While politicians dance around the rhetoric of the global warming issue, director Liz Smith takes us to the scientific front lines as researchers attempt to track global climate change, and find patterns that help us understand how humans are affecting the future of the planet. Dendrochronologist Lisa Graumlich, of Montana State University, uses tree rings as a living record of where Earth's climate has been, and where it is going. Smith joins Graumlich on a sample-gathering expedition into the serene highlands surrounding Yellowstone National Park, where the rings of ancient trees provide a sterling historical record of climate change. Graumlich then enters the scientific laboratories of the Big Sky Institute, where she is able to show graphic evidence of human activity's effect on our climate.
Made possible with a grant from the National Science Foundation EPSCoR program as part of the Montana State University's M.F.A. in Science and Natural History Filmmaking program.
Producer, Editor: Liz Smith
Created: Summer 2004
Screenings/Awards:
Screening, TERRA television series on Montana PBS (2005)
2005 Silver Telly, Environmental Category
People's Choice, 2005 Humboldt International Short Film Fest
Screening, 2004 Artomatic DC Arts Festival
Official Selection, 2004 Takoma Park Film Festival
Official Selection, 2004 Orinda Film Festival
Official Selection, 2004 Far North Conservation Film Festival
First Place, Short Documentary -
2004 Rocky Mtn. Science and Natural History Film Festival
Second Place, Amateur Category, 2004 International Wildlife Film Festival
