Film Descriptions

 

Gasland (107 min)

The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of "fracking" or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a "Saudia Arabia of natural gas" just beneath us. But is fracking safe? When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. A recently drilled nearby Pennsylvania town reports that residents are able to light their drinking water on fire. This is just one of the many absurd and astonishing revelations of a new country called GASLAND. Part verite travelogue, part expose, part mystery, part bluegrass banjo meltdown, part showdown. (from film web site) Visit film web site.

Ghost Bird (85 min)

Ghost Bird is a feature length documentary about an extinct giant woodpecker, a small town In Arkansas hoping to reverse it misfortunes, and the tireless odyssey of the bird-watchers and scientists searching for the Holy Grail of birds, the elusive Ivory-billed woodpecker. The New York Times calls Ghost Bird "a witty, wistful documentary (that turns) a bird-watching tale into a multilayered story that will fascinate practically everybody." (from film web site) Visit the web site.

Blue Gold: World Water Wars (90 min)

FRONTLINE examines the rising hazards to human health and eco-system, and why it's so hard to keep our waters clean. The coastal estuaries of Puget Sound and the Chesapeake Bay-are in perilous condition. Polluted runoff still flows in from industry, agriculture, and massive suburban development, and scientists fear contamination to the food chain, drinking water, as well as a growing list of endangered species. (from film jacket) Visit the web site.

Buyer Be Fair: the Promise of Product Certification (60 min)

Buyer Be Fair: The Promise of Product Certification takes viewers to Mexico, the Netherlands, the UK, Sweden, the USA and Canada to explore how conscious consumers and businesses can use the market to promote social justice and environmental sustainability through product labeling, with a focus on Fair Trade coffee and Forest Stewardship Council certified wood. Buyer Be Fair is an inspirational and balanced television special that reaches beyond the choir to present the promise of product certification to a wide audience. (from film web site) Visit the web site.

End of the Line (85 min)

Humans have long regarded the world's oceans as vast and inexhaustible. Now, we have learned otherwise. Based on the critically acclaimed book by Charles Clover, The End of the Line charts the devastating ecological impact of overfishing by interweaving both local and global stories of sharply declining fish populations, including the imminent extinction of the bluefin tuna, and illuminates how our modern fishing capacities far outstrip the survival abilities of any ocean species. Scientists explain how this depletion has slipped under the public radar and outline the catastrophic future that awaits us an ocean without fish by 2048 if we do not adjust our fishing and consumption practices.

An alarming call to action that is already changing the world, the film narrates an escalating global crisis that can only be avoided by recovering and sustaining the incredible vitality of the sea. Beyond detailing the issues at hand, The End of the Line outlines the solutions, motivating supermarkets, restaurants and individuals to take the necessary steps to save the ocean. Now you can join them. (from film jacket) Visit the web site.

Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai (80 min)

Taking Root tells the dramatic story of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai whose simple act of planting trees grew into a nationwide movement to safeguard the environment, protect human rights, and defend democracy—a movement for which this charismatic woman became an iconic inspiration. (from film web site) Visit the web site.

 

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BC Earth Week is organized every spring by the BC Student Science Association. For more information contact Rob Viens in the BC Science Division at rob.viens@bellevuecollege.edu or (425) 564-3158.