Interesting documentaries about the environment

I have always loved watching documentaries about the nature, science and environment. As this is a blog about to environment I thought it would be nice to write the coming days about some really interesting documentaries and leave behind some links for you to watch the documentaries if interested. Some are about the environment, some about the horrors humankind inflict to other living beings, and some are purely about the beauty of nature, to show how precious our earth is and how sad it would be if all would be lost.

Earthlings

We are all earthlings. The term is free of speciesism, sexism or racism as every single creature that inhabits the earth is considered an earthling. Humans depend totally on the animals with which we share the world for food, clothing, scientific research, entertainment and pets, however, many of us show them absolute disrespect. This documentary is about exactly that. Sometimes with hidden cameras the authors have filmed the most horrible, disrespectful and unethical things humans do to animals. We are shown footage from pet stores, puppy mills, factory farms, the leather and fur industry, sports and entertainment industries and the scientific profession.

My opinion is that this is a very good documentary. It’s informative and highly thought-provoking. It might be a bit too extreme or gory for some, but that is exactly what the authors intended; to shock, so that we would become truly conscious of how much animals suffer for humankind.

Here is a link to a website where you can watch the documentary: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/earthlings Here is also a link to their official website: http://www.earthlings.com

The cove

This documentary follows a team of activists, filmmakers and freedivers as they embark on a mission to uncover the dark and deadly secret of a remote and well-hidden cove in Taiji, Japan. Using cameras camouflaged as rocks and well hidden hydrophones the team uncovers how this small village by the sea is the scenery of dolphin massacre. 

Besides the footage filmed there, the narrator also tells us about Japan “buying” votes of poor countries in the International Whaling Commission IWC so that they can continue killing over 23000 dolphins and porpoises yearly. 

What’s more, most of the Japanese are unaware of the dolphin slaughter and that dolphin meat is so undesirable because of its high levels of mercury that it got sold to school children, risking their health.

This is the link to the website where you can watch the documentary: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/cove  and a link to their official website http://www.thecovemovie.com

The end of the line: a world without fish

In the film we see the global effects of our fish consumption. It examines the imminent extinction of the bluefin tuna, the impact on marine life resulting in huge overpopulation of jellyfish, and the profound implication that a world without fish could lead to mass starvation of the millions of people whom depend on fish

The End of the line rebukes myths of farmed fish as a solution. It advocates consumer responsibility to purchase sustainable seafood, pleas with politicians and fishermen to acknowledge the chilling devastation of overfishing, and for no-take zones in the sea to protect marine life. The solutions are simple and doable, but political will and activism is crucial to solve this international problem.

This is an excellent film to learn more about the current global problem of over-fishing, and to become more conscious about the fact that we, as consumers, can do a lot to help minimizing the extinction of fish

The link to the film online: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/end-of-line-world-without-fish/

And to their official website: http://endoftheline.com/

Tomorrow I will be posting more interesting documentaries. I truely hope you find them interesting and that they can help us become more concious of the great environmental problems that not only affect other species, but also all of humans.  

Food & environment IV: Sustainability

In this last part about food & environment, I will write about sustainable agriculture, including both animal and plant production.

Like you might have seen in my former posts, the production of animal and plant products relies on monoculture, mechanization, chemical pesticides and fertilizers, biotechnology, and government subsidies, which has made food abundant and affordable, but it has come at a big ecological and social price.  

Fortunately, many people are trying their very bests to find alternative solutions to build up a sustainable agriculture. Important points that are taken in consideration to create a sustainable agriculture are the following:

Conservation and preservation:The conservation of the soil and water must be more important than the productivity, which means that the lands should not be considered as an industry. Also, it should be avoided that the generation of contaminants and residues are a higher rate than the capacity to break them down and their recycling should be promoted

In addition, reduce the hidden costs generated by the use of fossil fuels and substitute them, if possible, by renewable energy recourses and increase the efficiency of their use.

Biodiversity: Necessary measures should be taken to protect the local animal and plant biodiversity.

Grow many different types of crops (polyculture), in combination with having livestock, and use the method of crop rotation which will enrich the soil and help prevent disease and pest outbreaks.

Use organic fertilizers instead of chemical ones and tackle plagues through biological control and not through chemical products.

Animal welfare: animal must be treated with respect and humanity, and cared for properly. they will recieve food which corresponds to their naturla diet, and are allowed to carry out their natural behaviour, like grazing, pecking, socializing and walking around. 

Economically viable: farmers are paid adequate wages. To be more sustainable over the long-term, labor must be acknowledged and supported by government policies.

Socially just: Workers are treated fairly and paid competitive wages and benefits. They work in a safe environment and are offered proper living conditions and food.

Of course, these are all things the agricultural sector should do, but what can WE, the consumers, do?

In first place, we must educate ourselves; get to know what sustainability is, what industrial farming is, why sustainability is preferable to industrialized agriculture, what are the most important issues

In second place start asking questions. Ask where you can buy local or sustainable raised food, ask how the animal whose meat you’re eating has been treated, ask if the vegetables you eat have been genetically modified, treated with chemicals etc. all these questions will help yourself to know where you can best buy your food

In third place; act! Buy your food at local farms, trough farmers markets and /or community supported agricultural groups. If you have space in your garden, or even just on your kitchen windowsill, grow your own crops.  Also try to get involved in the community supported agricultural groups, tell your friends and family about the importance of sustainability.

And in last place; be conscious of what you buy. You don’t need 300 grams of meat a day. You don’t need to eat 5 times a week fish, nor do you need to eat enormous quantities of vegetables. The secret is in balance. Get to know the amount of nutrients you body needs, and don’t go above that. Eat a healthy, balanced diet.

I will put down here some websites about sustainable agriculture:

http://www.moviments.org.es Moviments is a Spanish association which promotes conscious consumption. They buy food which has been produced in an ecologically, sustainable and commercially just way, and you can buy that food from them for reasonable prices. They are currently active in La Marina Alta and La Safor.

http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/concept.htm information about sustainable agriculture

http://www.sustainabletable.org/intro/ information about sustainability, with many links to other sites about where to get sustainable products, how to participate, even recipes.

http://www.sustainabletable.org/spread/handouts/3_Easy_Steps.pdf three helpful steps if you want to support a sustainable food system

http://www.ideas.coop/ a fair trade organization, whose mission it is to build a more just and sustainable world promoting fair trade, responsible consumption and a solidarity economy.

I hope this will be of some help. If you know any more websites about sustainability, just leave a comment ;)

Food & environment III: Agriculture

In this third part about Food & Environment, I will write about agriculture.

Agriculture was always very limited by the natural recourses of the cultivated area (weather, pests, soil, climate…), so only relative small quantities of products were produced. But after the Green Revolution, between the 50’s and 70’s in the 20^th century, there has been a great increment in the agricultural production due to the control of crops and their genetics, of soil fertility via chemical fertilization and irrigation, and of pests via chemical pesticides

Of course, this increment of production is not natural, it is only made possible by converting the agriculture into a industry, which leads to a series of problems of great environmental impact.

Pesticides A wide range of agricultural chemicals are used and some become pollutants through use, misuse, or ignorance. Pesticides can contaminate water, soil and air, and can thereby create a great health risk for the human population. They increase the risk of cancer, birth defects and infertility. Therefore, already many pesticides have been prohibited to use. 

Land degradation. Under degradation can be understood deforestation, desertification, soil erosion, mineral depletion, or chemical degradation. They are all effects of the intensive agricultural industry, and are a good reason to be worried, as already 40% of the worlds agricultural land is seriously degraded.

The map below shows us the soil degradation in 1997. Since then it has increased greatly, but I couldn't find any recent maps of it. 

Irrigation. 70% of the fresh water worldwide is used for agricultural purposes (only 10% is used by us in the everyday life). Since the green revolution, and the introduction of chemical agriculture, the crops have become highly inefficient because they need enormous quantities to dissolve the chemicals; they use between 2 and 10 more water.

Genetically modified food. Some of the transgenic plant products are; soy beans, rice, corn, sugar beet, papaya, tomato. I include this in the list of environmental impacts for several reasons. In the first place, by genetically modifying our food, we have no idea what the long term effects will be, as we place gens from other species in the plant products. And in the second place, G.M. plant products are a risk for the biodiversity and contribute to the loss of it. 


These are the most important impacts, but of course the list is very long. Next time, I will write about Sustainable Agriculture, because of course, if I write about how we do things which create an environmental impact, I must also write about how we can do things right ;)
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