My very first Earth Day in Tokyo was a wonderful experience! Held in Yoyogi Park, this (annual) weekend event was filled with people looking to engage with sustainability and share their passion for the planet. There was plenty of live music, delicious food, and guest speakers there to participate in the promotion of environmental consciousness.
With Earth Day right around the corner, I thought of putting together a little documentary list for those of you looking to build up your knowledge about climate change. Human activity, human industrial activity in particular, is having a very real and devastating impact on our planet. Below, I’ve selected my current “TOP 5” films that relate to climate change (see also Top 5 Water Docs). These docs are well made and can help bring you up to speed with the related issues. Climate change truly is the struggle for our time, and these films do an excellent job of both informing you and representing the efforts.
Covering the history and evolution of the environmental movement is the USA, A Fierce Green Fire is an emotional and enlightening documentary. To help the audience better understand the journey, they break down the story into 5 “Acts,” each narrated by a different celebrity. They provide footage and firsthand accounts as they interview some of the change-makers who describe their struggle to protect the earth. It does an excellent job of tying together some of the various issues and major milestones so that the audience can see that this is all part of a single narrative that culminates into the present fight against climate change.
by David Suzuki (2007)
David Suzuki is the man!! Yes, I am aware that I’m to write a little something about the book rather than the author, but I just wanted to get that out of the way. David Suzuki is quite definitively one of the most prominent faces in Canadian environmentalism (check out the David Suzuki Foundation), and has authored a number of books on science, nature, and the environment.
This one in particular is a pretty cohesive examination of the various elements that make up our environment. Suzuki takes us with him as he examines the soil, water, and air, that constitute our livelihood. He then what explores the impact of human activity, and the corresponding devastation. Finally he wraps things up with insight on how we can potentially diminish (or resolve) the detrimental effects of human activity. It’s pretty much a package deal. The first step is being informed, and becoming aware of what’s going on. The latter part is what to do about it.