Peter Byck

Peter Byck (born June 26, 1964) is an American documentary film director who specializes in films with environmental themes. He is best known for his films, Carbon Nation and Carbon Cowboys. His public speaking and media appearances are focused on climate change solutions and regenerative agriculture practices. In 2017 Byck was awarded the Wild & Scenic Festival's John de Graaf Environmental Filmmaking Award for his contributions to environmental filmmaking and activism.
==Life and career==
Byck was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He now lives in Phoenix, Arizona.
His first feature documentary film, Garbage, about garbage problems across the United States, won the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas in 1996. 
His 2011 documentary film Carbon Nation, narrated by Bill Kurtis, is a film about climate change solutions. The film won the IVCA Clarion Chairman’s Award in 2011 and the Green Me Global Festival, Berlin, Grand Jury Prize in 2017. Carbon Nation also received a Environmental Media Award (EMA) nomination for Best Documentary in 2011. Carbon Nation is featured in Nature.com, ABC News, HuffPost|Huffington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Science Friday on NPR.
In 2020, Byck released a series of short films, Carbon Cowboys about regenerative grazing practices. One of the films in the series, One Hundred Thousand Beating Hearts, won Best Short Documentary Film at various festivals including the Cleveland International Film Festival , Phoenix Film Festival , Philadelphia Environmental Film Festival, and the Prize for Environmental Advocacy at the 2017 Ekotopfilm Festival in Slovakia. Byck's work on regenerative agriculture and the Carbon Cowboys films are covered by Smithsonian Magazine, FOXNews.com, Salon (website), Greenbiz, NPR radio stations including KJZZ (FM), Prairie Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Radio.
Byck has been the subject of interviews in Smithsonian (magazine), Bloomberg, Leo Weekly, Kentucky Educational Television and Filmmaker (magazine). He has appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher and Science Friday on NPR.
Byck is a professor of practice at Arizona State University, in both the School of Sustainability and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Byck has directed a new four-part docuseries, Roots So Deep (You Can See the Devil Down There), that focuses on the impact of Adaptive Multi-Paddock (AMP) grazing practices compared to conventional grazing. This project involves collaboration with 20 scientists and 10 farm families, aiming to enhance soil health, carbon storage, and biodiversity. The series showcases innovative farmers and scientists working towards climate solutions through regenerative agriculture. The Arizona premiere of Roots So Deep took place in late October 2023 at ASU, where it sparked discussions about the relationship between agriculture and climate change.
Byck is also in production for Carbon Nation 2.0, an ongoing series of short films that promote a low-carbon economy. 
== Filmography ==
Feature Documentaries
Carbon Nation, 2010. Earth School Educational Foundation, Inc. [Editor, writer, producer, director, cinematographer]
Garbage, 1996. Independent [Director, editor, writer, producer, cinematographer]
Short Documentary Films * produced in collaboration with Arizona State University.
*Herd Impact, 2019. Earth School Educational Foundation, Inc. [Writer, producer, director, camera] (23:26) 
*Time Will Tell, 2019. Earth School Educational Foundation, Inc. [Writer, producer, director, camera] (11:57) 
*This Farm is Medicine, 2018. Earth School Educational Foundation, Inc. [Writer, producer, director, camera] (9:14) 
During the Drought, 2017. Earth School Educational Foundation, Inc. [Writer, producer, director, camera] (12:00) 
I Sell Water & Sunshine, 2017. Earth School Educational Foundation, Inc. [Writer, producer, director, camera] (13:00) 
Givers and Takers, 2017. Earth School Educational Foundation, Inc. [Writer, producer, director, camera] (19:21) 
*A Fence and an Owner, 2017. Earth School Educational Foundation, Inc.
*One Hundred Thousand Beating Hearts, 2016. Earth School Educational Foundation, Inc. [Writer, producer, director] (15:00) 
*The Luckiest Places on Earth, 2016. Earth School Educational Foundation, Inc. [Writer, producer, director, camera] (25:00) 
*Hybrid Law, 2016. Earth School Educational Foundation, Inc. [Writer, producer, director, camera] (8:13)
*Soil Carbon Curious, 2015. Earth School Educational Foundation, Inc. [Writer, producer, director] (6:00)
*Soil Carbon Cowboys, 2014. Earth School Educational Foundation, Inc. [Writer, producer, director, editor] (12:21) 
Louisville Waterfront Park– An Uncommon Commons, 2012. Smithsonian Museum. [Writer, producer, director, editor] (11:30)
Short Narrative Films – Director, Producer, Writer, Editor
I-Nasty, 2007. pbfm.
Ralph the Roadie, 1998-2001. pbfm.
Feature Films - Editor
Borderline, 2002. HBO [Editor, additional second unit director]
Paper Cut, 2002. Blairmore Pictures. [Editor]
Television – Producer, Presenter
Azpbs.org|AZ PBS The Brain Trust with Peter Byck, 2019. Pilot with Van Jones
== Media appearances ==
Real Time with Bill Maher, Episode #255, August 17, 2012
Science Friday|Science Friday, NPR|National Public Radio, August 24, 2012. "Carbon Nation Tackles Climate Change, By Ignoring It." 
Real Time with Bill Maher|Real Time with Bill Maher, Episode #278, April 12, 2013.
Smithsonian Earth Optimism Digital Summit, May 2020. "Telling the Story: Peter Byck."
Prairie Public Radio|Prairie Public Radio. Main Street. May 20, 2020. "Peter Byck and "Carbon Cowboys" ~ StoryCorps Connect."
Wisconsin Public Radio. June 5, 2020. "The Benefits Of Regenerative Grazing."
Arizona PBS, Arizona Horizon. June 12, 2020. "Cattle ranchers changing the environment by changing how they work their land."
The List TV. July 10, 2020. "How ‘Carbon Cowboys’ Are Transforming Harmful CO2 with Regenerative Farming."
KJZZ (FM)|KJZZ. The Show. November 4, 2020. "Working With The Land, Not Against It — Some U.S. Farmers Take New Approach To Soil Health."
== Education ==
Byck holds a BFA degree from California Institute of the Arts, 1986
== Publications ==
New Scientist|New Scientist. May 25, 2011. "Time to wave the green-spangled banner."
Greenbiz. June 2, 2020. "Why carbon cowboys are becoming leaders in their field.
Greenbiz. August 19, 2015. "The rise of the soil carbon cowboys."
Greenbiz. June 17, 2015. "Want to connect with climate skeptics? Just listen."
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation|Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. March 1, 2016. "The role of ruminants in reducing agriculture's carbon footprint in North America." (Co-author)
Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society. Dec 23, 2016. "Potential Mitigation of Midwest Grass-Finished Beef Production Emissions with Soil Carbon Sequestration in the United States of America." (Co-Author)
Category:American documentary filmmakers
Category:Artists from Louisville, Kentucky
Category:Film directors from Kentucky