University of Houston–Clear Lake Holds Switch Screening

The University of Houston-Clear Lake hosted a screening of Switch Energy Alliance’s first film, Switch, on November 12, 2019. Cheyenne Sumire Jade Valdez, president of the UHCL Physics and Astronomy Club, partnered with the UHCL Green Hawks to organize the screening. Valdez believes that the documentary adheres to a non-partisan stance. “This is extremely important when it comes to reaching your audience,” Valdez said. “It allows for maximum amount of audience reception, which places its impact above many other energy documentaries.”

Lisa Gossett, Associate Professor and Program Chair for Environmental Management, along with Bill Hays, Director of Operations at SEA, spoke at the film’s screening. Gossett believes that choices in how we address our energy needs, both individually and as a society, will have direct and indirect impacts on everyone in both the short term and the long term. “This documentary takes neither the ‘scare tactics’ nor ‘denial’ approaches, but rather provides some basic background information while working toward defining some practical and cost-effective alternatives,” Gossett said.

Dr. Se-Hyoung Yi, Assistant Professor of Political Science at UH-Clear Lake, corresponded with SEA after the screening and noted: “I have included the Switch film in my political science courses, and it has been a real success. The Switch film has provided my students with a common ground on what we should do and what we can do about our energy future. I have witnessed students with different political ideologies come to an agreement after watching this film. This is an incredible moment as a college educator in this time of radical political polarization. Beyond its main subject, which is energy, this film has been a fascinating reference to democratic citizenship and civil dialogue on the issues that divide us.”

At SEA, we’re delighted to see that Switch, released in 2012, continues to be a source of objective, non-partisan energy education seven years later. We look forward to the 2020 release of our second feature-length documentary, Switch On, which will explore the human side of energy poverty.