‘You’ve got to watch this documentary on…’ is a phrase we’re all too familiar with.
One of the most frustrating parts of discussing climate change with someone are the eye rolls you will undoubtedly have to deal with. Most people prefer to extract information from documentaries or YouTube videos before they can even begin to think of discussing the topic at hand. Not everyone is going to agree with you, but you can at least plant seeds to gently nudge your friends in the right direction.
We’ve heard it all before. They won’t listen to you but they will listen to a documentary to glean new knowledge. So here are some loaded YouTube channels and documentaries for your undecided friends and family to get started with.
Hot Mess
Hot Mess is a climate change channel hosted by Miriam Nielsen, Talia Buford, and Joe Hanson. Each episode focuses on a specific subject, and there are snippets to help the uninitiated better understand the climate emergency from a baseline perspective.
This Changes Everything
A film by prolific activist and author Naomi Klein this documentary takes a wide-angle view on the breakdown of global human-driven climate change, looking at fossil fuels and campaigners around the world. The film is based on her book of the same name.
Climate Adam
Hosted by Dr Adam Levy, this show tackles climate breakdown from the view of a video diary. Climate Adam describes himself as a “Doctor in climate science from Oxford. Trying to make sense of climate change with fun YouTube vids.” Climate Adam uploads new material once a month.
Before The Flood
This 2016 documentary is executive produced by Martin Scorcese. Hosted by Leonardo Di Caprio, it chronicles his journey exploring the effects of climate change and also documents his time filming the movie ‘The Revenant’ and how snow they needed (guaranteed each year) did not materialise due to global warming. In-turn this forced production to another location. It can be found on Netflix.
It’s OK To Be Smart
Although he appears not to be open-minded about everything, Joe Hanson, Ph.D, likes to be grounded with what he can see and touch. Although this limits him, it also makes him the perfect candidate to explain anthropogenic climate change. “Join me as I explore curiosity and illuminate the science behind… well, everything.”
It’s OK To Be Smart, doesn’t exclusively focus on the climate crisis, but Joe Hanson uploads plenty of material that does.
Climate Change – the Facts
If your parents are traditional and won’t listen to anything other than the BBC, then we’ve got you covered. It’s not unheard of for older folk to reject the notion of what is happening to our world. But when the 1950s BBC vocal tone is heard, it can wrangle them into understanding. Filled with facts and a good place to start, Climate Change – The facts will help enlighten another sort of audience. It is available on BBC iPlayer.
Have we missed anything? Get in touch and let us know.
Stanisland Magazine 