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WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO
We believe that media and culture and public policy are ultimately inseparable. And although it may often be impossible to draw precise relationships of cause and effect, media is instrumental in laying the groundwork for broad-based public policy and cultural change.
Since its inception the environmental movement has concentrated on problems that confront us all and worked to stop the most egregious forms of global degradation. Over the years that dialog has broadened from local issues to global concerns and moved from identifying general problems to suggesting specific solutions. Due to these efforts and new legislation, business and industry have slowly found themselves changing their perception of environmental issues from something that they must begrudgingly deal with to something that they must incorporate into every aspect of their activities in order to retain a competitive advantage. And now, after decades, being "green" is a must.
It's our belief that global environmental, human health and social justice issues have reached an opportune inflection point for broad-based change - what some call a "tipping point," and nothing less than our collective future is at stake. But in order to succeed solutions will require a concerted effort on the part of governments, backed by the resolve of an informed electorate, and media is the most effective way to stimulate public debate.
Documentaries and educational outreach programs offer significant public benefits. They are some of the most vital means available to educate the public and disseminate information about issues of general concern. Their images can be relied upon to convey powerful messages about human accomplishment and human folly. The information they impart advances our culture and increases our shared knowledge. They speak to our hearts and minds and remind us of our common heritage, and, ultimately, through the true stories they tell, they bring us together. And though the outcomes of media may not always be "measurable" in the traditional sense, the power of media is indisputable - one only has to look at the cost of primetime television advertising or product promotional fees paid to sports stars to gauge its value.
Documentaries about issues of significant public interest are becoming increasingly important for school teachers and grassroots advocacy organizations. We expect this trend to continue and have made this one of our key areas of focus. In his landmark books, ECO-ECONOMY, Lester R. Brown, President of the Earth Policy Institute, discusses the immediate need for new initiatives by media to fill the "information gap" that exists regarding environmental, cultural and related economic issues. In a compelling chapter on "The New Role of Media" he laments that "Only the media have the capacity to disseminate the needed information in the time available". The Environmental Media Fund's goal is to positively effect this situation by assisting films and programming dedicated to increasing public awareness of solutions to our environmental, human health, social justice and other issues of significant public interest and shared concern.
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