Environment Videos - The Documentary Network

The Green Apple

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 07:13:41 +0000

They use 40% of the world's energy, emit 50% of its greenhouse gases. "They" are not the cars we drive. "They" are the buildings where we work, live, and grow. Buildings designed with an unconscious disregard for nature. New York, a city that is leading the charge to green its industrial skyline with several groundbreaking projects. New York combats the urban myth of the bustling city as a "concrete jungle." "The Green Apple" explores some of Manhattan's most prominent and technologically advanced structures like One Bryant Park and The Solaire, as well as the innovative minds behind them. The episode illustrates how the ubiquitous skyscraper can surprisingly be a model of environmental responsibility. Narrated by Brad Pitt

London 2012 – The Great Olympic Greenwash

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 04:29:21 +0000

London will soon play host to the 2012 Olympics, which organisers boast will be the most environmentally friendly Games ever. But with the metal for all competitor medals coming from one huge polluting hole in the ground in Utah, could London's 2012 legacy be more greenwash than green? In April of this year, while the 2012 Olympics test events were continuing apace in the pools and stadiums of London, I was with a documentary film crew in Salt Lake City, Utah - driving up, and into, one of the largest open-pit mines in the world. With the mercury rising to record levels in this arid corner of the western US, a trip to the Kennecott Copper Mine was less a visitor's tour than it was a fact-finding mission. This year's medals, the largest and heaviest in Olympic history, will be made almost entirely from the raw materials extracted and smelted at the Kennecott Copper Mine, owned by Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto. But now this mine is also at the centre of a federal lawsuit in the Utah courts, where Rio Tinto Kennecott stands accused of violating the US Clean Air Act for over five years.

The Big Green Apple

Documentary.net staff — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:38:07 +0000

All across New York City roofs are turning green. In the last few years residents of the Big Apple have converted the tops of hundreds of buildings into gardens. As well as providing a retreat from city life these gardens help reduce water runoff.

The Living House

Documentary.net staff — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 06:34:18 +0000

Imagine a future where the cities we live in are built in accordance with nature, where buildings are designed to incorporate features from ecological systems without compromising technological innovation or the quality of the environment. If it sounds like wishful thinking – or science fiction – have a look at what Mitchell Joachim is brewing at the architecture and urban think tank Terreform ONE / Planetary ONE. Based in Brooklyn, New York. It’s the first architectural office that works in tandem with a biology laboratory, uniting an ambitious group of architects, synthetic biologists, and urban planners to bring a promising vision of the city quite literally to life.

China’s Dirty Secrets

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:46:12 +0000

China's juggernaut economy is the envy of the world, but at what cost to the country's people and environment?China's factories provide low cost products such as computers and cars to the rest of the world. But critics claim such economic progress takes a heavy toll, polluting the country's air, land and rivers. Even though China ordered more than 2,000 factories to be shut down last August due to pollution, inefficiency or unsafe working conditions, the country remains a major polluter. Pollution from factories has poisoned potable water supplies and has even led to deaths among the surrounding populace.

The Cost of Climate Change

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:57:22 +0000

Freak weather and natural disasters seem to be on the rise. Over the past 50 years, severe weather patterns have cost 800,000 lives and a trillion dollars in economic losses. A new report puts much of the blame on climate change and the failure of nations to whittle down carbon emissions. So, what is the economic cost of climate change?

The Story of Cosmetics

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 11 May 2011 11:52:01 +0000

The Story of Cosmetics examines the pervasive use of toxic chemicals in our everyday personal care products, from lipstick to baby shampoo. The seven-minute film reveals the implications for consumer and worker health and the environment, and outlines ways we can move the industry away from hazardous chemicals and towards safer alternatives. The film concludes with a call for viewers to support legislation aimed at ensuring the safety of cosmetics and personal care products.

Power in the Air

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 08:28:34 +0000

Nikola Tesla built a tower to broadcast electric power. It failed. Soon, sending power through the air might be the norm.

Exploring the Deep 4 – Corals in the Cold

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 13:13:48 +0000

Marine geologist Claudia Wienberg studies animals whose existence was unknown until a few years ago - cold water corals that live in the cooler regions of the Atlantic or the Mediterranean. Like their tropical relatives, cold water corals can form gigantic reefs which serve as habitats for many different ocean animals and plants. For some researchers they are fascinating for other reasons as well: because the growth of the reefs is influenced by environmental conditions, their structure can provide information about the climate in the past. Extreme changes in the environment can be deadly; in more than 20 percent of the reefs, the corals have died out. In the course of her expeditions Claudia Wienberg made a remarkable discovery. In the Gulf of Cadiz off the Spanish coast she found giant fields of coral remains. Now she is devoting part of her research to finding out the causes of the coral death. Her initial hypothesis is that over the past centuries the water temperature and nutrient levels have changed drastically. The results of Wienberg's study may help predict the fate of the living cold water corals found off the Norwegian or Irish coasts.