Lung Health News, Fall 2001 / Winter 2002
As the car sputters and chokes, it looks completely exhausted. Nothing a little solar energy can’t fix.
"Pass on Gas. Use Solar Power. " That’s the message from this year’s World Animation Marathon winner, which is titled "Exhausted. "
The theme of AnimAction’s World Animation Marathon on August 5 was Fresh Energy, Clean Transportation! The American Lung Association of California served as an educational partner for the project, working with AnimAction to provide background information animators needed to produce their 30-second cartoons.
The World Animation Marathon is in its fourth year and every year it tackles a different issue. This year participants were asked to develop educational and informative spots focusing on renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar power.
The American Lung Association is a leader on air quality and alternative energy issues and provided the theme for this year’s World Animation Marathon, which is particularly timely as California faces serious energy issues.
"We are excited about our collaboration with the American Lung Association because energy is such an important issue, " says Clifford Cohen, , founder and executive producer of AnimAction, which was started in 1989 to give young people the chance to express their creative freedom through animation. "Instead of being consumers, we all need to be producers. This project turns people into producers. "
World Animation Marathon Celebrates Art Form, Raises Awareness
The nine-hour production marathon is a celebration of animation as an art form as well as a career choice and is open to students in elementary school through college. Students work in small groups to produce 30-second public service announcements.
The project also serves as an educational vehicle, raising awareness among both the participants and those who see the finished product about the need for cleaner and renewable energy sources. The American Lung Association of California is using some of the spots produced during the marathon to help promote clean air in California and to launch a statewide promotion with EV Rental Cars. The promotion provides rental car and purchase discounts for electric, natural gas, hybrid (gas and electric), and super- ultra-low-emission vehicles.
"Animation can serve as an educational tool, " says LeeAnn Jensen, who was on the winning team of 11 students from the Art Institute of Phoenix. "If you can spark someone’s interest, you can make a difference in their lives."
‘Gas is Not Good’
Her team’s winning short film starts out with a car that looks completely exhausted and has smoke puffing out the tailpipe. A nearby flower begins to choke. The driver lifts up the hood and then reaches up, pulls down the sun and puts it under the hood. With its new solar energy, the car looks fresh and ready to go.
"Gas is not good, " Jensen says. "It causes air pollution. We have to find alternative sources of power. "
In fact, a recent study published in the Journal of Science found that people are dying from pollutants created by the combustion of fossil fuels. "It is our best estimate that more people are being killed by air pollution from traffic than from traffic crashes, " says Devra Lee Davis, , one of the study’s authors.
The American Lung Association is working hard in California to fight air pollution from electricity generation and transportation by advocating the use of alternative fuels that will help reduce the use of gasoline and diesel. In September, the association co-sponsored an Energy and Health Symposium for Healthcare Professionals that focused on the health impacts of energy production.
