Bringing the Ocean to You: Get Inspired with Our Top Ocean TV and Book Choices
With many of us around the world spending a lot more time at home recently due to current events, we’ve rounded up some great books, documentaries and films to help bring the ocean to your sofa and allow your imaginations to wander. Hopefully these suggestions will not only allow you to relax but also inspire you to take greater action to protect our oceans once we can head out into the waves and onto the shores again.
1. War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita (TV series on BBC iPlayer) – This is a fantastic documentary series which really hits home about the level of plastic waste we unwittingly produce, from kitchen cupboards to clothes shopping. An eye-opening part of the series sees a street of houses in Bristol empty all their plastic packaging onto the road, an activity amounting to 15,774 items! From there, the pair encourage the street to reduce their plastic consumption whilst they confront the large supermarkets which continue to fill their shelves with this shiny synthetic wrapping. If you were ever in doubt about the extent of the plastic problem in Britain, this series will set you straight.
2. 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste (Book by Kathryn Kellogg) – Many of us want to play our part in reducing the plastic tidal wave which seems to be surging onto our beaches but finding the time and money to do so is often a problem. This book will help you take those first steps towards zero-waste with realistic, easily achievable tips to overhaul your lifestyle. The author herself proves an expert at eliminating plastic with all her waste from the last two years fitting into a 16 ounce jar! This book will guide you through saying no to on the go plastic like coffee cups and yes to DIY beauty recipes and home cleaning products.
3. Mission Blue (Documentary on Netflix) – This documentary not only highlights the wonders of the ocean but also the incredible life and work of Dr. Sylvia Earle, a marine biologist, explorer, author and teacher. Earle has spent thousands of hours immersed in the sea over the last eight decades, allowing her to see a side of the ocean many of us do not. In this film, she hopes to bring the wonder of the ocean to you whilst also highlighting the unbelievable changes that have occurred under the waves due to overfishing, pollution and climate change. At 84, she is still standing up for the ocean and by sharing the wonders of our blue planet with viewers at home, she believes her fierce determination to save the planet will no longer seem so radical.
4. Turning the Tide on Plastic: How Humanity (and you) can Make our Globe Clean Again (Book by Lucy Siegle) – Did you know 38.5 million plastic water bottles are used every day in the UK? This book is packed full of many more shocking statistics but instead of leaving you feeling helpless and a little numb against our plastic tide, Siegle allows readers to forge an emotional response to the blight taking over our oceans, giving many of us the kickstart we need to tackle our own consumption. If only 12 of us adopt her ‘reduce, rethink, refill and refuse’ approach, we could ditch between 3,000 and 15,000 plastic items a year as our zero-waste actions expand from the home to workplaces, schools and supermarkets. If you’re needing that last bit of motivation to nudge you over the start line in the race to zero waste, this book is a great place to start.
5. A Plastic Ocean (Documentary on Netflix) – This powerful documentary was created when a filmmaker on an epic search for the blue whale discovered plastic litter floating in what he imagined would be pristine ocean. Joined by a record-holding free diver, they search 20 destinations around the globe to discover today’s state of the oceans. Along the way they unveil the true impacts of our consumption and expose the fate of your plastic bottles and shopping bags on our beautiful marine species. This documentary also provides a glimmer of hope as they share the immediate solutions which could help save our blue planet today.
6. The Deep: The Hidden Wonders of Our Oceans and How We Can Protect Them (Book by Alex Rogers) – For those curious about the mysterious secrets of our deep, dark ocean, or for anyone who wants to get lost in the enchantment of the waves, this book is for you. The author has spent 30 years studying the surprising abundance of life in the deep ocean, a place we know less about than the surface of the moon and now he takes readers on a trip through coral gardens, hot springs and the outright weird species of the deep. Along the way, he gives detail on pollution, overfishing and climate change while most importantly, giving us hope that the ocean can recover and be restored to its former glory.
7. The Smog of the Sea (Documentary) – This short film is a great introduction to the enormous garbage patches which have formed in every ocean on the planet. The crew includes musician and conservationist Jack Johnson as well as scientists and volunteers as they spend a week in the Sargasso Sea collecting near invisible microplastics from the surface of great swirling gyres. This is a humbling eye-opener showing how our plastic waste is accumulating in isolated patches of the ocean, often being barely visible to the naked eye.
8. Junk Raft: An Ocean Voyage and a Rising Tide of Activism to Fight Plastic Pollution (Book by Marcus Eriksen) – The author, a scientist, activist and adventurer, constructs a junk raft from plastic rubbish with the help of his friend before they set off on a voyage from Los Angeles to Hawaii. Not only is this a gripping adventure tale filled with cyclones, food shortages and an increasingly battered raft but it also shares a history of the plastic crisis and the subsequent environmental movement which has risen to tackle it. If you would like to better understand the rise of plastic, how its dominance in the world is maintained and also how its demise is now beginning, this is a great introduction. If you’re seeking adventure, education and empowerment, look no further.
www.goodreads.com/book/show/31159765-junk-raft
9. Letters to the Earth: Writing to a Planet in Crisis (Book by multiple authors) – So this one isn’t exclusively about oceans, however this book is a powerful creation that will inspire you to love and protect the Earth from all our environmental woes. Written by an eclectic mix of children, poets, actors, songwriters and activists, these short letters talk through love, hope and action in an empowering book leaving you head over heels in love with our planet. This book has even been dubbed ‘a must read for anyone who lives on Earth’.
10. Oceans (Film by Disney) – Finally, if you are looking to simply sit back, relax and enjoy the wonder of our blue planet, this film is packed full of majestic footage shot in all five of Earth’s oceans. Expect graceful jellyfish, dive bombing albatrosses, acrobatic dolphins, cheeky penguins and a desire to go out and explore the beauty of our blue planet.