One Earth by Romain Pennes – For You

The Earth. The Climate. And You!

A musician and nature enthusiast, Romain Pennes, created a powerful 4-minute environmental short film, One Earth, in August 2020. This climate crisis film is a visual masterpiece, compiled using video clips from 16 artists and photographers.

Recognitions:

- Screened at a United Nations summit
- Featured at the Kimolos International Film Festival

Romain says the best recognition was how this film is being used as an educational tool, a teaching resource to learn about our planet Earth.

A Film That Speaks Without Words

When you start watching the video, it's going to be just you and the Earth. Not a single word is said in the clip, no narration, no dialogue but it speaks volumes to us. This short film takes you on a journey through time, showing how human actions have shaped the planet.

Romain wanted to convey how the world globally uses resources for short-term profit, deforestation, mining, burning fossil fuels, and the continuous consumption. The idea was to show how our lifestyle led to the environmental issues we face today - global pollution, climate change, and the massive extinction of animal species.

The film starts with nature’s untouched beauty and ends with mountains of waste piles in landfills made by us, our legacy.

As you watch, you’ll witness the transition from the forest, the bear, the seal, the bird to crops, to mining, to today's cities, the big towers, the architectural changes, and the factories. Then, the high population on Earth, you can imagine the waste produced by the consumption habits of billions of people. You can already guess how this ends in the clip, the oceans filled with human-made trash - many plastic covers, plastic bottles, plastic cups, and the never-ending landfills, again, human-made.

The United Nations refers to climate change as long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas.

A Timelapse of Our Planet’s Decline

You can also interpret this short film as something like a timelapse, like how the Earth and nature looked in the very beginning, fast-forwarded to today, the current scenario, the fast-paced life, man-made creations, and, most obviously, the humongous waste generated.

Take notice of the first image that pops up at 0:28 - the vibrant autumn colours of Mother Nature in a sea of forest trees. And then, the clip at 3:38, see the devastating contrast, the sprawling man-made, massive landfill filled with trash.

If you pause and reflect on these two images, they probably sum up today's Earth.

World Environment Day - A Reminder, Not Just a Date

June 5th is UN World Environment Day, globally celebrated to raise awareness about environmental issues and protect the environment. Many activities like cleanups happen that day, global advocacy efforts take place, and international events focus on education. But we shouldn't celebrate Earth only on that day and ignore the planet we live on and breathe in for the rest of the calendar.

You will have to watch the short film to experience it - a small pause to realize.

Earth is home to the land, ocean, air, nature, and all the animals. Our home. Your home.

We, the people, hold a lot of power. A single person's action can have a big impact or contribute to a butterfly effect.

Let us know in the comments on what you thought and interpreted when you watched the film. Talking about the environment - how do you view Earth?