French Embassy to screen environmental film Home today

French Embassy to screen

By EHUD ZION WALDOKS
The French Embassy will screen the French environmental film "Home" as part of its scientific film festival on Friday, Science attaché Prof. Eric Seboun told The Jerusalem Post this week. The film by French filmmaker Yann Arthus-Bertrand was filmed aerially in 54 countries including Israel. This is the first screening of the movie with Hebrew subtitles. "It's about the planet and how human action is changing it. It shows how we should be careful about saving water, not producing too much carbon dioxide. The film raises awareness to global warming. The emphasis is on human actions - deforestation, energy use through transportation, air conditioning," Seboun told the Post. It is the biggest environmental movie in French history, according to Seboun. The noon screening at the Tel Aviv Cinemateque will be attended by new French Ambassador to Israel Christophe bigot and Israeli government representatives. The festival is co-sponsored by the Museums of Science of Haifa and Jerusalem and will run until mid-December. Home was financially supported by a French foundation with the goal of enabling as many people as possible to see it, Seboun said, and that's why the screenings are free. Seboun also discussed France's environmental efforts especially ahead of the UN climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in December. "Europe is the third biggest producer of greenhouse gases. It's a big issue in France with many ministries involved. In order to reduce CO2, France will implement a carbon tax starting on January 1, 2010. Residents will be charged a few extra cents for the fuel to warm up your house. We use a lot of gas for cooking, which will also be taxed. The government estimates that the tax will come out to an extra 300 euros per year for half of the households," he said. A carbon tax is not new in Europe, he pointed out, since other countries like Denmark started about 15 years ago and slowly increased the tax over the last decade. However, it's not widespread either. France's energy production is also unique- it is largely generated by nuclear power plants. "It's 80% nuclear. France has been switching over for the long term. We are the leaders in the world in producing energy using nuclear plants," he said. So far, there has been nothing published that would indicate adverse health or environmental risks from the plants, he added.