The North Florida Working Group of the Suwannee St Johns Sierra Club presented an early screening of the documentary “From the Ashes” at the Live Oak Woman’s Club on June 9, 2017.

From the Ashes (official trailer: YouTube/download) captures Americans in communities across the country as they wrestle with the legacy of the coal industry, and what its future should be under the Trump administration.

From Appalachia to the West’s Powder River Basin, the film goes beyond the rhetoric of the “war on coal” to present compelling and often-heartbreaking stories about what is at stake for our economy, health and climate. The film invites audiences to learn more about an industry on the edge and what it means for their lives.

The showing was organized by SSJ SC North Florida Working Group members Deanna Mericle, Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson and Eileen Box.   Sierra Club leaders Maryvonne Devensky of Gainesville and Chair Chris Mericle were also present.  Several OSFR members also attended.

Deanna Mericle was the emcee for the informative panel

 

                     
Susanna Rudolph                                     Joy Ezell                                 Gretchen Quarterman

After the showing Deanna Mericle lead a panel composed of  Susanna Randolph, Campaign Senior Representative for Beyond Coal, Sierra Club from Orlando,  Joy Ezell, active environmentalist and founder of  Help Our Polluted Environment (HOPE) from Perry, and Gretchen Quarterman, Board member and treasurer of WWALS Watershed Coalition, Hahira, Georgia.

                                          
Chris Mericle                                                                        Maryvonne Devensky

               Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, Sierra Club organizer,  OSFR member Board of Advisors
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
-A river is like a life:  once taken, it cannot be brought back-

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