Educational Media Reviews Online

With limits in some parts of the world on how much companies can pollute, there are processes in place to supposedly offset this pollution by planting crops, installing wind farms, or other similar projects, somewhere else in the world. The Carbon Rush takes a look at the on-the-ground situations caused by some of these carbon offset projects. Often in very impoverished communities, the projects have had negative impacts on the local people and land. The documentary allows the people in these communities to share their stories firsthand. Some of the scenes are a bit graphic in nature, so not suitable for younger audiences. The filmmakers let viewers hear from a variety of people in each place and take us to quite a few locations around the world. While this helps create a larger picture, it extends the length of the film, which is pretty long at 80 minutes, so not ideal for viewing in class. However, discussions or assignments could be really varied and talk about either the variety of carbon offset projects, or the different impacts the projects have on the local people and environments. Subject areas that could make use of this film include environmental studies, geography, business, political science, and international studies. Overall, highly recommended to see the other side of carbon offset projects, that can sound nice on the surface, but don't play out to be so wonderful after all.

Awards:
Award of Merit, The Indie Festival; Best Original Screenplay, Internacional Festival of Tourism, Environmental, Sports and Film Gastonomic (MEFEST)

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