservation and nature-based carbon capture and storage solutions that take advantage of natural carbon sinks such as old growth forests and wetlands.

After the screening there will be a panel discussion with the filmmaker and people featured in the film.