Movies we love
Most people believe common sense solutions prevail on important issues, and certainly when the health of our planet is at stake, more than just common sense would be applied. Many problems that are covered in these documentaries are not new problems, so why do they still persist or have even gotten worse?
Check out these documentaries that have shaken my confidence in common sense, and shaped my opinion on how we consume, produce and discard our stuff. I hope they inspire you as much as they have me. You can find most of these documentaries on Netflix, but if not, I have also included the link where you can buy/stream them. So get comfortable and get ready to learn!
A Plastic Ocean
If it was happening in one gyre, they suspected it was happening in all of them. But the filmmakers needed experts to prove it. Scientists were brought in at each stage to analyze the findings from one part of the story to add their data to the overall report on the five gyres. In the center of the Pacific Ocean gyre the researchers found more plastic than plankton. A Plastic Ocean documents the newest science, proving how plastics, once they enter the oceans, break up into small particulates that enter the food chain where they attract toxins like a magnet. These toxins are stored in seafood’s fatty tissues, and eventually consumed by us. Explorers Craig Leeson and Tanya Streeter and a team of international scientists reveal the causes and consequences of plastic pollution and share solutions.
For more information, check their website here.
Chasing Coral
Chasing Coral was directed by Jeff Orlowski and produced by Larissa Rhodes. The film took more than three years to shoot, and is the result of 500+ hours underwater, submissions of footage from volunteers from 30 countries, as well as support from more than 500 people from various locations around the world. Coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate. A team of divers, photographers and scientists set out on a thrilling ocean adventure to discover why and to reveal the underwater mystery to the world.
For more information, check their website here.
The True cost
This is a story about clothing. It’s about the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the industry is having on our world. The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental costs have grown dramatically. The True Cost is a groundbreaking documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing?Filmed in countries all over the world, from the brightest runways to the darkest slums, and featuring interviews with the world’s leading influencers including Stella McCartney, Livia Firth and Vandana Shiva, The True Cost is an unprecedented project that invites us on an eye opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes.
For more information, check their website here.
Forks over knifes
Two out of every three of us are overweight. Cases of diabetes are exploding, especially amongst our younger population. About half of us are taking at least one prescription drug. Major medical operations have become routine, helping to drive health care costs to astronomical levels. Heart disease, cancer and stroke are the country’s three leading causes of death, even though billions are spent each year to “battle” these very conditions. Millions suffer from a host of other degenerative diseases. Could it be there’s a single solution to all of these problems? A solution so comprehensive, but so straightforward, that it’s mind-boggling that more of us haven’t taken it seriously? The film features leading experts on health, examines the question “why we don’t know,” and tackles the issue of diet and disease in a way that will have people talking for years. The movie was filmed all over the United States, and in Canada and China.
For more information, check their website here.
Cowspiracy
Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret is a groundbreaking feature-length environmental documentary following intrepid filmmaker Kip Andersen as he uncovers the most destructive industry facing the planet today – and investigates why the world’s leading environmental organizations are too afraid to talk about it.
Animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation, water consumption and pollution, is responsible for more greenhouse gases than the transportation industry, and is a primary driver of rainforest destruction, species extinction, habitat loss, topsoil erosion, ocean “dead zones,” and virtually every other environmental ill. Yet it goes on, almost entirely unchallenged.
As Andersen approaches leaders in the environmental movement, he increasingly uncovers what appears to be an intentional refusal to discuss the issue of animal agriculture, while industry whistleblowers and watchdogs warn him of the risks to his freedom and even his life if he dares to persist.
For more information, check here.
Blue Planet II
In 2001, The Blue Planet opened our eyes to the worlds beneath the waves. A generation on, new science and technology allow us to journey deeper than ever before at the most crucial time in our ocean’s history. This is Blue Planet II. Take a deep breath.
For more information, check the website here.
Racing extinction
Utilizing state-of-the-art equipment, Oscar®-winner Louie Psihoyos (The Cove) assembles a team of artists and activists intent on showing the world never-before-seen images that expose issues of endangered species and mass extinction.
You can watch the movie here.
Make a difference, and take a challenge. We can't do everything at once but each action you take matters.
The Cove
Academy Award® Winner for Best Documentary of 2009, THE COVE follows an elite team of activists, filmmakers and freedivers as they embark on a covert mission to penetrate a remote and hidden cove in Taiji, Japan, shining a light on a dark and deadly secret. Utilizing state-of-the-art techniques, including hidden microphones and cameras in fake rocks, the team uncovers how this small seaside village serves as a horrifying microcosm of massive ecological crimes happening worldwide. The result is a provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure and arresting imagery, adding up to an unforgettable story that has inspired audiences worldwide to action.
For more information, check here.
Learn what you can do to help save the dolphins here.