“And if nature is happy, people and the way they live and work and the panda are all happy.”
If there is one documentary you need to see this year, it is the recent Oscilloscope Laboratories release Flow - an incredibly informative & beautiful film about the global water crisis.
Here’s the synopsis from the site,
Irena Salina’s award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century - The World Water Crisis.
Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.
Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question ‘CAN ANYONE REALLY OWN WATER?’
Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround.
Dubbed “the scariest movie at the (2008) Sundance Film Festival” by Wired Magazine, I found this film to be absolutely riveting but also touching. It serves both as an urgent wake-up call and poignant love letter to the substance that sustains us all. So drop what you’re doing and go see this film!!
If it’s not in a theatres near you, you can buy the Flow DVD and find Flow on Netflix.
This just in from Chicago-based art collective Material Exchange, a group that deals with objects and materials whose “valued properties have diminished”: low-tech, homemade games are sought for a project that challenges the dominance high-technology.
The idea strikes me as a reverent albeit nostalgic look at simplicity for modern lives consumed by the newest, the latest, and the next big thing. Submission deadline is March 22nd, 2009.
Photo: Material Exchange Analog Pinball Machine
Yesterday I received an email from Van Jones of Green for All telling me to watch Earth: The Sequel on Wednesday, March 11th. Despite the fact that I don’t know Van Jones personally and it was clearly a mass email, I always click when I see his name because I know it will be something meaningful. This one was no different,
Our friends at the Environmental Defense Fund have partnered with the Discovery Channel to bring green energy technologies to life as never before. Am I really writing to ask you to watch TV on Wednesday? Yes. Because this special tells the story that the whole nation needs to know: We have an abundance of clean energy alternatives already available to solve the global warming crisis and rebuild a clean, green America.
Check out the trailer and, if you like what you see, sign up to watch the show: www.earththesequel.com
Pretty cool, huh? You better believe that when the new green jobs advisor to the Obama administration tells me to watch something, I’ll be tuning in.
Thumbnail image via Center for American Progress Action Fund.
Have you every wondered what happens to things like cell phones and paper before and after you use them? That’s the premise of The Secret Life Series which takes ordinary objects and investigates their “life-cycle” in an attempt to raise awareness and educate the public about what they consume.
Where does paper go when you recycle it? Why should you change your paper habits? What alternate types of sources are used for papermaking? What can you do to reduce your paper footprint? How do I recycle paper?
Where do old cell phones and mobile devices go when you recycle them? Why should you take those phones out of your sock drawer and take them back? What toxics are in a typical cell phone? How much gold and silver is in a cell phone? How do I recycle my cell phones and mobile devices?
For more information about the people behind The Secret Life Series, visit INFORM.
Check out the recently released trailer for Kartemquin Films’ latest documentary Milking the Rhino which will air on Independent Lens, the award winning PBS series, in spring 2009. The film was beautifully shot in HD and tells the story of African tribes who struggle to protect local wildlife while providing for their communities.
From the website:
A ferocious kill on the Serengeti… warnings about endangered species… These clichés of nature documentaries disregard a key part of the landscape: villagers just off-camera who navigate the dangers and costs of living with wildlife. Africa is emerging from a history of “white man conservation” that displaced indigenous people, banned subsistence hunting, and fueled resentment. Now, a revolution in grass-roots wildlife conservation is turning poachers into protectors.
But change doesn’t come easy.
With memorable characters and spectacular locations, MILKING THE RHINO tells joyful, penetrating and heartbreaking stories from Kenya and Namibia — revealing the high stakes obstacles facing Community Conservation today.
For more information visit www.milkingtherhino.org
Photo credit: Jason Longo
Chris Tackett at Treehugger just sent me this article about a guy who is getting rid of his SUV but wants your help to decide what to do with it. So, whether you think he should blow it up, take it apart, cover it in graffitti or throw it off a cliff, let him know at onefewer.com.
By now you’ve probably heard of colony collapse disorder but it’s not on your major list of things to freak out about (like the economy, climate change and food shortages). BUT the disappearance of honey bees is such a serious matter that it might actually effect all those things. In an effort to raise awareness, Haagen Dazs (why them?) has created helpthehoneybees.com, a sweet interactive flash site and a companion viral marketing video:
No, bees do not wear pants. And if you think this is weird check this shit out.
The Sierra Club, in partnership with green blogs EarthFirst and Ecorazzi are hosting hundreds of house parties across America on Thursday, July 17 to help send the message that to really solve global warming, we need to change more than lightbulbs — we need to change our leadership. Look for a house party near you at LightbulbstoLeadership.org or sign up to host your own. The Sierra Club will provide you with a step-by-step House Party Guide and other materials that will help you plan a successful and fun event.
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