Turns out you can Netflix and save the world. Well, at least learn more about it and get some ideas on what you can do. We challenge you to pick one. Just focus on one thing you can implement in your personal life to help save the world. If you have some time or money left over after that, pick one cause you can spend it on. And importantly, if you’ve watched something you’ve found revealing, inspiring, information or eye-opening tell your friends about it. Maybe we can all group together and do something.
1. Plastic Oceans
An eye opening documentary that’s as good a place as any to start. In fact, just start here. 8 million tons of plastic waste enters our ocean each year. We need to fix this pollution issue. Badly. Now.
Watch it here.
2. Chasing Coral
This film comes from the same guys as Chasing Ice (double points for watching both!). Our coral reefs are vanishing as we live and this documentary takes us on an adventure under the seas to capture our oceans and how they’re changing day by day so we can see our impact. It’s not an easy feat, but it’s a worthwhile one.
Watch it here.
3. Mission Blue
A film about Sylvia Earle and her foundation – the exceptional marine biologist still diving the depths of the blue (in her 80s!), creating hope spots around the world. Sylvia broke ground in underwater research and her life has been a phenomenal light for the plight of the sea.
Watch it here.
4. In Defense of Food
The book was excellent (it was a number one on the New York Times list) and so is the film which is an easy and informative watch. Michael Pollen is gentle to watch and articulates well and this is a common sense theory. But one a lot of the world isn’t quite getting.
Watch it here.
5. Blue Planet 2
This series is mind blowing – we cannot rave about it enough. We love Percy the clever fish. And the camouflaging octopus. And the false killer whales making friends with dolphins. Ok we love it all – watch it. Right now. At the end of each episode they also show the backstory in how they achieved a particular shot of the footage – it’s fascinating (and makes us want to be under water videographers and researchers).
Watch it here.
6. Years of Living Dangerously
I stumbled on watching this in a plane one day and was instantly addicted. It brings together some of the best entertainers and activists including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Don Cheadle, Harrison Ford, Chris Hayes, America Ferrera, Matt Damon & Sigourney Weaver along with many more names you’ll recognize. The series tackles numerous angles of climate change along with a firsthand accounts and award winning journalism.
Watch it here.
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
– Michael Pollen
7. Before the Flood
Created by National Geographic, this doco takes Leonardo DiCaprio, an avid advocate of climate change, on a journey across five continents and the Arctic to observer the effects of climate change we are already living with. Their access also gets us listening to thought leaders of the world and hearing insights from some of the best scientists.
Watch it here.
8. Tales by Light
A mini-series running on Netflix giving us an eye into the world through the lens of photographers (so naturally it’s a favorite of mine!). The series are short, focus on an activity or goal and showcase the world, our people and cultures. Which in turn makes us want to explore it (and thereby save it so we can still experience it).
Watch it here.
9. Just eat it: a food waste movie
We all love food – we watch shows about it (Chef’s Table anyone?), delight over the photography of it, travel to other countries to try it, and look forward to tasting what we know will be amazing. The problem? We waste nearly half of all our food. Whilst half the world still goes hungry. It’s insane. So watch this.
Watch it here.
It doesn’t require a complete revolution in the way we treat food. It’s just tweaking it slightly and usually in delicious ways.
