Why Earth Destruction Is a Crime (2015)

Damaging the earth is a crime, right? That is what earth´s lawyer Polly Higgins thinks. Why earth destruction should be seen as a crime and what is it that brings earth lawyers Polly Higgins and Spanish magistrate Baltasar Garzón to fight for ecocide?

A documentary about earth guardians, a new view on earth destruction and the will to make people accountable for ruining our eco-system.

Our world knows four international crimes: war crimes, genocide, torture and crimes against humanity.

Spanish examining magistrate Baltasar Garzón and Scottish lawyer Polly Higgins believe that this list of serious violations of international law should be expanded with a fifth: ecocide.

Will Higgins and Garzón eventually succeed in gaining enough support to get recognition for ecocide? As a concept, ecocide refers to both naturally occurring processes of environmental or ecosystem decline and destruction of the environment that is caused by human activity. Scottish Polly Higgins was laughed at when she first proclaimed that the Earth needs a lawyer. That those who cause ecological destruction should be held accountable, and therefore be sued, summoned and punished.

Originally a trial lawyer, Higgins now entirely devotes her life and work to the Earth, as a legal eco-activist. Since 2011, she has been leading the international movement against ecocide. This is the large-scale destruction of our ecosystems.

VPRO Backlight follows Polly Higgins and her ‘earth guardians’ on their missions throughout 2015, a year that, more than any other year, offers a ‘window of opportunity'.

Including Baltasar Garzón (jurist), Michael Baumgartner (campaign manager Greenpeace Switzerland), Bronwyn Lay (environmental lawyer, Australia).

Original title: The Earth's Lawyer

Originally broadcasted by VPRO in 2015.

Activism   Animal Rights   Big Ideas   Environment   Solutions   Sustainability
Rate this video 
Solutions
Trending Videos
Israelism (2023)
84 min - When two young American Jews raised to unconditionally love Israel witness the brutal way Israel treats Palestinians, their lives take sharp left turns. They join a movement of young American Jews...
Project 2025 Explained in Schoolhouse Rock Style!
5 min - The song that could save America. Share widely.Written, animated and performed by Jason KravitsProduced and mixed by Sean Dixon withJason Kravits, Christopher Walz, and Brian ONeill
Hearts and Minds (1974)
112 min - Peter Davis' landmark documentary Hearts and Minds confronts with stark frankness the United States' involvement in Vietnam and the development of its foreign policy in the 1970s. Using a...
The Trials of Henry Kissinger (2002)
80 min - Part contemporary investigation and part historical inquiry, this documentary follows the quest of one journalist in search of justice. The film focuses on Christopher Hitchens' charges against...
The Truth About the U.S. Border | Robert Reich
5 min - The full story about immigration you aren't getting from politicians and the media.A desperate combination of factors are driving migrants and asylum seekers to our southern border, from Central...
Today I Rise: This Beautiful Short Film Is Like a Love Poem For Your Heart and Soul
4 min - "The world is missing what I am ready to give: My Wisdom, My Sweetness, My Love and My hunger for Peace." "Where are you? Where are you, little girl with broken wings but full of hope? Where are...
The Corporation (2003)
145 min - The Corporation is today's dominant institution, creating great wealth but also great harm. This 26 award-winning documentary examines the nature, evolution, impacts and future of the modern...
Trending Articles
Critiques of Wokeness from a Left Perspective
Documentaries that Inspire Ecological Consciousness
Subscribe for $5/mo to Watch over 50 Patron-Exclusive Films
Subscribe $5/mo View All Patron Films

 

Your support keeps us ad-free and financially independent

Our 10,000+ video & article library is 99% free, ad-free, and entirely community-funded thanks to our patron subscribers!


Want to donate extra? You can subscribe and donate an extra $5/mo or more.