Sag Harbor Cinema Sag Harbor, NY
Alex Matthiessen
Environmental Advocate
The White House Effect— The politics of climate change
Program Description
As part of our ongoing Science on Screen® initiative, Alex Matthiessen, environmental advocate and former leader of New York’s congestion pricing campaign, will join the Cinema for a presentation on the lessons learned from the 50-year effort to implement congestion pricing. Matthiessen will discuss the U.S. government’s decades-long reticence to act on climate change and what it might mean for the future of the planet.
The presentation will be followed by a screening of the 2024 documentary The White House Effect — a political story about presidential power and its impact on how we deal with the climate crisis today.
Presented At
Sag Harbor Cinema Sag Harbor, NY
Film Synopsis
Explores the dramatic origin story of the climate crisis and how a political battle in the George H.W. Bush administration changed the course of history.
THE WHITE HOUSE EFFECT tells the epic, urgent story of how we reached this moment in history. Spanning from the Industrial Revolution to the present, the film centers on three pivotal decades — the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s — and the key characters who changed the world through scientific discovery, political intrigue, fossil fuel power, evolving media coverage, and emerging activism. This gripping drama plays out against the backdrop of our embattled and changing planet, providing a singular lens on humanity’s most important story.
Photo credit: Impact Partners
About the Speaker
Alex Matthiessen is an environmental advocate and former leader of New York’s congestion pricing campaign.