Jan 11 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Scott Streater Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

For most of 2005 and early 2006, Texas was at the epicenter of the national debate over global warming.

The reason: Dallas-based TXU Corp. proposed building 11 power plants in Texas that, collectively, would emit millions of tons a year of greenhouse gases linked to climate change. The company last year scraped plans to build all but three plants, in large part due to the fierce opposition organized by a coalition of elected leaders, including Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck and former Dallas Mayor Laura Miller.

Their story, and those of the property owners and business leaders that also fought TXU (now Energy Future Holdings Corp.), is the focus of a new documentary narrated by actor/director/environmentalist Robert Redford.

The documentary, titled "Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars," premiered in September at the Sundance Summit -- an annual meeting of mayors in Sundance, Utah, that focuses on global warming. It's set to be screened at 7 tonight (Friday) at the Angelika Film Center, 5321 East Mockingbird Lane, in Dallas.

"The goal of the film is to inspire people to get engaged in the coal wars that are going on in this country," said Jill Tidman, one of the film's executive producers, who said they're trying to raise money to expand the documentary to a feature-length film.

Cluck, who appears in the film, said the documentary accomplishes that goal.

"It shows what people can do if they band together and go after a common cause," he said. "It shows that the little guys and girls can make things happen."