Probably it is worthless to mention environmental issues already-known-by-everyone, because at some point we are not touched by the same repetitive information anymore. Maybe it’s because not too many people can easily sacrifice luxurious and wasteful life in order to achieve long-term solutions. Maybe more are able to choose short-term ones, but are they really effective? Making a difference? For that, there must be a worldwide shift in mindset. Fortunately, here is where documentaries come. They have been making a dramatic impact on public opinion on various topics for decades. So, Fermaj magazine has decided to make THE list of environmental documentaries with pure classic of the genre in one article. Who knows, maybe after watching one of these movies, not only it would change your life alone, but also you would change the lives of others in the future. Here’s the list:
- An inconvenient truth (2006)
Of course, the list must start with a movie that has made a huge impact not simply on a whole genre of climate documentaries but also on a green movement itself. A former presidential candidate gives a lecture about then coming environmental disaster and the dangers that the humankind would face because of global warming. Al Gore’s speech shocked and made a huge influence to a lot of people who are now willing to take action in order to stop global warming. Maybe after watching you will become of them or at least will even go for An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, which came out last year.
- Chasing Ice (2012)
Extremely powerful and hard-to-grasp scenes has been recorded by National Geographic environmental photographer James Balog who has used time-lapse cameras to capture the change, or receding to be more precise, of glaciers across the Artic. To give you an impressive spoiler, we’ll say that this award-winning documenatary actually shows the longest glacier calving ever shown in a movie. So, if you are looking for something that would take your breath away and leave you gently speaking amazed, give Chasing Ice a try.
- Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014)
Congratulations for taking extremely cold showers, recycling your waste, jumping into Zero Waste movement, refusing a straw at Starbucks and cycling everywhere where you can replace a car. But have you ever wondered that it might simply not be enough to save the world? A fact that livestock production is responsible from 18% to 51% of all greenhouse emissions is rarely known. Even vegetarians promoting no meat diet often skip this reason. No wonder why if even environmental organizations are afraid to talk about it. Cowspiracy together with filmmaker Kip Andersen in front finds out the reasons why and looks at the topic of meat consumption from a totally different perspective than we are used to.
- Gasland (2010)
If only a gas company that had offered 100,000 dollars to a filmmaker Josh Fox to drill on his land would had known what was coming afterwards – they would have never done it in the first place. This man instead of using a great opportunity to fill in his pockets a bit, decided to investigate what kind of impact drilling and fracking have on the environment. This so called fracking is a hydraulic fracturing – pumping down enormous amount of chemically treated water into the earth to crack open the rock and release the gas. Doesn’t sound too healthy, does it? Josh Fox captures how this process affects the life of those who live nearby. You can see how the water coming from a running tap goes into an open fire after local man applies a cigarette lighter to it. Terrifying? Now you know what to expect from the Academy Award-nominated Gasland.
- More Than Honey (2012)
Honey is a wonder of nature – the only food product that doesn’t have an expiration date. Pretty much impressive, huh? As well as bees themselves together with their colonies. No wonder they are so appreciated in many cultures worldwide and even worshiped in some of them. Their importance as pollinators is also widely known. Unfortunately, in the last decade these tiny yellow-black-striped bugs have been noticeably dying everywhere. If you are eager to understand why watch this documentary whereas Markus Imhoof tries to find out the reasons by taking an in-depth look at honeybee colonies in 4 different places and continents: California, Switzerland, China and Australia.
- The Eleventh Hour (2007)
Choosing a perfectly well thought name, which means the latest moment before it’s too late, Leonardo DiCaprio’s movie follows An Inconvienent Truth and additionally dives deeper into the topic of climate change and the threads that come with it. The movie features 50 experts in order to pair science with daily life solutions, so you can expect to hear from physicist Stephen Hawking, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev as well as many others professionals in their field, which will explain that it’s not too late if we open our eyes to the solutions that are closer than we think.