AFFLUENZA (1997)
Af-flu-en-za n. 1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses. 2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by dogged pursuit of the American Dream. 3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth. 4. A television program that could change your life. Affluenza is a one-hour television special that explores the high social and environmental costs of materialism and overconsumption. (56 min) D

AMRIT BEEJA: ETERNAL SEED (1996)
With insightful interviews and rare footage from India's agricultural industry, this keenly observed film depicts Indian women's struggles to use traditional farming practices instead of chemically-based agriculture. Comparing the practices of women who consider seeds sacred with multinational companies' use of sterilized hybrids, this analysis celebrates the scientific basis of women's native traditions in a provocative look at the evolving meanings of healthy land use. (43 min) D

BARAKA (1992)
An incredible journey through 6 continents and 24 countries with no plot, no actors, and no script. Baraka is a collection of high quality images, presented in a moving and compelling manner. The title comes from an ancient Sufi word, which can be translated as "a blessing, or as the breath, or essence of life from which the evolutionary process unfolds." Breathtaking shots from around the world show the beauty and destruction of nature and humans and are coupled with an incredible soundtrack. (96 min) N

BLUE PLANET (1990)
This IMAX film offers an eloquent reminder--and a cautionary warning--that the planet Earth is a delicate living organism, constantly reshaped and rejuvenated by the awesome forces of nature. Hurricanes, glaciers, volcanoes, thunderstorms, asteroid impacts, undersea furnace vents, and earthquakes are all explored as a system of interconnected forces that ensure the planet's survival. The Earth's delicacy is emphasized by stunning views from space, filmed by NASA astronauts in orbit 200 miles above the Earth's surface. With astonishing clarity, this orbital perspective supports the film's ultimate purpose: to reveal the awesome beauty of the Earth, and to emphasize that we, the custodians of this miraculous gift, are also the greatest threat to our one and only home. (42 min) N

BLUE VINYL (2002)
Part family comedy and part horrifying investigative reportage, Blue Vinyl can make one simultaneously laugh and shiver with fear in the same, deceptively low-key moments. Documentary filmmaker Judith Helfand, upset that her parents are re-siding their house with blue vinyl, sets out to discover how vinyl is made and why, according to some scientists, it is the most hazardous of synthetic materials. Along the way, she meets industry representatives who tell her the key chemical incredient in vinyl, chloride, is no more toxic than table salt. She also travels to Venice, Italy, to meet with families of vinyl factory workers dead or dying from chemical exposure, and she visits and intrepid, Louisiana attorney who has sued Ameican vinyl manufacturers on behalf of severely injured former employees. The tale is grim, yet the often on-screen Helfand's approach is folksy and calm--less so when her skeptical parents reject, in several funny scenes, even empirical data about a product they find so convenient. (97 min) D

BORDERLINE CASES (1997)
This film investigates the environmental impact of the nearly 2,000 factories that have been built in Mexico at the US-Mexico border by multinational corporations from the US, Asia, and Europe. In the early rush to globalization these factories, whose workers are paid a fraction of US wages, did not need to comply with costly environmental regulations. The result, according to one reporter, is that the border became "a 2,000 mile long open sewer, a vast toxic waste dump." The public debate over NAFTA brought the border's problems to light. Borderline Cases describes the consequences of 25 years of environmental neglect, the results of five years of earnest activity, and promises for the future. (65 min) D

BROTHER BEAR (2003)
In this animated adventure, the son of an Indian chief killed by a bear vows vengeance but is transformed by spirits into the very thing he sought to slay. Seeing the world through a bear's eyes, the young man learns valuable lessons about the cycle of life. Nominated for an Oscar. (85 min) C

CANE TOADS: AN UNNATURAL HISTORY (1988)
The cane toad - Bufo marinus - was imported to Australia in 1935 in an attempt to rid the country of the greyback beetle, which was devouring the sugarcane crop. Problem was, the beetle could fly and the cane toad couldn't. What the cane toad was unusually proficient at, however, was making more cane toads. A humorous look at a serious problem. (65 min) C

CAPTAIN PLANET: A HERO FOR EARTH (1991)
Gaia, the spirit of Earth, summons five teenagers to help her in the battle to save the planet. In their first adventure, the Planeteers battle Hoggish Greedly, whose oil rig operation is jeopardizing the coastline. In the second, "Deadly Ranson," eco-villains Duke Nukem, Dr. Blight, and MAL hold Captain Planet prisoner in Antarctica and demand that the Planeteers give them a lifetime supply of nuclear waste. (45 min) C

THE CHINA SYNDROME (1979)
While doing a series of reports on alternative energy sources, an opportunistic reporter witnesses an accident at a nuclear power plant. She is determined to publicize the incident, but soon finds herself entangled in a sinister conspiracy to keep the full impact of the incident a secret. Nominated for 4 Oscars. (121 min) F

CHINATOWN (1974)
Private eye Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson), living off the murkey moral climate of sunbaked, pre-war Southern California, is hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair. As he pursues the case, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a vast conspiracy centering on water management, state and municipal corruption, land use and real estate. The web of personal and political scandals finally comes crashing together on one unforgettable night in Chinatown. Oscar winner. (130 min) F

A CIVIL ACTION (1998)
In this true story, John Travolta stars as a personal-injury lawyer approached by a group of families from Woburn, Massachusetts whose drinking water has been found to contain high levels of industrial solvents. Believing the contamination is responsible for the large number of leukemia deaths among the town's children, the citizens hire Travolta to take on the corporate polluters. Nominated for 2 Oscars. (115 min) F

CRUDE IMPACT (2006)
In 1956 M. King Hubbert, a geologist at Shell Research Labs, shocked the oil industry by predicting that U.S. oil production would peak in the early 1970s and then irreversibly diminish. His prediction was villified and largely ignored--until it came true. How quickly will the global peak in oil occur and what are the implications for our way of life and our world? Journeying from the West African Delta region to the heart of the Amazon rainforest, from Washington to Shanghai, from early Man to the unknown future, Crude Impact unravels the complex entanglement of our fierce devotion to oil with the fate of indigenous cultures, human rights, our global economy and the planet itself. Fueled by discovery, outrage, humor and ultimately hope, the film offers an inspirational vision for change. (97 min) D

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW (2004)
This movie takes a big-budget, special-effects look at what the world would be like if the greenhouse effect and global warming continued unabated. The answer: global catastrophe and disaster in the form of hurricanes, tornadoes, tidal waves, floods and, most ominously, the beginning of the next Ice Age. (123 min) F

DEEP BLUE (2005)
Pierce Brosnan narrates this extraordinary documentary that reveals the infinite variety of plant and animal life in the ocean's deepest depths and surrounding ecosystems. Shot in more than 200 locations across the globe, the film features breathtaking cinematography and a myriad of habitats and captures the everyday drama of animals such as killer whales, polar bears, various birds, seals, crabs, fish and dozens of other fascinating creatures. (83 min) N

DROWNED OUT (2004)
Three choices: move to the slums in the city, accept a place at a resettlement site, or stay home and drown. The people of Jalsindhi in central India must make a decision fast. In the next few weeks, their village will disappear underwater as the giant Narmada Dam fills. This film asks the difficult questions: will the water go to poor farmers or to rich industrialists? What happened to the 16 million people displaced by fifty years of dam building? Why should I care? Drowned Out follows the Jalsindhi villagers through hunger strikes, rallies, police brutality, and a six-year Supreme Court case. It stays with them as the dam fills and the river starts to rise... (75 min) D

EMERALD FOREST (1985)
Bill Markham is an American engineer working on a dam project in Brazil. When his young son is seemingly absorbed one day into the dense perils and beauty of the Amazon rain forest, Markham goes on a protracted, 10-year search for him. When he finally tracks down his son, it's quickly apparent that the boy has become part of another world--a world that causes him to question his own. (113 min) F

THE END OF SUBURBIA (2004)
This provocative documentary examines the history of the suburbs and the questionable wisdom of this distinctly American way of life. A post-World War II concept, suburbia attracted droves of people, giving rise to sprawl and all that comes with it--good and bad. How has the environment been affected by this lifestyle and is it susutainable? (77 min) D

ERIN BROCKOVICH (2000)
Broke and desperate, twice-divorced single mom Erin bosses her way into a clerical job with her attorney and promptly stumbles across suspicious connections between a mighty power company, its abuse of toxic chromium, and the poisoned water supply of Hinkley, California, where locals have suffered a legacy of death and disease. The film filters cold facts through warm humanity and proves that greed, neglect, and corporate arrogance are no match against a passionate crusader. Julia Roberts won an Oscar for her starring role. (132 min) F

FERNGULLY (1992)
Fantasy and adventure await in FernGully, a spectacular rainforest where the magical inhabitants join together to save their marvelous world when it is threatened by destructive logging and pollution. (80 min) C

THE FUTURE IS WILD (2003)
Looking 5 million, 10 million and 200 million years into the future, a team of scientists tries to predict what Earth could be like if civilization as we know it is wiped out by massive climate and geographic changes. Brought to life with a combination of animation and real location predictions about ice ages, new creature names and places, and more. (156 min) N

THE FUTURE OF FOOD (2004)
This film documents the trend of unlabeled genetically-modified foods, which have become increasingly prevalent in grocery stores, and unravels the complex web of market and political forces that are changing the nature of what we eat. Explores organic and sustainable agriculture as alternatives to large-scale industrial methods. (88 min) D

GORILLAS IN THE MIST (1988)
This beautifully filmed drama is based on the true story of anthropologist Dian Fossey. Lured to deepest Africa by the chance to study rare mountain gorillas, Foessey learns to communicate with her subjects. The breakthrough turns her academic interest into an all-consuming passion and eventually leads her to risk her life to save the gorillas from poachers and animal traders. (150 min) F

GRIZZLY MAN (2005)
In this mesmerizing film, acclaimed director Werner Herzog explores the life and death of amateur grizzly bear expert and wildlife preservationist Timothy Treadwell, who lived unarmed among grizzlies for 13 summers. (104 min) D

HOOT (2006)
The natural beauties of Florida find some young champions in Hoot, based on the Newberry Honor-winning book by Carl Hiaasen. Roy Eberhardt befriends a colony of endangered owls as he deals with the hazards of being a new kid at his middle school and works valiantly to protect them from greedy developers. Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett is one of the co-producers behind this family-friendly adventure. (95 min) C

IN THE LIGHT OF REVERENCE (2001)
Across the U.S., Native Americans are struggling to protect their sacred places. Religious freedom, so vaunted in America, is not guaranteed to those whose spirituality is wrapped up in the land. Every year, more sacred sites--the nature-based equivalent of the world's great cathedrals--are being destroyed by strip mining, development, rock climbers, and tourists. An award-winning documentary, In the Light of Reverence tells the story of three indigenous communities and the land they struggle to protect: the Lakota of the Great Plains, the Hopi of the Four Corners area, and the Wintu of northern California. (73 min) D

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (2006)
Former Vice President Al Gore presents an eye-opening and compelling view of the future of our planet - and our civilization - in the must-see documentary of the year. This is a wake-up call that cuts through myths and misconceptions to deliver the message that global warming is a real and present danger. An Inconvenient Truth brings home Gore's persuasive argument that we must act now to save the earth. Each and every one of us can make changes in the way in which we live our lives and become part of the solution. (100 min) D

KILOWATT OURS (2005)
What would you find if you traced the wires from your light switch to their energy source? Mountain top removal, childhood asthma, global warming, or hope? Follow filmmaker Jeff Barrie from the coal mines of West Virginia to the solar panel fields of Florida as he discovers solutions to America's energy related problems. Along the way you'll meet everyday Americans finding ways to harness power from the wind and sun. Find out how Jeff and his wife Heather cut their energy bills in half and use a portion of their savings to buy green power. Best of all, Kilowatt Ours will teach you how to dramatically reduce your own energy bill! (56 min) D

THE LORAX (1972)
Based on a children's story written by Dr. Suess. The tale chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax ("a mossy, bossy" man-like creature), who speaks for the trees against the greedy Once-ler. The book is commonly recognized as a parable concerning industrialized society. It is arguably Suess' most controversial work and has been banned in some schools and libraries for its political content. (26 min) C

LOUSIANA STORY (1948)
This Oscar-nominated, Pulitzer-Prize winning masterpiece is both poetic and visually stunning. From the perspective of a young Cajun boy living on the Bayou, the story follows the advent of of an oil rig and its effects on the surrounding land and its people. (79 min) D

MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (2005)
Every year, thousands of emperor penguins make an astonishing journey to breed their young. They are birds, but they do not fly. They are aquatic animals, but this time they will not swim. Instead, they walk - marching day and night in single file 70 miles into the darkest, driest and coldest continent on Earth. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, March of the Penguins is an amazing awe-inspiring, all-ages, true-life tale touched with humor and alive with thrills. Breathtaking photography captures the transcendant beauty and staggering you-are-there drama of devoted parent penguins who, in the face of the fierce polar winter, take turns guarding their egg and trekking to the ocean in search of food. Predators hunt them, storms lash them. But the safety of their adorable, fuzzy chicks makes it all worthwhile. So follow the leader...to adventure! (80 min) N

OIL ON ICE (2004)
Oil on Ice connects the fate of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to critical decisions America makes about energy policy. Caught in the balance are the Gwich'in Indians and the migratory wildlife in this fragile ecosystem. (90 min) D

SILENT RUNNING (1971)
One of the best science fiction films of the 1970s, Silent Running stars Bruce Dern as Freeman Lowell, a nature-loving crewmember aboard the Valley Forge, a gigantic spaceship in a small fleet that carries the last surviving forests of Earth, which has fallen victim to overpopulation and ecological neglect. (90 min) C

SILKWOOD (1983)
Nominated for multiple Oscars, this film is the true story of Karen Silkwood, who blew the whistle on dangerous practices at the plutonium processing plant where she worked after being exposed to radiation. When the official investigation is tampered with, Karen conducts her own inquiry...but she disappears under suspicious circumstances before its completion... (131 min) F

SOYLENT GREEN (1973)
The year is 2022 and New York City is on the verge of complete disaster. Forty million people are crammed into this heavily polluted city, living only on Soylent Green, a soybean-lentil concoction that serves as the single source of food for everyone. Charlton Heston plays Thorn, a police detective trying to keep the peace who stumbles onto a secret so terrifying no one would dare believe him. (97 min) C

SUPER SIZE ME (2004)
In Super Size Me, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock unravels the American obesity epidemic by interviewing experts nationwide and by subjecting himself to a "McDonald's only" diet for thirty days straight. His Sundance award-winning feature is as entertaining as it is horrifying as it dives into corporate responsibility, nutritional education, school lunch programs and how we as a nation are eating ourselves to death. (100 min) D

VARMINTS (2006)
Pound for pound the prairie dog has generated more controversy in the West than almost any other animal. Some say that the prairie dog competes directly with cattle for forage and is an agricultural pest that must be eradicated. Others argue that the prairie dog is an essential component of the prairie ecosystem and that dramatic declines in population and loss of habitat qualify the prairie dog for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Vamints chronicles the decline of the prairie dog in the American West and raises important questions about the ethics of hunting for sport and our relentless effort to control the natural world. (91 min) D

WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? (2006)
Running solely on electricity, General Motors' fleet of EV-1 electric vehicles were so efficient, they were on the brink of altering the future of driving in America--perhaps even the world. Those lucky enough to drive one gave it glowing reviews. So why were they all destroyed? Narrated by Martin Sheen, Who Killed the Electric Car? is a murder mystery like no other, as it unravels the puzzling demise of a vehicle that could have saved the environment and America's dangerous addiction to foreign oil. (93 min) D

WILD AMERICA (1997)
Based on a true story, Wild America follows three brothers as they pursue their dream of becoming naturalists and portraying animal life during one crazy summer. (102 min) C

WINGED MIGRATION (2001)
Three years of shooting were needed by five teams in order to follow bird migrations flying over the seven continents: from one pole to another, from the seas to snowcapped mountains, from the canopy of heaven to mangroves and swamps, from frozen areas and scorching deserts to peaceful countryside. Birds are filmed in flight under all the latitudes, on the ground and even on the seas. The cameras follow every type of movement birds make, whatever their size, altitude, weather conditions and speed of travel. (89 min) N