Great Green Idea: Green Products: Five Environmental Movies and Books That You Need to Know!

Five Environmental Movies and Books That You Need to Know!

By Jillian Fellows

Movies Princess Mononoke (1997)

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Don't be fooled. This may be an animated movie but it has teeth. Princess Mononoke is the brainchild of Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. In stunning animation, Hayao depicts a war between humans and nature. The hero of the film is caught between a mining town exploiting nature's resources and the inhabitants of the forest fighting for their home. The message is clear, the overconsumption and wasteful use of our natural resources leads down a destructive path. In Princess Mononoke, it takes near annihilation for the miners to recognize the errors of their ways.

Ferngully: The Last Rainforest (1992)

Perhaps the most environmentally minded children's movie to ever be made, Ferngully is a 75-minute long rainforest preservation PSA. Set in Australia, the peaceful home of the fairies is disrupted by a gang of chainsaw wielding humans and their tree shredder. When one of those humans gets shrunk down to fairy size, he sees the world through new eyes and must help the fairies save their home from the unleashed smog monster Hexxus, who is toxic to all nature. A bit heavy handed with its message, Ferngully nevertheless delivers a poignant environmental message to the kiddies about deforestation.

Erin Brockovich (2000)

This 2000 film starring Julia Roberts is based on the amazing true life story of Erin Brockovich. After unearthing several documents that indicate a California town's water supply was infected with industrial poisoning, threatening the health of the populace, single mother Brockovich leaps into action. Brockovich wages a legal fight against the industrial giant Pacific Gas and Electric Company and wins, getting compensation for the affected residents. This movie very obviously details the dangers of pollution and toxic waste, but it also shows how one person can make a difference.

Avatar (2009)

Perhaps you've heard of it? James Cameron's little super blockbuster that became the highest grossing movie of all time may have all the characteristics of a sci-fi epic, but it also has some very overt green themes. In a plot fairly similar to Ferngully, humans travel to a new planet to mine a precious resource with very little regard for the native inhabitants. It's not until a former Marine experiences life amongst the Na'vi that he realizes the beauty of the creatures and the forest they live in. What follows is a battle amongst the humans and the Na'vi that devastates the forest and eventually expels the greedy humans from the planet. Avatar is the most widely-viewed environmental movie of all time, bringing its message about respect for nature to millions around the world.

Koyaanisqatsi (1982)

The title is a mouthful but the actual film itself has no dialogue. That's just one of the reasons the 1982 Koyaanisqatsi, which means "life out of balance" in Hopi, is unique. The movie is primarily slow motion and time-lapse footage of landscapes, urban and rural, around the U.S. There is no narration, just the images and the soundtrack. The film portrays the relationship between humans, nature and technology. The movie doesn't push its message onto the viewer; it allows the viewer to find their own meaning in the imagery.

Books The Lorax: Dr. Seuss (1971)

This wonderful little gem is accessible not only for the children Dr. Seuss wrote his book for, but also for the adults who read it to them. Within the bright colored pages and beyond the cute rhymes is a real, potent message that will linger with a child into old age. The book begins in a desolate, smoggy town as a young boy pays the Once-ler to tell the story of the Lorax. The Once-ler tells of how years ago, the grass was green, there were flowers, the water was clean, and there were the Truffula trees. The Once-ler cut down the Truffula trees for industry, devastating the environment and creating the dreary world the boy now lives in. Throughout the tale, the Lorax, who speaks for the trees, is ignored until the very end when it is too late to undo the damage that has been done and he exiles himself in sadness. The story ends with the Once-ler giving the boy a Truffula seed for him to plant, hopefully improving the environment so that the Lorax can return. The story leaves the reader with a fleeting hope that it's not too late, that the future can still be bright, and it all it takes is someone to care.

Solar: Ian McEwan (2010)

This recently published book by famed author Ian McEwan is, as you may be able to deduce from its title, about solar energy. The novel follows physicist Michael Beard through three important periods of his life. Beard's personal failings culminate when his wife cheats on him with his junior colleague, who then dies in a freak accident. Beard promptly steals his colleague's research and passes it off as his own, becoming a leader in solar energy development. His personal life continues to fall in shambles around him and all things come to a head at the opening ceremony of his new solar power plant. McEwan juxtaposes humor and science to detail the life of a very flawed man seeking a solar energy based solution for climate change.

Anthill: Edward O. Wilson (2010)

Another recently published novel, Anthill spans the childhood of Raff Cody, a boy growing up in Nokobee, Alabama. The book was written by Edward O. Wilson, the "father of sociobiology" and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. In Anthill, Raff finds solace from a troubled home life in the study of ants and becomes a bit of an expert. Raff's story comes to a climax when land developers want to build on his ants' land. Raff, of course, can't let that happen. Anthill preaches the same message as Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who; a person's a person, no matter how small. One of the most fascinating parts of the novel comes from "The Anthill Chronicles," in which the story is written from the ants' point of view. The ants and their fragile environment could be bulldozed without a second thought if it weren't for Raff, who speaks for the ants because they can't and demonstrates how precious nature is.

Strong Motion: Jonathan Franzen (1992)

In his second novel, Jonathan Franzen delves into the world of seismology, or earthquakes. The novel opens with Louis Holland arriving in Boston after a series of odd earthquakes on the East Coast. Louis finds himself falling in love with a seismologist, Renee, who thinks she's figured out the cause of the seismic activity. Renee thinks the long-time pumping of secret wastes by industries into the earth may be at fault. Franzen weaves a very intricate tale, featuring a love story, conspiracy, dysfunctional family dynamics, and a well-researched environmental disaster caused by human hands to highlight the dangers of meddling with nature.

Silent Spring: Rachel Carson (1962)

This is the book that started it all. Rachel Carson's 1962 book, Silent Spring, is widely credited with launching the environmental movement. The book deals with the effects of pesticides and pollution on the environment, and eventually helped ban the pesticide DDT. The subject of the book is primarily birds, whose songs are being silenced by the invisible poison being thrown over farmlands. Carson was a well-known nature writer at the time, but Silent Spring was her first venture into social criticism. Carson put the blame for the overuse of pesticides, which she wrote were harming not only the environment and animals, but humans as well, on the chemical industry and public officials, resulting in sharp backlash. Carson's Silent Spring may be the oldest book on this list but it still has legs and a worthy message to impart about speaking up against environmental injustice.