The Years of Living Dangerously:
Beyond Coal Activists Fighting Climate Change
Sierra Club is proud to be featured for the second consecutive season in the groundbreaking documentary series "Years of Living Dangerously" currently airing on National Geographic.
Premiering October 30, 2016 8 pm ET / 7 pm CT, and then airing new episodes every Wednesday at 10 pm ET / 9 pm CT, the series features stories about those on the front lines of the climate crisis, cataloging the disastrous impacts of inaction and the hope a clean energy future brings. Episodes are also available after they air on Hulu, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, or NatGeo's TV Everywhere app. On December 14 in the Season Finale, America Ferrera travels to Waukegan, IL to speak to Sierra Club members working working with the Beyond Coal campaign to move to clean energy.
America Ferrera and Sierra Club activists in Waukegan discuss the city's struggles with pollution and the transition to clean energy.
Beyond Coal Campaign Director Mary Anne Hitt recently blogged on her experiences working with the people like those featured in the series, stating, "I've seen David beat Goliath hundreds of times, I've seen grassroots heroes transform how electricity is made in America, and I've seen our elected officials step up to lead the world when the people demand it. The time is now, and we need each and every one of you, so that we can pass a safe world on to our kids."
We are running out of time, and the decisions we make in the next year will drastically affect our ability to affect the climate. As seen in this preview of the series, (featuring a cameo from Mary Anne at 5:30) the choice is ours. And we have the power to make things better.
Season 1 also featured Sierra Club in the episode "The Preacher's Daughter," following Anna Jane Joyner as she tries to persuade congregations and preachers in North Carolina (including her father) to join the fight against global warming. Correspondent Ian Somerhalder talked with Beyond Coal Campaign Director Mary Anne Hitt, then joined Anna Jane at a Beyond Coal rally in Asheville, North Carolina.
"Now, when I think of climate change I don't think of polar bears or glaciers or graphs, I think of the loss of our high elevation mountain forests, the loss of species and ecosystems that make our Blue Ridge Mountains some of the most beautiful and special in the world. I think of my neighbors who are farmers and lost much of their crop, and profits, to the torrential floods we experienced last summer.” - Anna Jane Joyner
We are proud that because of the thousands of activists featured in this series, the tireless work of volunteers like Anna Jane and others, and the attention brought to Asheville by its prominence in the series, the Beyond Coal campaign reached a settlement that will soon retire the local coal-fired power plant.
