The fight against global warming and the responsibility to help maintain our planet healthy can be extremely overwhelming to talk about. From the insane amount of issues we should be concerned about and not understanding how the problems really occur, to the loss of faith that we can actually fix the damageーit seems the Earth’s ultimate demise is inevitable. However, in times of stress, we must turn to the knowledgeable: the scientists, farmers, and activists to learn and educate ourselves as much as possible. One of the best ways to do so is through film. Here are three documentaries that delve into important topics in an expansive way that will help you understand the damage, the circumstances that cause it and, most importantly, how there’s still some faith after all.
- The True Cost (2015)
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Although the film focuses on the abundant social and inhumane injustice surrounding the fashion industry, The True Cost discusses the insane water, soil, and atmospheric pollution brought from fast fashion. It covers several keypoint narratives that are essential to understanding the inner workings of the industry, from fashion designers to activists to factory workers. Fashion, being the second most polluting industry in the world, is the dominating trend of the century that has expanded past nature’s limits. On account of this, acres of cotton are chemically altered and infused; landfills are filled with thousands of pounds of nonbiodegradable fabrics; and rivers in countries like India are completely polluted, making drinking water highly contaminated—all to keep up with the growing rate of consumerism. A truly eye-opening experience, The True Cost will change the way you view clothes and make you think about what happens behind every purchase. Creating consciousness and becoming aware of these issues is one of the simple ways we, as both the consumer and customer, can help. You can stream and buy the documentary through their website.
- Kiss the Ground (2020)
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In a well-paced and diverse film, Kiss the Ground details one of the realistic solutions to the fight against climate changeーsoil. Through a series of various straightforward initiatives and projects around the world, this film portrays the importance of our individual actions within the big picture. It describes the science behind soil, what makes it healthy, why keeping it healthy is so important and what can be done in a fun and digestible way. One of the main contributors to this agricultural imbalance has been the prioritization of profit at the cost of healthier crops. In this worry, farmers opt to chemically damage soil, preventing them from holding onto carbon, and leaving it in our atmosphere. By doing this, their plants grow faster, but billions of tiny organisms living in the soil are killed. This turn of events inevitably ruins the acres forever—it’s bad, y’all. However, in the midst of so much bad news about our dying planet, Kiss The Ground gives you hope. Thanks to science and humans with big hearts, we have a chance. The full length documentary can be found on Netflix, Vimeo, or through the kissthegroundmovie website.
- Cowspiracy (2014)
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Cowspiracy details the reality of the animal agricultural industry and how much of an impact it has on the planet. Every single environmental issueーdeforestation, water scarcity, ocean pollution, and moreーcan all be traced back to cows. The combination of the production of their food, their high maintenance, the water use, and more causes these animals to produce 51% of the world’s greenhouse gases. More than half of the U.S.’s land is stripped of its forestation for these purposes, creating more CO2 and less oxygen. Apart from stealing the earth, humans use these freelance animals for their own temporary benefit. Additionally, the film discusses the environmental impact an everyday person has by their water consumption, CO2 emissions, and daily choices. Cowspiracy raises an array of interesting questions about how our food is being made and how important the consumer’s consciousness really is. The film is available to stream on YouTube and Netflix.
These films will hopefully change the way you perceive these industries and show you the ripple effects each individual decision has on the environment. Although a huge amount of these issues are caused by these big market corporations, there are still ways we can contribute to the cause. As cliché as it sounds, High School Musical was rightーwe’re all in this together. The best way we can help not only combat climate change, but revitalize the Earth, is by educating ourselves about what we can do as consumers, clients, and customers. Search for earth-friendly forms of consumption in all its variables and support people that focus on creating real palpable change in our communities. Awareness is the first step towards real, tangible change and healing. We must protect and nourish our beautiful planet. This is the only way it will do the same for us.