Welcome to the 2021 Earth Day Film Series, hosted by Wyoming Rising.
Wyoming Rising Earth Day Film Series
In honor of Earth Day, April 22, Wyoming rising is presenting a slate of online events. In addition to our Earth Day Workshops and Discussions we offer five inspiring and profound films in honor of Earth Day. We hope this series helps raise awareness of the threat of climate change and global warming and inspires you to take steps toward protection of our Blue Planet.
We recommend watching the selections in the following order
Watch First:
The Truth About Climate Change, with David Attenborough
Scientists explore the impact of climate change and what could happen if global warming exceeds 1.5 degrees. Discover how the latest innovations and technology are posing potential solutions and what individuals can do to prevent further damage.
Some extraordinary phenomena have taken place in recent times; Hurricane Katrina, the heat wave of 2003, polar bears swimming in search of ice and vast swarms of insects enveloping an African village. But are these isolated incidents or are they omens of a greater global change? Sir David discovers that the world is warming at an unprecedented rate, and finds out why this is now far beyond any normal allowance for cyclical fluctuation. But are humans to blame? These changes are already in motion whatever we do now, but Sir David believes that we may be able to act to prevent a catastrophe. People around the world are having to adapt their way of life as the climate changes; the Inuit in the Arctic whose hunting is now limited, the Pacific island inhabitants forced to move as their homes disappear beneath the waves, and the Siberian homes slowly sinking into the permafrost. Sir David investigates some of the possible scenarios for the future, including rising sea-levels, insect plagues and an increase in diseases.
Credit: BBC
Second Film:
Polar Extremes
In this two-hour special, renowned paleontologist Kirk Johnson takes us on an epic adventure through time at the polar extremes of our planet. Following a trail of strange fossils found in all the wrong places—beech trees in Antarctica, hippo-like mammals in the Arctic—Johnson uncovers the bizarre history of the poles, from miles-high ice sheets to warm polar forests teeming with life. What caused such dramatic changes at the ends of the Earth? And what can the past reveal about our planet’s climate today—and in the future? (Premiered February 5, 2020)
Credit: PBS
Bonus content: Polar Extremes Collection.
https://wyoming.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/nova-polar-extremes/
This collection of short videos and images features resources from Polar Extremes, Antarctic Extremes, and the Polar Lab to help students of all ages learn how Earth’s climate has changed over deep time and recent history and how studying our past can help predict our climate’s future.
Third Film:
Peril and Promise: The Challenge of Climate Change
While climate change encompasses the potential for devastating consequences, including physical destruction, economic disruption, even an impact on our national security, it also has the potential to foster a new era of scientific innovation, clean energy technologies, and creative policy solutions.
82-year-old retired Chicagoland engineer Jim Goodman and his wife Annie are alarmed about the ever more severe climate change crisis, and know their generation has failed to adequately address it. With the environmental clock ticking, the Goodmans enlist the aid of some equally concerned young people to unleash their creativity and usher in a new generation of climate change problem-solvers. The Power of Us underscores the urgency of the climate crisis and shows the power of an intergenerational, collaborative movement to fight climate change, with youth leading the charge into the future.
Credit: PBS
Bonus content: Climate Artists
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/peril-and-promise/series/climate-artists/
How can art amplify the urgency of climate change? When it comes to addressing the climate crisis, these artists come with their own tools of persuasion. Follow teen poets, an arctic composer, garden dancers, ice painters, and a deep sea sculptor in a cinematic series that explores climate through an artistic lens. This five-part series production in partnership with channel travels from the Brooklyn Botantic Garden to the Arctic, offering a powerful, even hopeful, message on climate change.
Fourth Film:
Kiss The Ground
The film, a selection of the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, is all about the “first viable solution” to the climate crisis: soil regeneration.
To put it simply, soil is the planet’s biggest carbon sink. If we take care of it, it could be our biggest and best solution to reversing the climate crisis; it literally can pull carbon out of the air. But (spoiler alert) we’re not taking care of our soil everywhere. Intensive farming practices are damaging to the Earth. This causes carbon to be released into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.
Kiss The Ground is a product of tens of thousands of hours of research by expert scientists from all around the world. It’s all about how we can use regenerative farming to heal the land and the planet as a whole.
For your free pass to KISS The GROUND, just click on the following link anytime between now and April 24 and enjoy this energizing, family-friendly documentary with a message of hope for everyone who wants healthy food, profitable farms, and a healthy planet.
https://vimeo.com/464327339 Password: viva
The filmmakers have asked you to please consider completing their pre-screening survey before watching the move and post screening surveys afterward. The results are confidential and will help them continue to advocate for soil health in the most effective way possible.
Final Film:
It Can Be Done
In summer 2018, ESA (European Space Agency) joined with the musician Vangelis and the family of scientist Prof. Stephen Hawking to beam a message marking his passing to the nearest black hole. On 22 April 2020, Earth Day, we transmitted this poignant message to all of planet Earth – as a message of hope, to say that, by working together, we can overcome this crisis and others facing humankind.
Credit: ESA/Rosetta/NavCam. Made available through Creative Commons license.