Humanity Documentaries uk
Electric cars are supposed to be more environment friendly than vehicles with combustion engines. But how ecological is it to produce batteries, and are they used efficiently? We take a look at technical developments and ask how we can produce more environment-friendly batteries and make the energy management of electric cars more efficient.
By 2050, passenger planes could release three times more greenhouse gases than they do today. How can flying become more climate-friendly? We take a look at the latest developments in research.
More than 4000 satellites orbit the Earth, and the services they provide are part of our everyday life. But space debris is a major threat to satellites, and already managed to bring the Hubble space telescope to a standstill. How can space debris be disposed of? We take a look at the possibilities and the latest findings in research.
Based on an essay written by noted best-selling novelist Jonathan Franzen for The New Yorker, ‘Emptying the Skies’ chronicles the rampant poaching of migratory songbirds in southern Europe. Songbird populations have been drastically declining for several decades, and a number of species face imminent extinction. The film explores the wonder of these tiny globe-flying marvels, millions of which are unlawfully slaughtered each year for large sums on the black market.
Decades before scientists called the world's attention to the imminent dangers of global warming, the elders of one of Alaska's last remaining indigenous communities, the Yupik people, warned their children: "When the world will change, the climate will change and then men will change ”.
The Citarum river in Indonesia, is the world's most polluted river. A reporter teamed up with international scientists to investigate the causes and consequences of this pollution. One of the main polluters is actually the fashion industry : 500 textile factories throw away their wastewater directly into the Citarum river.
The world’s food supply becomes more and more imbalanced. One billion people are starving, every second a child dies of hunger or its consequences. At the same time food production is at its peak, the demand for meat is growing not only in the industrial world. Up to 30% of the world’s harvest is ruined by diseases or pests and less than half ends up on our plate. This film reveals the causes and impacts and tries to find solutions how we can feed up to nine billion people in the next 35 years.
The march towards the dominance of GM products in agriculture started 15 years ago but where will it end? Today in Argentina all agriculture is transgenic but after 15 years the weeds have adapted and the Glyphosate no longer works. In response farmers have started using hazardous chemicals in an indiscriminate and unregulated manner. In some areas the rate of serious genetic deformities in children has exploded. We meet the families and doctors convinced that living so close farms is the cause.
Every second, another ten tons of plastic is produced. 10% of all plastic produced ends up in the oceans, leading to predictions that, by 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the sea. Faced with this global scourge, more and more businesses are promising to recycle, including the Coca-Cola Company, a group that sells 4000 plastic bottles around the world every second.
In this film, first-time father and prize-winning journalist Benoît Bringer investigates whether we should still eat meat. As the population grows and the pressure to provide cheap food increases, there has been a drive towards relentless productivity and industrialized farming. Animal cruelty, major health issues and environmental damage are inevitable consequences. We can all see the problem. But are there alternatives?
Beautifully shot and interweaving interviews with scenes from soy fields in Paraguay, Raising Resistance explores Latin American farmers’ struggle against the expanding production of genetically modified soy in South America. Biotechnology, mechanisation, and herbicides have radically changed the lives of small farmers in Latin America. For farmers in Paraguay this means displacement from their land, loss of basic food supplies, and a veritable fight for survival.
What will we eat in the future? In order to reduce the consumption of food from animal sources, food technicians are looking for new plant-based proteins. One promising alternative product could be the lupin.
Famous American economist and Director of The Earth Institute in New York, Jeffrey Sachs, has a vision. He intends to avoid world temperature rising by more than 2°c before 2050. The challenge is crucial because beyond these extra 2°c, the Earth is bound to experience dramatic situations, or worse big catastrophes. It is essential to divide by two the greenhouse gas emissions, which mainly come from the production and use of fossil fuels in transport, building, and industry.
Butterflies are often synonymized with warm summer days, unspoiled nature and a healthy environment. Its miraculous transformation from caterpillar to remarkable winged beauty has been a point of constant intrigue. However, in the last few years, many have observed a decrease in the butterfly population. A much-discussed topic in the entomological society is the decline of the insect populace, but to what extent is this topic relevant to our beloved butterflies?
What drives people all over the world to hunt animals, often driving them towards extinction? How does hunting affect our relationship with nature and impact fragile ecosystems? And how do hunting lobbies influence law makers and the media?Through the personal story of one ex-hunter, ’On The Wild Side’ unites the global anti-hunting movement, while also providing an overview of hunting throughout history.
Living the Change explores solutions to the global crises we face today through the inspiring stories of people pioneering change in their own lives and in their communities in order to live in a sustainable and regenerative way.
We investigate the commercialization of the natural world. Protecting our planet has become big business with companies promoting new environmental markets. This involves species banking, where investors buy up vast swathes of land, full of endangered species, to enable them to sell 'nature credits'. Companies whose actions destroy the environment are now obliged to buy these credits and new financial centres have sprung up, specializing in this trade.
To respond to global demand and population growth, energy production will have to increase by 75% by 2050. The fossil fuels that we currently use on a massive scale are becoming increasingly rare and are highly polluting, wreaking havoc on the climate.
The oceans are at the heart of the terrestrial climate machine. Without them, there is no life. However, they are subjected to significant changes: heating, acidification, pollution, a loss of biodiversity. In 2050, we will do all it takes to preserve them.
‘ĀINA: That Which Feeds Us’ – The best-kept secret on Kaua`i isn’t a secluded beach or local surf spot, it’s that four of the world’s largest chemical companies are using the island as an open-air testing ground for pesticides on genetically modified crops. Winner Accolades Global Film Competition.
