Environmental Studies
Environmental Film and Clips
The Beloved Community
United States] : California Newsreel, [2006?] 1 videodisc (56 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.
System Req DVD.
MSU Digital and Multimedia Center TD182.4.O62 S23 2006 VideoDVD
Explores the effects of chemical pollution, including reproductive disorders, on the inhabitants and environment of Sarnia, Ontario.
(Last checked 04/21/08)
Black Gold
Speak-it Films in association with Fulcrum Productions ; filmed, directed, and produced by Marc Francis & Nick Francis ; executive producer, Christopher Hird. [San Francisco?] : California Newsreel, 2006. 1 videodisc (ca. 78 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. DVD
MSU Library Digital and Multimedia Center HD9199.A2 B53 2006 VideoDVD
An award-winning documentary that examines the economic, social, and environmental costs of the $80 billion coffee trade. Directed by brothers Marc and Nick Francis, the film traces the path of the global coffee trade from Ethiopia to London and Seattle. "After oil, coffee is the most actively traded commodity in the world with $80 billion in retail sales. But for every $3 cup of coffee, a coffee farmer receives only 3 cents. Most of the money goes to the middlemen, especially the four giant conglomerates which control the coffee market. Tracing the path of the coffee consumed each day to the farmers who produce the beans, Black Gold asks us to 'wake up and smell the coffee', to face the unjust conditions under which our favorite drink is produced and to decide what we can do about it"...Cover.
(Last checked 04/21/08)
Car Footprint
Freedom on wheels makes a real impact on the environment overy your driving lifetime. A short (4:17 seconds) video from the National Geographic Channel.
(Last checked 04/21/08)
China From the Inside
[Arlington, VA] : PBS Home Video, c2006. 1 videodisc (ca. 240 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. DVD
MSU Digital and Multimedia Center DS779.2 .C453 2007 VideoDVD
A series of four documentaries that survey China through Chinese eyes to see how history has shaped them, and where the present is taking them. Deals with the governance of China; talks about the past and future for Chinese women; looks at China's environmental challenges; explores China's conflict between personal freedom and governance.
(Last checked 04/21/08)
The Corporation : A Documentary
Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott, Joel Bakan.
New York : Zeitgeist Films, 2004. 1 videodisc (145 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. DVD
MSU Business Library Software HD2731 .C686 2004 VideoDVD and MSU Law Library Reserve VIDEO C
This Canadian documentary examines the history and social and environmental impact of the modern corporation. Based on the book, "The corporation: the pathological pursuit of profit and power" by Joel Bakan. An epic in length and breadth, this documentary aims at nothing less than a full-scale portrait of the most dominant institution on the planet Earth in our lifetime--a phenomenon all the more remarkable, if not downright frightening, when you consider that the corporation as we know it has been around for only about 150 years. It used to be that corporations were, by definition, short-lived and finite in agenda. If a town needed a bridge built, a corporation was set up to finance and complete the project; when the bridge was an accomplished fact, the corporation ceased to be. Then came the 19th-century robber barons, and the courts were prevailed upon to define corporations not as get-the-job-done mechanisms but as persons under the 14th Amendment with full civil rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (i.e., power and profit)--ad infinitum.
The Corporation defines this endlessly mutating life-form in exhaustive detail, measuring the many ways it has not only come to dominate but to deform our reality. The movie performs a running psychoanalysis of this entity with the characteristics of a prototypical psychopath: a callous unconcern for the feelings and safety of others, an incapacity to experience guilt, an ingrained habit of lying for profit, etc. We are swept away on a demented odyssey through an altered cosmos, in which artificial chemicals are created for profit and incidentally contribute to a cancer epidemic; in which the folks who brought us Agent Orange devise a milk-increasing drug for a world in which there is already a glut of milk; in which an American computer company leased its systems to the Nazis--and serviced them on a monthly basis--so that the Holocaust could go forward as an orderly process...Amazon.com
(Last checked 04/21/08)
Design EČ : the Economies of Being Environmentally Conscious
Director, Tad Fettig ; series producer, Elizabeth Westrate ; narration writers, Mark Decena, John Kenney ; produced by kontentreal, LLC. Narrator : Brad Pitt. [Alexandria, Va.] : Distributed by PBS Home Video, c2006. 1 videodisc (ca. 180 [i.e. 160] min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. DVD
MSU Digital and Multimedia Center GE195 .D47546 2006 VideoDVD
Examines the economies of being environmentally conscious in green building design. The first program, The green apple, uses New York City, particularly One Bryant Park and the Solaire, to demonstrates how the ubiquitous skyscraper can be a model of environmental responsibility. The second episode, Green for all, features architect and activist Sergio Palleroni as he works to provide design solutions to regions suffering from social and humanitarian crises. Shows projects in East Austin, Tex. and with the Yaqui Indians in Mexico where architecture students are helping residents build low-cost, environmentally-friendly homes using local materials. The third program, The green machine, follows Mayor Richard M. Daley as he strives to make Chicago "the greenest city in America" with numerous LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-certified buildings, a solar-powered public transportation system, and many green roofs, including one on Chicago's City Hall. The fourth episode, Gray to green, takes the notion of the three R's (reduce, reuse, recycle) to grand proportions by turning Boston's "Big Dig" steel and concrete waste into spectacular residential design. The fifth program, China : from red to green? depicts a rapidly urbanizing country at its tipping point and finds a sustainable solution in Steven Holl's Beijing project, which will have the largest geothermal heating/cooling and greywater recycling system in the world upon completion. The sixth program, Deeper shades of green, presents three visionaries who are changing the face of architecture and environmentalism and features some of their projects. Focuses on Ken Yeang and his "bio-climatic" National Library of Singapore, Werner Sobek and R128, his energy-efficient, steel and glass box house, and William McDonough and his model sustainable village of Huangbaiyu, China.
(Last checked 04/21/08)
Environmental Issues and Human Impact
Princeton, N.J. : Cambridge Educational, 2006. 1 DVD, (22 min.) : sd. col. ; 4 3/4 in.
MSU Digital and Multimedia Center TD174 .E5 2006 VideoDVD
Discusses air and water pollution, the effects of pollution on health and the environment, deforestation and loss of wetlands, ozone depletion and global warming, and the negative impact of agriculture, construction, and recreation/tourism.
(Last checked 04/21/08)
An Inconvenient Truth
Hollywood, Calif. : Paramount, c2006. 1 videodisc (96 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.
Digital/Multimedia Center (4 West) QC981.8.G56 I53 2006 VideoDVD
Director Davis Guggenheim eloquently weaves the science of global warming with Mr. Gore's personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change. A longtime advocate for the environment, Gore presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and compelling way. "Al Gore strips his presentations of politics, laying out the facts for the audience to draw their own conclusions in a charming, funny and engaging style, and by the end has everyone on the edge of their seats, gripped by his haunting message," said Guggenheim. An Inconvenient Truth is not a story of despair but rather a rallying cry to protect the one earth we all share. "It is now clear that we face a deepening global climate crisis that requires us to act boldly, quickly, and wisely," said Gore.
For a quick snippet, try Google Video.
For a brief description, try the Wikipedia entry
For the companion book, see
An inconvenient truth : the planetary emergency of global warming and what we can do about it Al Gore. Emmaus, Pa. : Rodale Press, c2006. 325pp. Biomedical and Physical Sciences Library QC981.8.G56 G67 2006
(Last checked 04/21/08)
A Killer Bargain
[San Francisco, Calif.] : California Newsreel, [2006?] 1 videodisc (57 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.
System Req DVD.
MSU Digital and Multimedia Center HD9866.I4 K55 2006 VideoDVD
An indictment of the corporate irresponsibility of various Indian textile companies, who expose their workers to dangerous chemicals (long since banned in the developed world) and pollute their surrounding environments.
(Last checked 04/21/08)
Los Angeles: Dream a Different City
Oley, PA : Bullfrog Films, c2007. 1 videodisc (55 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. DVD.
MSU Digital and Multimedia Center HT177.L7 L67 2007 VideoDVD
LA made smog and pollution into household words. No longer. Its citizens have said enough, and are putting their backs, as well as their words, into the effort to recover the Edens they have lost. 55 min.
(Last checked 04/21/08)
Maquilapolis = City of Factories
Vallejo, CA] : California Newsreel, c2006. 1 videodisc (68 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. DVD
MSU Digital and Multimedia Center HD6101.Z6 T55 2006 VideoDVD
Explores the environmental devastation and urban chaos of Tijuana's assembly factories and the female laborers who have organized themselves for social action.
(Last checked 04/21/08)
Return of the Cuyahoga,
It was just a small fire, one of many that had erupted on Ohio's noxious Cuyahoga River over the years. But despite its minor nature, the Cleveland conflagration of June 22, 1969, became a sort of environmental poster child, illustrating the degradation of America's rivers. Partially because of congressional testimony about pollution given by Cleveland's then-Mayor Carl Stokes, the Clean Water Act was passed in 1972. More importantly, the ways in which the once putrid river has been brought back to health provide a template for other polluted waterways across America. A 2:45 minute clip from YouTube.
(Last checked 04/21/08)
Seattle: The Future is Now
Oley, PA : Bullfrog Films, c2007. 1 videodisc (55 min.) : sd., col. and b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in. DVD
MSU Digital and Multimedia Center HT243.U62 S43 2007 VideoDVD
This program reports on the environmental transformation of Seattle as it struggles to combat the environmental consequences of its increasing population.
(Last checked 04/21/08)
Thirst
Snitow-Kaufman Productions ; produced and directed by Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman. Oley, PA : Bullfrog Films, c2004. 1 videodisc (62 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in. DVD.
MSU Digital and Multimedia Center HD1691 .T54 2004 VideoDVD
This documentary examines the battles over the privatization of water in Bolivia, India, and the United States. Broadcast on PBS televisions stations in 2004, this film raises important questions about the growing corporate control of water systems around the globe.
(Last checked 04/21/08)
Too Hot Not to Handle
Princeton, N.J. : Films for the Humanities & Sciences, p2007, c2006. 1 videodisc (55 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in. DVD
MSU Digital and Multimedia Center QC981.8.G56 T66 2007 VideoDVD
This film offers a wealth of scientific evidence for dire climate change predictions--but it also shows how business, local governments, and citizens can take positive action to reduce future dangers.
(Last checked 04/21/08)
Trash Footprint
Humans produce 246 tons of waste every year. What does the human trash footprint look like? Short video (2:48 minutes) courtesy of the National Geographic Channel.
(Last checked 04/21/08)
What if Humans Disappeared?
Aftermath : Short Term Video (3:50)
Aftermath : Long Term (3:42)
The National Geographic web site provides some interesting answers.
(Last checked 04/21/08)
Who Killed the Electric Car?
A Chris Paine film ; a Dean Devlin/Plinyminor production in association with Papercut Films ; written and directed by Chris Paine ; produced by Jessie Deeter ; executive producers, Dean Devlin, Tavin Marin Titus, Richard D. Titus ; consulting producer, Alex Gibney ; co-producers, Kathy Weiss, Rachel Olschan ; co-executive producers, Kearie Peak, Mark Roskin, Stanford R. Ovshinsky. Culver City, Calif. : Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, c2006. 1 videodisc (93 min.) : sd., col. with b&w sequences ; 4 3/4 in.
MSU Digital and Multimedia Center TL220 .W46 2006 VideoDVD
A revealing documentary that examines why General Motors decided to stop production of its EV1 electric car. It traces the car's history from its birth in a Lansing, Michigan factory in 1996 to GM's decision to stop production in 2002 and explores in a Who-done-it style the reasons why.
(Last checked 04/21/08)
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