Documentary Reflection

February 26, 2022 By: Zhuorui Ye

Civil disobedience in environmentalism refers to a wide range of actions taken by citizens to protect the environment. They may be from civil organizations, grassroots groups, and individuals worldwide. The environmental civil disobedience movement aims to agitate for the conversation of the environment and the adoption of measures to prevent further damages.[1] Civil disobedience majorly focuses on the actions of political and corporate actors. Disobedience against the perceived apathy of government and institutions towards activities that endanger the environment is necessary.[2] Documentary evidence and media articles reveal that civil disobedience has played a significant role in the history of environmentalism because it has defended the environment from government and corporate actions that may degrade it.

The present climate crisis has threatened to dismantle vulnerable ecosystems. However, governments have taken little or no steps towards environmental conservation, which means that civil disobedience is the primary option left. Civil disobedience is the best way to manifest the emergency required for people to solve the current global crisis.[3] People should organize effective and efficient actions. It is crucial to use direct nonviolence action within the environmental movement for the government to take action. However, some governments have sided with the big tech companies and manufacturers instead of promoting measures that reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), thus, preventing climate change.[4] In a recent news media article in CBC, the Canadian government claims that thousands of carcasses of pigs drowned in B.C. floods pose no threat to the environment. However, the residents are concerned about the potential water pollution that may occur due to the carcasses. In this case, civil disobedience can be an important tool for ensuring environmental conservation.

Some of the environmental activism documentaries in the course, such as Rebellion (Nature of Things), Climate Change Babies, and VeraCity: The Fight for Tomorrow, highlight the importance of civil disobedience in environmentalism. For example, in Rebellion, the CBC series host Suzuki encourages the formation of a youth climate protest movement and the importance of social justice mobilization.[5] Furthermore, the Climate Change Babies explores the importance of involving children in social change effects. Other documentaries show the impacts of pipelines and natural gas on climate change and the environment and why people should engage in civil disobedience and call the government to ban some of the activities responsible. These documentaries align with the current events and the call to action promoted by different organizations and movements disturbed by the government’s inaction and the apathy towards manufacturing companies who have continued to pollute the environment.[6] Civil disobedience across the world has led thousands of protestors to take on the biggest fossil fuel companies.

Civil disobedience brings positive changes in environmentalism because it calls out the government and corporate actors to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and address climate change. When people gather and protest against corporations that produce non-renewable energy sources, they get global attention and sensitize others about the importance of environmental conservation. Documentaries have shown that civil disobedience from different groups in society, such as the youth and even children, is vital in ensuring that governments and corporations do not commit crimes against the planet and society without retribution. Civil disobedience might be the solution to the present climate crisis.

[1] Kara Moses, “Civil Disobedience Is the Only Way Left to Fight Climate Change,” The Guardian, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/13/civil-disobedience-climate-change-protesters.

[2] Moses, “Civil Disobedience Is the Only Way Left to Fight Climate Change.”

[3] Winston Szeto, “Thousands of Carcasses of Pigs Drowned in B.C. Floods Won’t Pollute Environment, Composting Plant Says,” CBC News, 2022, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/net-zero-waste-pig-carcass-princeton-1.6329158.

[4] Szeto, “Thousands of Carcasses of Pigs Drowned in B.C. Floods Won’t Pollute Environment, Composting Plant Says.”

[5] Sarah El Gharib, “8 Climate Change Documentaries Every Canadian Should Watch,” Global Citizen, 2021, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/climate-change-documentaries-canada/.

[6] El Gharib, “8 Climate Change Documentaries Every Canadian Should Watch.”