Educational Media Reviews Online

How encouraging it is to learn that some teenagers are concerned with the environment, pollution, recycling and mass consumption! These videos showcase two high schools in different cities and teenagers who are trying to protect the environment by reducing waste.

In Think Twice, we follow Jessica and Jeremy through what is a typical day at school. We learn that the average teenage girl will spend more than $18,000 on ten pounds of lipstick during her lifetime. We learn that airborne auto emissions cause half of all cancers. Their voices speak a profound fact of American life: “we all have the right to life, liberty and the accumulation of stuff.” Jessica and Jeremy are relentless in looking at the retail cost of ordinary everyday items and asking questions about who are the makers, what ingredients are used and what about the process is harmful to the environment. It’s amazing to hear teenagers remark that manufacturers don’t want consumers to be aware of how the production of their items harms the environment or takes advantage of workers in other countries. One example traces the origin of TV and stereo components and shows the resultant impact on the environment. Jessica and Jeremy ask the tough question: “Do we have to have so much stuff?” Their answer will surprise many viewers and give hope for the future: “the pursuit of happiness isn’t really about the stuff we own, it’s about the stuff we’re made of, it’s about the connections to our dreams, to each other, to our world.” And the retail cost for that is $0.00.

This video was created in collaboration with an actual high school classroom and used the voices of real teenagers to question current levels of consumption in the United States. This would be extremely useful in facilitating classroom discussion in any junior or senior high school.

Recycle More examines the actual impact of the waste that we create every day. While most people understand that recycling is good for the planet, most people probably do not know exactly how much damage results from not taking the time to recycle those items than can be converted into other products. Elisa and Mike are two seniors at Pinole Valley High School in California. We follow them on a typical school day and see how most of the students in their school have made recycling a habit. Each student, we’re told, generates five pounds of trash per day. We go with Mike and Elisa on a field trip to their local landfill and recycling center.

The viewer sees the effects of nonrecycled wastes on the environment, as well as the processes involved in recycling plastics and glass. The teens explain that we can’t just keep making landfills, that some products don’t break down, and how recycling saves resources when new products are made from old ones—then fewer trees are cut down, less oil is drilled, and fewer metals are mined—all of which benefits the environment and our planet. They explain that most plastic comes from oil mined in the ocean or under the ground. We are reminded that the earth’s supply is running out and this is a nonrenewable resource. Stunning figures are provided that Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour, and plastic bottles take 500 years to break down and even then are never fully degraded.

We learn that plastics can be recycled into plastic lumber, playground equipment, sleeping bag filling, carpeting, to name just a few of the possibilities. Elisa explains that only #1 and #2 plastic bottles (these numbers are found on the bottles) can be recycled and suggests consumers buy only that type of plastic bottle. Plastic can only be recycled once, but glass can be recycled again and again. Unfortunately, Americans throw 28 billion glass products into landfills every year where they take 1,000 years to decompose. Recycling glass makes less pollution than making glass from raw materials.

Elisa and Mike advise teenagers to be aware of what products they buy and consume. They remind us all that we can make a big impact by buying what can be recycled. If a juice box is waxed or contains foil, it can’t be recycled. They stress buying only what you need, and that it should be items with as little packaging as possible. They also describe how composting can create new soil and caution that one-fourth of what we throw away can be composted. Even one thing makes a difference. They explain the 4 R’s of recycling: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot.

This video shows that teenagers think it’s good to recycle and that they are aware of how consumerism contributes to the strain on our planet. They remind everyone to think about our waste products every day and remember to recycle whenever possible. Can you believe teenagers having such thoughts? It certainly gives hope for the future.

Both videos exhibit good audio and video quality. Using the words and voices of real high school students alternating with a narrator provides an effective vehicle for delivering powerful messages. These are compelling videos, and their short running time seems aptly suited for today’s generation who are used to short bursts of information.

Useful for all junior and senior high school libraries, consumer classes, environmental studies programs. Highly useful for facilitating classroom discussion or to initiate some type of recycling project in a class or school. Both videos are very highly recommended.