Farley Mowat

Green screen: The sequel

A nod to a few environmental movies done well.

Last year, I wrote about some of the worst efforts to incorporate environmental themes into cinema.

One of the all-time stinkers celebrates its 50th anniversary this month. On July 24, 1971, Godzilla versus the Smog Monster made its domestic debut to Japanese audiences.

Primarily known for stomping Tokyo, the giant reptile switched mid-career to saving it. Hedorah the Smog Monster rides to Earth on a meteor, looking pretty much like a flying loogie, feeds on, then globally redistributes pollution while giving audiences someone to blame other than heavy industry.

Now that was insurrection done right. Godzilla prevailed, of course.

But this time, let's focus on environmental movies done well and hand out a few laurels.

Never Cry Wolf

Here's a forgotten favorite of mine: Never Cry Wolf, the autobiographical adventure of Canadian writer Farley Mowat. His character is played by Charles Martin Smith, the diminutive actor best known for supporting roles in such non-environmental classics as American Graffiti and The Untouchables.

Dispatched to the sub-Arctic to prove the Canadian Government's case that wolf populations were a menace, biologist Smith came to a politically incorrect conclusion.

Dark Waters

Mark Ruffalo

In 2019, Mark Ruffalo starred in Dark Waters, a dramatization of the plight of Parkersburg, West Virginia, residents contaminated by C8. (Credit: Gage Skidmore/flickr)

Mark Ruffalo gained fame as the Incredible Hulk, but he's also reached for a high profile on real-world things that make him angry as well.

Off-screen, he became active in anti-fracking politics near his upstate New York home. The controversial oil and gas drilling process is now under a moratorium imposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

In 2019, he starred in Dark Waters, a dramatization of the plight of Parkersburg, West Virginia, residents contaminated by C8, a "forever chemical" used by DuPont since 1951 in the manufacture of Teflon. But Ruffalo does not play a victim, he plays Rob Bilott, the lawyer who waged a 20-year battle to bring DuPont to justice.

Big names in Hollywood

Dark Waters continued Hollywood's affinity for casting some of its biggest names as true-story, crusading environmental law heroes.

In 1998, John Travolta starred as Jan Schlichtmann in A Civil Action. He lawyered on behalf of neighbors of a Woburn, Mass., toxic dump.

And in 2000, Julia Roberts played Erin Brockovich, a paralegal who brings down Pacific Gas & Electric for contaminating rural Hinkley, California, with the carcinogen hexavalent chromium.

Jane Fonda is the undisputed standard bearer for combining acting and activism. A half-century ago, she was a well-established Hollywood superstar and an A-list Vietnam war protestor. But in what she later admitted was a bad overreach, she posed with North Vietnamese soldiers – viewed by many Americans as giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

Fonda apologized multiple times over the years, but to millions of Americans, she had acquired some heretofore unknown immunity to Christian forgiveness. Politics didn't vanish from her films though. In 1979, she played a TV news reporter who stumbles onto a nuclear coverup in The China Syndrome.

These days, at age 83, Fonda is still hellraising, hosting a weekly "Fire Drill Fridays" podcast on climate change. In 2019, she delivered her acceptance speech for a special British Academy of Film and Television Arts award while being hauled away in cuffs at still another protest.

And finally, no list of Hollywood environmental moments is complete without this one:

In this 1958 short from their waning days, the Three Stooges invest in "California smog bags." Really. Click the link if you must and go to 2:10, but spoiler alert: Even if you're a Three Stooges fan, this one's not particularly funny.

Peter Dykstra is our weekend editor and columnist and can be reached at pdykstra@ehn.org or @pdykstra.

His views do not necessarily represent those of Environmental Health News, The Daily Climate, or publisher, Environmental Health Sciences.

Banner photo: Farley Mowat at a book signing event for 'My Discovery of America'.' Never Cry Wolf, is the autobiographical adventure of the Canadian writer. (Credit Community Archives/flickr)

Solar panels installed on a rolling hill.

China ramps up solar and wind power as clean energy output shatters global records

China installed enough solar and wind power between January and May to match the total electricity use of countries like Indonesia or Turkey, even as its clean energy industry faces deep financial strain.

Amy Hawkins reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
a cruise ship with an iceberg in the background.

Melting ice and microplastics signal deepening disruption in Antarctica’s climate system

A team of international scientists circumnavigating Antarctica has documented widespread environmental decline, including microplastics in ice and seawater, receding glaciers, and falling ocean salinity.

Soledad Domínguez reports for Mongabay.

Keep reading...Show less
Food waste & agricultural inefficiencies.

New technologies promise to transform farming, but most haven’t delivered yet

Scientists and entrepreneurs are racing to reinvent agriculture to feed a booming population and fight climate change, but their high-tech solutions keep falling short.

Elizabeth Kolbert reports for The New Yorker.

Keep reading...Show less
Farmworkers in a field on a hot day.

New rules to protect U.S. workers from extreme heat face political delays

As dangerous heat grips much of the country, a Biden-era plan to shield outdoor workers from heat illness is stalling under the Trump administration.

Sky Chadde reports for Investigate Midwest.

Keep reading...Show less
Graphic image of white freight truck being charged.

California struggles to electrify trucks as Trump administration blocks state rules

California’s push to cut truck pollution and electrify freight fleets faces legal and political setbacks under President Trump, threatening public health in polluted regions like the San Joaquin Valley.

Benton Graham reports for Grist.

Keep reading...Show less
Rare earth mining toxic pollution
Credit: 1photo/BigStock Photo ID: 18776198

The hidden cost of powering your phone might be someone else’s cancer

As the world races to secure rare earth elements for tech and defense, residents of Baotou, China bear the brunt of toxic pollution and displacement.

Amy Hawkins reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
Small creek with water running over rocks.

Toxic mine runoff cleanup revives West Virginia waterways and extracts rare earth elements

Once-lifeless streams across West Virginia are being revived by community-led efforts to treat coal mine pollution, which is now also yielding valuable rare earth metals.

Mira Rojanasakul reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.