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Environmental Film LibGuide: Science Teachers' Top 10

Ms. Mahoney's Top Ten

Biggest Little Farm - A couple are followed through their successes and failures as they work to develop a sustainable farm on 200 acres outside of Los Angeles. Over the years, the desolate they purchase begins to thrive and its transformed 
Chasing Coral - Coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate. Divers, photographers and scientists set out on an ocean adventure to discover why the reefs are disappearing and to reveal the underwater mystery to the world.

Cowspiracy - Follow the shocking, yet humorous, journey of an aspiring environmentalist, as he daringly seeks to find the real solution to the most pressing environmental issues and true path to sustainability.

Demain/Tomorrow - A globetrotting documentary that’s more focused on solutions than problems, Tomorrow (Demain) provides a comprehensive look at ways in which activists, organizers and everyday citizens are trying to make the world a better, greener, more sustainable place. Madame Schmidt also highly recommends this film!

Garbage Warrior - A documentary following architect Mike Reynolds and his environmentally conscious "Earthship" houses, this film explores his struggle with the New Mexico government to change building code laws. Reynolds is a crusader for sustainable living, building structures almost entirely from discarded materials. His houses are extremely self-reliant on top of being virtually 100 percent recycled and have been embraced in countries hit by natural disasters.

The Human Element - Photographer James Balog uses his camera to reveal how environmental change is affecting the lives of everyday Americans.
King Corn - Two college graduates travel to Iowa to investigate the role that corn plays in an increasingly complicated and dysfunctional American food industry. After planting their own small crop of corn and tracing its journey through the industry, they are alarmed that corn figures in almost everything Americans eat. The consequences of this are examined via various experts and industry insiders, providing a balanced look at this American agricultural issue.
Last Call at the Oasis - A look at the vital role of water, exposing the defects in the current system, the communities already struggling with the effects of water shortages and the individuals who are championing revolutionary solutions.
Plastic Ocean - A documentary film directed by the Australian journalist Craig Leeson. It dives into and investigates the devastating impacts that plastic has caused to our environment, especially our marine life.
This Changes Everything - A look at seven communities around the world with the proposition that we can seize the crisis of climate change to transform our failed economic system into something radically better.

Mrs. Kuenz's Top Films

Black Gold - A documentary about Ethiopian coffee farmers' struggle to seek higher prices for their coffee beans. Ethiopia is the largest producer of coffee in Africa, with over 15 million individuals depending upon coffee farming and production for survival. Coffee makes up 67 percent of export revenue in Ethiopia.
Dirt The Movie - Tells the story of Earth's most valuable and underappreciated source of fertility — from its miraculous beginning to its tragic degradation. This insightful and timely film tells the story of the glorious and unappreciated material beneath our feet.
Forks over Knives - Examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the chronic diseases that afflict us can be controlled or even reversed by rejecting animal-based and processed foods. The major storyline traces the personal journeys of Dr. T. ... The idea of food as medicine is put to the test.
Galapagos: The Islands that Changed the World - describes how tragedy and murderous pirates curtailed settlement of the islands and how the islands' pristine nature, spectacular geology, and defining isolation inspired Darwin's ideas about evolution.
The Story of Plastic - examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the chronic diseases that afflict us can be controlled or even reversed by rejecting animal-based and processed foods. The major storyline traces the personal journeys of Dr. T. ... The idea of food as medicine is put to the test.
The True Cost - a documentary film exploring the impact of fashion on people and the planet. This is a story about clothing. ... This unprecedented project invites us all on an eye opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes. This is a story about clothing.

 

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