We independently assess all our recommendations. Purchases through our links may earn us a commission.
Every year on April 22, people around the world celebrate Earth Day as a chance to talk about the greatest threats to our planet and how we might solve them. It was one of the earliest efforts in the United States to increase the political will of our country to actually stop this looming threat. 51 years later, that political will is still weak, as many of our government leaders refuse to hold unsustainable industries accountable for their role in climate change.
To drive home that need for greater accountability, spend this Earth Day marathoning these five documentaries about the different ways that climate change threatens our planet and meet the communities who are most vulnerable to those threats.
As you take a deep dive into the pervasive, planet-wide destruction that is likely to leave you feeling hopeless and helpless, keep the following point in mind:
You Are Not Responsible for Killing the Planet
Big, expensive advertisement campaigns have been deployed by big businesses to make people feel like the planet is dying because we suck as consumers. We take long showers. We don’t recycle enough. We eat too much meat. We forget to tell the bartender to leave the straw out of our drink, so now all the turtles are dead.
While using less plastic and eating less meat would lower your carbon footprint, your individual carbon footprint is already so small compared to, say, that plastic manufacturing plant or that oil pipeline that it won’t make a difference.
The fate of the planet depends upon stopping these massive industries from causing climate change, not on whether or not you remembered to bring your reusable tote bag to the grocery store.
It’s true that in a more sustainable world, you would see some changes to your daily routine. Reusable tote bags, less meat, and fewer plastic straws are certainly going to be among them. However, the change needs to start at the top, not with you.
You can make a bigger impact by working with organizations who are fighting for policy changes and holding these industries accountable for the destruction they cause. To help you do that, I’ve listed some organizations under each documentary that work to address the specific climate issues raised by the film:
1. Sustainable
This investigation into industrial agriculture will make viewers realize just how unstable our current food system is. Sustainable documents the impact of pesticide contamination, soil loss, and water depletion caused by industrial farming practices that seek to maximize crop yield but render the land infertile in the process. Viewers see how big agribusinesses took over so much of America’s farmland while following the story of Marty Travis, a seventh-generation farmer who’s building a sustainable food movement in Illinois.
Where You Can Get Started:
Here are a couple organizations you can get involved with if you want to join the fight for a more sustainable and equitable food system:
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)
This is an alliance of grassroots organizations that fights for policy reform at the local and federal level. The policies they fight for are aimed at holding the agriculture industry accountable for the harm it does to the environment as well as supporting small, sustainable farmers.
You can help by supporting local NSAC farmers near you, spreading the message on social media, sending a letter to your local representative, or donating to the coalition. Learn more and take action on the website.
Groundswell International
This organization supports small farmers around the world, giving priority to farms run by women. The support they provide comes in the form of monetary donations, policy reform proposals, and training in sustainable farming practices (which are localized to the regions where the farmers are).
You can get involved by donating, spreading the message on social media, or hosting a fundraiser.
2. Seaspiracy
This new documentary about ocean pollution is not just another “microplastics in the ocean” awareness film. It digs deeper into the role the fishing industry plays in plastic pollution and ocean ecosystem damage more broadly. It also touches on the rampant problem of slavery in the fishing industry.
What this documentary reveals about how much damage commercial fishing is causing to the oceans and to the local communities who depend on them is astonishing. However, the final message that your best response is to just eat less fish is a little anticlimactic.
Where You Can Get Started:
Join the fight to end slavery on the high seas and stop the destruction of our ocean ecosystems with these organizations:
International Transport Worker Federation
The ITF is a global trade union representing over 20 million workers in 140 countries. They organize workers into unions, campaign against companies that use slavery, and pressure governments to do better at holding those companies accountable and ending the abuse and exploitation of fishers.
You can get involved by spreading the message about their campaigns on social media or joining the solidarity network to participate in direct actions online and offline.
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
The CRITFC is an alliance of indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest who are working to restore damaged coastal systems and revive local fish populations as well as protect tribal treaty fishing rights, which would help reduce overfishing and stop the ecological damage caused by commercial fishers in the area.
You can support CRITFC by buying fish from local indigenous fishers or spreading the message about urgent advocacy issues the commission is working to address.
National Family Farm Coalition
The NFFC is a coalition of independent farmers, ranchers, and fishers who are fighting to end the corporate monopoly on all our food systems so that we can transition to a sustainable future, complete with a vibrant network of small and mid-size farmers and fishers.
You can take action by participating in the latest campaigns, sending letters to your local representatives, volunteering to help family farmers, donating, or by working with one of the local member groups.
3. There’s Something in the Water
Directed by Elliot Page and Ian Daniel, this documentary tells the stories of three communities in Page’s home province of Nova Scotia who are each confronted by a different threat to their environment. Through these stories, Page highlights the very real ways that environmental harm is disproportionately shouldered by communities of color.
According to a study in Science Advances, the communities least responsible for causing climate change will be most severely impacted by its effects. This is a process known as environmental racism where potentially hazardous projects, like the landfill or the toxic runoff of the paper mill seen in this documentary, are placed in communities of color and then not held accountable for the harm they cause.
Where You Can Get Started:
To help marginalized communities who are unfairly bearing the burden of climate change’s disastrous effects, join these organizations fighting for climate justice:
Stop Alton Gas
The Alton Gas pipeline mentioned in the video has been delayed, but the Canadian government still seems bent on revising regulations so that Alton Gas would be allowed to continue its construction. So, it’s too soon to take the pressure off. You can join the Mi’kmaq Nation in the fight to Stop Alton Gas by donating money or supplies, visiting the camp to stand in solidarity against Alton Gas, or spreading the message on social media.
Stop Line 3
Line 3 is yet another oil pipeline that will tear through untouched wetlands and treaty-protected indigenous territory to deliver oil from Alberta to Wisconsin. You can join the fight against this pipeline by signing their petition, donating money or supplies, spreading the message on social media, and changing your bank if yours is one of the 64 banks backing pipeline expansions. You’ll find a list on their site of alternative black-owned and indigenous-owned banks and credit unions where you can open an account.
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
The DSCEJ is a collaboration of community environmental groups and universities in the southern United States that are working toward policy reform, advocacy, and community assistance to help communities of color who are disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards like landfills, toxic emissions from factories, water contamination, and other issues.
You can support the cause by donating and spreading the message about their work on social media.
4. Lowland Kids
The two teenagers in this short documentary represent the first Americans who will be made climate refugees. However, across the planet, 65 million people who live in island nations are facing the same threat. As sea levels rise, these islands will be among the first to disappear. The water will swallow up the homes where they grew up, the towns where they worked, the shops and parks where they gathered. These are people who are literally losing everything.
Beyond the loss of islands, resource loss in general caused by sudden weather events, ecosystem destruction, and other climate change-related disasters will force an estimated 143 million people in total to become climate refugees, forced to flee their homes because they are no longer habitable.
Where You Can Get Started:
Stopping sea level rise would require radical policy reform to reverse global warming, so voting in favor of strong climate policy like the Green New Deal is a good start. In the meantime, you can also work with this organization helping climate refugees:
Environmental Justice Foundation
The EJF provides training for activists to learn how to research and document human rights abuses. The organization is primarily focused on raising awareness and pressuring governments to provide assistance to climate refugees. You can get involved by donating, signing a petition, or volunteering on one of their campaigns.
5. The Condor and the Eagle
The Condor and the Eagle was made to remind you that you’re not too small nor too powerless to fight climate change. The film follows four indigenous leaders as they travel the world, uniting communities and building a global, grassroots movement to fight climate change. Throughout, you’ll get a survey of the different ways climate change impacts different communities, from oil spills in Canada to mega-fires in Australia.
I included this on the list not only for the inspiring message but also to highlight that, in the fight for climate justice, the best organizations to support are usually the ones led by the very people who have skin in the game. Not only do these local communities experience the bulk of the impact of climate change, they also know best how to build a sustainable alternative to the unsustainable systems we rely on today.
Where You Can Get Started:
You can join indigenous-led organizations by looking up which tribes live near you and supporting any actions led by them, or by supporting this coalition of indigenous communities:
Indigenous Environmental Network
This is a global coalition of indigenous communities working to fight for climate justice around the world. Issues range from stopping ecologically destructive projects (like pipelines) to pushing for policies that hold these industries accountable, and fighting to strengthen and uphold indigenous rights.
You can support the IEN by donating to the cause, signing their petitions, and spreading the message about their latest campaigns on social media.
