The documentary film "National Sacrifice Zone: Colorado and the Cost of Energy Independence," will be shown and discussed at a Feb. 28 event at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Sponsored by CU-Boulder's Center of the American West, the program will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the ATLAS Building with the screening of the film, which delves into the current and future effects of Colorado's most recent energy boom. The screening is in room 100.
The film will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Joe Brown, filmmaker; Pam Eaton, deputy vice president of the Wilderness Society's Public Lands Campaign; Marc Smith, executive director of the Independent Petroleum Association of the Mountain States; and Reeves Brown, executive director of CLUB 20. History Professor Patty Limerick, faculty director of the Center of the American West, will moderate the panel discussion.
"The most important questions about our production of energy come to a focus in the state of Colorado," Limerick said. "We are very grateful that people of such varying viewpoints have agreed to come together to respond to this film. And, as one of Joe Brown's professors, I am happy the center can call attention to the accomplishments of this remarkable young man."
Joe Brown, a CU-Boulder alumnus, is a filmmaker and librarian with an interest in environmentalism. He is working toward a dual master's degree in library science and mass communications at the University of Denver.
Eaton oversees campaigns to protect wilderness lands and roadless areas through the land use planning processes of the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. She has worked on past campaigns to protect national wildlife refuges, reauthorize and implement the Endangered Species Act, and designate wilderness areas.
Reeves Brown leads CLUB 20 in working to cultivate dialogue among western Colorado counties to develop recommendations for state and public policies on a wide range of issues including public lands management, economic development, transportation funding and energy development.
Smith directs the Independent Petroleum Association of the Mountain States. The non-profit trade association represents more than 400 independent oil and natural gas producers, service and supply companies, banking and financial institutions and industry consultants committed to environmentally responsible oil and natural gas development in the Intermountain West.
The mission of the CU-Boulder Center of the American West is to explore the distinctive character and issues of the region and to help Westerners become well-informed, participating citizens. For more information visit the CU-Boulder Center of the American West site at or call 303-492-4879.