University of Vermont hold Symposium for Final Hour
February 9, 2007 -The Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at The University of Vermont hosted a symposium with Paul Lussier Company and Rivet Entertainment to sustainably redesign the US capitol after a hypothetical hurricane in 2018 as proposed by Discovery Channel’s FINAL HOUR.

This redesign charrette of Washington, D.C. was based on the premise of a major hurricane destroying the city in August 2018. The collaboration shows what “whole systems” thinking and ecological design looks and feels like at the scale of a large city and region.  Hurricane intensity is expected to increase with global warming. In the scenario, a category 5 storm comes up the Chesapeake Bay and causes major destruction of natural and human systems in D.C. and the surrounding region.  As we have learned from Katrina, the US is not prepared for such events, is not rebuilding the physical or socio-political systems in a sustainable way, and has no holistic, positive, vision for the future.

The weeklong intensive workshop covering the redesign of whole systems - not just the built infrastructure - was held in February 2007.  The end goal was successfully reached: to specify a city and bioregion to have a very high quality of life for all inhabitants, significantly higher than before the hurricane, which is ecologically sustainable, zero fossil and nuclear fuel use, and zero waste discharge. The charette featured a transdisciplinary team lead by executive producer Paul Lussier, and The Gund Institutes’ director, Dr. Robert Costanza. Other participants included John Todd (John Todd Ecological Design), Zach Dobelbower (D.C. Office of Planning), Daniel Wahl (Centre for the Study of Natural Design School of Design - University of Dundee), Ramon Cruz (Environmental Defense), Mary Kadzielski (Rivet Entertainment) and many others from the University of Vermont.

Final Hour addresses United Nations
November 1, 2006 - FINAL HOUR has been invited to speak at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Nairobi on November 17, 2006. The climate talk series presents invited representatives of IGOs, NGOs, Business and Industry and Governments to give 15 minute presentations relating to a theme. This year's topic is Time for Change. Paul Lussier, FiNAL HOUR's executive producer/writer will be addressing the world with "Changing the Climate Change Story: Discovery Channel's FINAL HOUR."

Climate change isn't just a problem requiring solutions, it's a seismic re-framing of our world that calls into question the core cultural assumptions which define the post-industrial age and civilization. To solve it involves nothing less than a transformative vision, a new story, another paradigm-shift for which storytelling can and must be the first line of offense. Where story goes the world is sure to follow. The Discovery Channel show, FINAL HOUR, to be seen by an audience of 1.4 billion people in 170 countries, is providing that vision.

The speech is available via webcast and archived at the United Nations site online here.

The entire presentation is also located here.

Final Hour invited to Clinton Global Initiative
September 20, 2006 - FINAL HOUR has been invited to participate in the 2006 annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative. The Clinton Global Initiative is a non-partisan catalyst for action, bringing together a community of global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges.

FINAL HOUR is exactly synchronous with the intention, ambition and scope of the Clinton Global Initiative, and on the strength of that shared purpose, FINAL HOUR has joined a small group of media that have been invited to participate.

Discovery Channel, Paul Lussier Compnay and Rivet Entertainment start production on Final Hour
September 17, 2006 - Discovery Channel announced today that production has begun on FINAL HOUR, an historic eight-part television series that bridges the gap between science and action surrounding the most critical issues of our time. Set as hybrid of drama and non-fiction storytelling entirely based on scientific fact, FINAL HOUR addresses core issues of climate change, poverty and fears of peak oil. Rather than merely present issues, the series uses some of the world’s greatest minds to present ground-breaking solutions to sustainability and potential means to save the planet.

The Discovery Channel FINAL HOUR team set out to uncover solutions to the world’s most pressing issues through an 18-month long symposium involving hundreds of the world’s leading minds, including Gustave Speth, James Hansen, Robert Socolow, Stephen Pacala, John Holdren, Paul Hawken, and Robert Watson. During the process of this global inquiry, the team learned that a unified strategy to foster sustainability for the planet currently does not exist.

FINAL HOUR spans from current day to forty years in the future, as the key characters become leaders in the battle against climate change. Woven into this drama are interviews with the world’s leading scientists, business and world leaders, as well as graphic scientific data. This non-fiction aspect elevates the drama, illuminates the real science, and presents global solutions to saving the planet in an engaging and compelling way.

Paul Lussier is Creator, Writer and Executive Producer; Cary Brokaw is Executive Producer and Bill Latka (Rivet Entertainment) is Co-executive producer. Charlie Parsons is Executive Producer for Discovery Channel. The series is produced for Discovery Channel by Paul Lussier Company and Rivet Entertainment LLC.

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