7 must-watch environmental movies

The wind is hauling, the air is getting crisp and the nights are growing darker. If you ask us, it’s the perfect time to snuggle up with a blanket, a bowl of popcorn, and a good movie.

But what should you watch?!

We know we’re biased, but we put together a list of kick-ass environmental movies that will inform, inspire, and ignite your climate passion.

Let’s dig in!

From Paris to Pittsburg

It probably hasn’t escaped your attention that Disney came out with a streaming service.

Besides classics like Wall-e, Disney + offers you a range of National Geographic shows and movies about our planet.

One of them is From Paris to Pittsburg, a movie that tells the stories about the effort made around the world to prevent climate change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFznn8FNRbU

Chasing Coral

Remember the movie Chasing Ice? Well, the directors are back with a new epic film about our changing oceans. Chasing Coral took more than three years to shoot and resulted from 500+ hours of underwater footage from 30 countries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6fHA9R2cKI

Living in the Future's Past

This American documentary from 2018produced and narrated by Jeff Bridges, features several scientists discussing how biology, physics, economics, and politics have contributed to the ongoing crises such as climate change, and resource depletion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6fHA9R2cKI

Ice on Fire

After the renowned movie Before the Flood, actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio is back with the movie, Ice on Fire that takes a look at the urgent need for climate action, as well as some of the solutions available to us. The film premiered to a standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival in May 2019 and became an instant climate classic, pulling a solid 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.

A Life on Our Planet

No environmental movie list is complete without Sir David Attenborough. A Life on Our Planet is out now, and with an almost unprecedented 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, A Life on Our Planet is a must-watch for anyone who wants to keep our playground cool. We give it a big thumbs up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64R2MYUt394&t=1s

An Inconvenient Truth

Going back to the roots of climate documentaries, the 2006 movie An Inconvenient Truth sparked a global moment and won numerous awards. Putting the spotlight on climate change, it gave attention to our time's most pressing issue and changed how we talk about our impact on the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu6SE5TYrCM&feature=youtu.be

I Am Greta

Last but in no way least, a movie about the power of the individual. Following the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, I Am Greta brings us along the journey of how one teenager with a mission became the most prominent voice in the fight against climate change.

The film is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom and Germany on 16 October 2020, and in the United States on 13 November.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=xDdEWkA15Rg&feature=emb_logo

The carbon footprint of streaming

After all those movies, you might be curious about what your streaming footprint is. It varies a bit, depending on the streaming service and your country of residence, but a good rule of thumbs is, one hour of Netflix consumes 0.12-0.24 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity. That's 0.085- 0.17 kilograms of CO2, about the same as charging your phone 10-20 times.

While this may not sound like a lot, it does add up over time (hey, we all have binge days). One thing you can do to address your streaming footprint is to compensate for your carbon. It’s simple, affordable, and it allows you to support carbon reduction projects with documented effects.

Read more about how to compensate for your carbon footprint here.

If you’re looking for more environmental movies to watch, check out our previous movie post. Or, if you’re looking for new educational ear candy for those long fall walks, check out these climate change podcasts.