On October 7th and 8th, the city of Portsmouth will play host to the Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association's (NNECAPA) conference. With a host of planning professionals from throughout New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, the event is expected to draw hundreds of attendees eager to find out how cities and municipalities throughout the region are meeting the unique challenges of the 21st century.

While the conference promises a lively, thought-provoking program of speakers and presentations, there's also quite a buzz being generated around the showing of a new documentery film. Directed by Peter Byck, Carbon Nation is a witty, informative film about climate change and the practical solutions already at our disposal to combat its ill effects.

But unlike many films of its kind (read: An Inconvenient Truth), Carbon Nation is one as focused on solutions to the problem as it is on its roots. Indeed, even if you don't believe that global warming is happening or that humans are somehow responsible for it, the film remains relevant for its ability to show how solutions to climate change also address other social, economic and national security issues.

The film will be shown on October 8th at 2pm at the Portsmouth Harbor Events Center, and is open to the public (the cost is $5 for non-conference goers).

Experts and personalities interviewed for the film include Richard Branson (CEO, Virgin Group), Thomas L. Friedman (New York Times), Former CIA Director James Woolsey, Van Jones (Founder, Green For All), Col. Dan Nolan, U.S. Army (Ret), Amory Lovins (Chairman, RMI), Art Rosenfeld (Commissioner, California Energy Commission), Denis Hayes (Founder of Earth Day), Ralph Cavanagh (NRDC), Lester Brown (Earth Policy Institute), John Rowe (CEO, Exelon), Jim Rogers (CEO Duke Energy), and more.

After the showing, Byck will be on hand to conduct a discussion on the film and take questions from the audience.

While intended to take on a broad range of issues, this year’s NNECAPA conference will focus on five areas in particular: environment and climate change; integrating land use and transportation; energy efficiency and conservation; agriculture and the local sustainable economy; and integrating natural resources for sustainable planning.

Both the Green Alliance and Seacoast Buy Local will be on hand for the event, adding to the conference's focus on local solutions to climate change. Karen Marzloff from Seacoast Local will be one of the two-day conference's presenters.

The American Planning Association is a non-profit public interest and research organization representing 30,000 practicing planners, officials, and citizens involved with urban and rural planning issues across the country. The APA, and its professional institute the American Institute of Certified Planners, is organized to advance the art and science of planning and to foster the activity of planning–physical, economic, and social–at the local, regional, state, and national levels.

For more information about the conference, click here!

To learn more about Carbon Nation, click here.