campus news and events

Colby-Sawyer College to Host Screening of Documentary 'Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America'

NEW LONDON, N.H. – Colby-Sawyer College will present “Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America,” an award-winning documentary that helped move the conversation about energy conservation into a mainstream campaign.

The film will be shown on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. in Wheeler Hall at the Ware Campus Center. There is no charge for admission to this event, and the public is invited to attend.

Produced by Jeff Barrie, “Kilowatt Ours” first reached hundreds of thousands of viewers through community screenings, educational outreach, film festivals and the internet, as well as international audiences as an official selection of the 2008 United Nations Association Film Festival.

“'Kilowatt Ours' helps ordinary citizens take an active role in energy conservation,” Barrie says. “Most viewers are shocked at the scope of the issue and even more so at the immediacy and simplicity of the solution – energy savings as an energy source.”

“Kilowatt Ours” shows how simple changes by one person, family or business – such as replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents, using Energy Star appliances, installing adequate insulation and locating and sealing leaks in air duct systems – can have significant results. These changes can result in hundreds of dollars saved on home energy annually, millions of dollars in savings for businesses and communities, as well as dramatically reduced carbon footprints.

“Kilowatt Ours” follows our energy sources back to their beginning to show where they come from and in the process finds few people are aware that more than 50 percent of our power in the U.S. comes from coal – with the average American home requiring more than five tons of coal annually. Even fewer are aware that entire mountains are sacrificed in the process of producing that coal, according to Barrie. The film explores mountaintop removal and what Barrie views as harmful byproducts of coal and nuclear power such as increased childhood asthma, air pollution and mercury poisoning.

“Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America” is the winner of several awards including: Best Documentary Feature – South Dakota Film Festival 2007, and Best Environmental Film – Southern Appalachia International Film Festival 2007. The success of the film spurred the creation of a non-profit organization by the same name, supporting energy conservation with community outreach programs including curriculum for educators, training for some 1,700 students on how to conduct home energy assessments, and “Conservation Power Plant” to help viewers bring energy conservation into their homes.

To learn about other upcoming events at Colby-Sawyer College visit www.colby-sawyer.edu/events

-Kate Dunlop Seamans


Colby-Sawyer, founded in 1837, is a comprehensive liberal arts and sciences college located in the scenic Lake Sunapee Region of central New Hampshire. Students learn in small classes through a select array of programs that integrate the liberal arts and sciences with professional experience.

Colby-Sawyer College, 541 Main Street, New London, N.H. 03257 (603) 526-3000