Controversial filmmaker Michael Moore's new film Slacker Uprising is now available for free download. The film chronicles Moore's push to increase voter numbers in the 2004 election. Moore, with guests the likes of Eddie Vedder, Joan Baez and Steve Earle, spoke in 60 cities in an effort to "remove George Bush from the White House."

The film is at www.slackeruprising.com

The Lied Center of Kansas presents Learning About The Environment Through The Arts, a pilot program providing arts and ecology experiences for second-grade students from USD497.

In addition to the main performance series, the Lied Center is also committed to offering several education and engagement opportunities to communities in Kansas, including a number of school-only programs and performances. The Learning About The Environment program features teaching artist in-class instruction, a field trip to the Baker Wetlands and a Lied Center school-only performance of The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Eric Carle Favourites presented by the Mermaid Theatre Company of Nova Scotia, all taking place over the next three months.

Call this the “Arnold effect,” or “emulating the Governator.”

Everyone knows the story by now---the sky literally is falling, and global warming is wreaking havoc with planet earth, yet the government of the largest polluting country, the United States, continues to say “no” to protections and legislation that might start to undo some of the damage.

For some time now, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been giving the finger to his own Republican party’s do-nothing environment policy, and enacting climate controls at the state level. Now, the City of Lawrence, already noted for going its own way compared to everyone else in the Midwest,  has formulated its own policy on climate issues, creating a citizens group, the Climate Protection Task Force, to advise the City on ways Lawrence can best help save the environment.          

Jeffrey Severin, Director of The University of Kansas’ Center for Sustainability and member of the task force, was nice enough to buy out some time and, via an email exchange, bring The Lawrencian up to speed on how the CPTF will act on climate issues.