YERT: Your Environmental Road Trip

In this fast-moving, highly informative, and entertaining documentary, three eco-conscious friends—filmmakers Mark Dixon, Ben Evans, and Julie Evans—decide to spend a year traveling through all 50 states in the U.S. on a mission to find great examples of people and organizations combating climate change. YERT finds the committed but lighthearted trio visiting Centralia, PA, where a coal mine has been burning for decades (but is legally protected from commercial and environmentally hazardous exploitation); joining a street demonstration in Concord, NH, for sustainable energy policies; and meeting with a Chicago official in charge of funding the city's many “living roofs.” The latter—expansive rooftops where plants are grown to absorb carbon and keep building interiors cool—is one of the film's many impressive examples of creative and sensible local practices that could be adapted globally. More exotic are energy-efficient mud huts in Wellfleet, NE; and similarly smart “cave houses” made from rocks in Idaho. In Iowa, the travelers explore possibilities for extracting ethanol from grasses instead of corn, while further experiments with perennial (as opposed to seasonal) crops in Kansas have important implications. A drought in Georgia, compromised coastal ecosystems on the Gulf Coast, and the progressive handling of garbage in New Jersey are also covered. Throughout, the filmmakers walk their talk, keeping their own monthly trash stored in a shoebox-size container. DVD extras include audio commentary, deleted scenes, and outtakes. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)