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A Fierce Green Fire

View on The Global Environmental Justice site

"Melding history, science, and up-to-the-minute urgency, A Fierce Green Fire is a clarion call that's passionate and provocative."
--Boston Globe

The history of the environmental movement is complex. Its evolution  is not necessarily linear, and its roots extend beyond lines of race, class, gender, and geography. A Fierce Green Fire captures this complexity by highlighting stories and struggles that are reflective of larger trends within the movement, making sense of what sometimes  seems like a series of random and chaotic events The film accomplishes this through five acts, each of which addresses a particular phase of the movement.

Teacher's guide
Please download the teacher's guide for maps, background information, suggested subjects, questions and activities.

The film is divided into five 'acts', each approximately 20 minutes.


Act 1   00:00:00-  Focuses on the conservation movement of the 60s, David Brower and the Sierra Club's battle to halt dams in the Grand Canyon. Narrated by Robert Redford.

Act 2   00:20:40-   Looks at the new environmental movement of the 1970s with its emphasis on pollution, including  the battle led by Lois Gibbs over Love Canal and the emergence of a Black environmental justice movement. Narrated by Ashley Judd.

Act 3   00:43:35-  Examines alternative ecology strands and the main story is Greenpeace's campaign to save the whales. Narrated by Van Jones.

Act 4   01:02:30-  Explores global resource issues and crises of the `80s, focusing on the struggle to save the Amazon led by Chico Mendes and the rubber tappers. Narrated by Isabel Allende.

Act 5   01:20:00-  concerns climate change. Narrated by Meryl Streep.

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