Recently watched The End of the Line, which is currently available in the UK on More4 using  4 On Demand (The End of the Line – 4oD – Channel 4) and soon to be out on DVD.

It is an incredible story about the shocking decline in global fish stocks – sadly not a film about what might happen in the future, but what has happened already… well worth watching.

The film asks that consumers should choose only sustainable seafood – which means, first and foremost, that they agree to avoid eating actively endangered species, for example, the bluefin and bigeye tunas and the common skate. Details of what to do in restaurants here and when buying fish here.

I first saw the Earth from the Air photograph exhibition by Yann Arthus-Bertrand years ago at the Natural History Museum in London and it was, and still is, fantastic. His photography is breathtaking and inspirational – and the exhibition has always had at its core a goal of inspiring people to act on what they see… Well he has recently released a film that brings his distinctive style of photography to the big screen.

Exploring the miracle and mystery of the earth the film looks at the beauty of the earth and all its creatures… and follows the story of humans short presence on the earth, both our creative use and mindless destruction. Just like his photograph exhibition the film weaves history and facts through story with a back drop of amazing photography. The film producers say:

We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth’s climate.

The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being.

There are a few films out at the moment that bring the environmental impact of humans on the earth to life, and which hope to call us all to action ahead of the Copenhagen climate talks in December (the follow up to Kyoto)… Age of Stupid being another I saw recently (more of which I will blog about soon)… but with the Home film you can currently watch the whole thing for free (until 17th July) on youtube: Home – Youtube minisite. If you miss it on youtube I think the DVD will be out soon after: Home Film website.

Watch it whilst you can… no in fact don’t just watch it, lets respond to it and take our part in our collective responsibility to humanity and the earth.

Great to see the news this Fairtrade Fornight that from November this year Cadbury’s Dairy Milk will display the Fairtrade Mark: The Fairtrade Foundation, CadburyTV, Stop the Traffik and The Guardian… This really is a big achievement. When the bars hit the shops the value of Fairtrade chocolate sales in Britain will go from £45m to £225m in one giant leap!… A big consumer-driven success, which hopefully will put more even pressure on the rest of the chocolate industry to follow suit.

Footsteps 76 by Tearfund

Whilst in Zambia I helped put together a case study of the work we were doing in the run-up to elections with local communities and would-be MPs… since then it has taken on a life of it’s own through the power of the web and global networks… apparently it appeared in the briefing documents for Bishops at Lambeth, and most recently as part of Tearfund’s Footsteps 76 (PDF).

It’s great to see it being used and the influence of the web and networks!

Ten years ago the global debt crisis campaign was thrust into the mainstream as thousands of people formed a big human chain in Birmingham – ten years on and the the anniversary is being marked to:

• CELEBRATE ten years since the Birmingham human chain
• DISCOVER the impact of debt cancellation so far
• DEMAND a lasting solution to the debt crisis

A powerful mix of speakers, interviews, music and film (including specially filmed reports from Zambia, Tanzania, and elsewhere that friend Terry Gibson has been working on) will converge on the International Convention Centre, Birmingham for 2.30pm on SUNDAY 18 MAY 2008 (you can book tickets at www.journeytojustice.org). There are lots of other events planned during the day – all of which will finish to converge on Centenary Square, with a moment of campaigner action around 5pm.

A few weeks ago I mentioned I’d be leading an Encounter team to Bangladesh in October to see the work of the Church of Bangladesh Social Development Programme (CBSDP), who are involved in highlighting the issues of human trafficking…

News last week on the CMS website shares the story of Halima, who was sold by her aunt to a brothel in India when she was just 12 years old – and the news that following her subsequent escape, she has successfully taken her traffickers to court through the CBSDP’s Rights, Advocacy and Empowerment programme… read the full story here.

It’s been a while, but here is another action tip…

Having lived in the Copperbelt in Zambia we know that one of the central questions about Zambia is always: why is this once middle-income country so poor, when it is so rich – £2bn worth extracted from its mines last year – in copper?

As things are the lucrative trade in copper is not helping address Zambia’s poverty. SCIAF, Christian Aid and Action for Southern Africa, with the support of Zambian civil society, have just published a major report – Undermining Development? – on why Zambia fails to derive the benefits that it should from its enormous copper reserves.

Read the background in the Observer – Zambia’s new bid to cash in on copper.

Read the report – Undermining Development? – or the Executive Summary

Christian Aid and SCIAF are calling for the companies involved not to undermine Zambia’s efforts to tackle poverty and renegotiate their contracts – find out more and take action.

A new documentary film about the impact of the coffee trade called Black Gold, is about to be released, so I am making it an action tip.

The film exposes the injustices of the international coffee trade industry by following the journey of Tadesse Meskela, General Manager of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Co. in Ethiopia, as he travels around the world to find buyers willing to pay a fair price for his coffee.

The blurb says: Against the backdrop of Tadesse’s journey to London and Seattle, the enormous power of the multinational players that dominate the world’s coffee trade becomes apparent. New York commodity traders, the international coffee exchanges, and the double dealings of trade ministers at the World Trade Organisation reveal the many challenges Tadesse faces in his quest for a long term solution for his farmers.

You can watch the film trailer and find out more at the Black Gold Movie website. The film is to be released in the UK from 8th June.

Yesterday the vulture fund, Donegal International, that has been targeting Zambia for $55 million (we have talked about it before) was told it will only get $15.4 million. The fact Zambia has to pay anything to this company is still too much, but it is progress! The judge back in February found Donegal’s full claim to $55 million was not justifiable, but that it was entitled to something – and that award is now settled as being $15.4 million.

Apparently Donegal immediately claimed it had won the case and that Zambia should pay most of its legal costs, but the judge is restricting the proportion of the costs that Zambia has to pay, on the grounds that Donegal’s key witnesses were dishonest in their evidence before the court. You can read more at the Jubilee Debt Campaign website and BBC news website.

The UK and other donor countries funded Zambia’s legal fees, which enabled them to fight the case in the High Court – and get their losses reduced. But changes are needed to prevent such cases in future. Jubilee Debt Campaign and others are calling on the G8 to do what they can to prevent these companies targeting poor countries – through supporting the establishment of a fair, comprehensive framework for dealing with poor country debt, and funding legal assistance for countries targeted in this way.

Take action to tell the G8 to act against the vultures.

I have mentioned Freedom Day before. Recently, anticipating that this day to mark the end of slavery is just around the corner (25th March), we went in search for the famous slave tree in Ndola town and a local history lesson.

Swahili slave-traders used to frequent the area around the tree – meeting under the shade of the tree to sell and trade their slaves. Today it is in an almost forgotten part of town and in a decaying state, but I felt it had a story to tell. I took some photographs and walked up and down the quiet street – and decided to make a short film about it’s story.

I purposefully didn’t use images of people but rather focussed on the environment and local history to get across the complex reality of the area today. It is far from being a great video (it is my first effort at this sort of thing) but I liked the creative process more than anything. I am making it an action tip – to mark the importance of getting creative and using the local environment and history to get active. You are welcome to use the film if you like – use the above player or at YouTube (if you want to download it you can for free by using keepvid.com and then use VLC media player to play it).