Review

The National Geographic film Human Footprint is an educational film about the effects humans have on our planet. It introduces the concept of an ecological footprint to the viewers and continues, in great detail, about the specific footprint an average American creates throughout his or her lifetime. The movie is geared towards students -- and is especially appropriate for middle school and high school ages -- but would be of interest for elementary age students and adults.

The film opens with a colorful video montage of the resources people use on a regular basis: gasoline, clothing, trash, food and beverage. The goal is to literally show the viewer how much "stuff" we use over our lifetimes. Our human footprint, defined as the impact each person makes on the earth's resources over his or her lifetime, is depicted in very literal terms. An average person drives 627,000 miles in a lifetime; produces 64 tons of waste; drinks 13,056 pints of milk; 43,371 cans of soda. Parents use an average of nearly 4,000 diapers for each child. And, as we see in the movie, it takes 1,898 pints of crude oil and 715 pounds of plastic and pulp from 4 trees to make those diapers. Detailed analyses of what we consume is both startling and motivating. Pints of milk, loaves of bread, cans of soda are placed side-by-side, creating a striking visual image.

The positives of this movie are many. It is fast-paced and visually very appealing. It addresses a social problem, but in a manner which breaks the problem down into discrete topics. By doing this, students will able to attack the issue, rather than be overwhelmed. The statistics cited are shocking, but will long be forgotten in the way that numbers usually are. However, the visual accompaniment, (for example, a room filled with oranges, or a football field filled with loaves of bread) won't likely be. The narrator does not have to urge viewers to reduce consumption. The images alone do that.

If there is a negative, it runs along the notion of information overload. The film covers numerous items that go into our individual ecological footprints. Some students might find that, after a while, things start to blend together. If this causes concern, it is easily fixed. Split the movie up into parts. There are fairly clear stopping points in the movie. It would be easy to either just show portions of the movie that might most pertain to your students. Alternatively, the movie is well-suited to being divided over a few class periods.

This movie could easily supplement studies on conservation, energy independence, global warming and a wide variety of subjects. It could be accompanied by both in classroom activities and collaboaration with other ePals classrooms. For example, students could chart their "footprint" over a week or a month, or that of their families. They could compare this footprint with those of other classrooms, in rural areas, in other parts of the United States or in other countries throughout the world. The film could be discussed with classrooms on a blog or using email to discuss practical ways to reduce the human footprint, etc.

All in all, the film provides many clear examples of our human footprint and let's students come to their own conclusions. Students of all ages will find something that relates directly to them...and all stduents can be encouraged to come up with ideas to reduce their own footprints