Freshwater World

From a glimpse of the beautiful planet we inhabit, as seen by astronauts in outer space, this film moves in for a closer look at what we are doing to it. The film employs the multi-image technique to contrast scenes of natural grandeur--mountains, forests, and wildflowers filmed in Canada's national parks--with images such as the fouled rivers and despoiled countryside that result from the heedless exploitation of the natural environment. The challenge and the responsibility are plain for all to see. A film without words.

Canada possesses the greatest supply of fresh and salt water on the planet. This video examines the country's waterways, reserves and networks, and looks at the important role water has played in the past and present. Water shows how this precious resource has been both a boon and a challenge. Early explorers trying to locate the Northwest Passage to Asia ended up marooned and shipwrecked on the treacherous ice floes of the Canadian Arctic. Yet coastal waters have been treasured the world over for their bountiful fish stocks. And inland, the country's intricate systems of rivers and lakes have served as navigational arteries, sources of energy and playgrounds for leisure. TRANSIT features five videos that examine Canada's rich and diverse geography. Each film in the series combines spectacular cinematography and lively animation, using the Earth's basic elements as themes: Air explores climate; Water showcases the country's network of rivers, lakes and oceans; Land looks at the vast territory that makes Canada the second largest country in the world; Fire documents old and new sources of energy; plus Life, which develops the themes of people, fauna and flora.

This film is about the Great Lakes, how they were polluted and how they are being cleaned up. To tidy up the biggest body of fresh water in the world is a massive operation. The Great Clean-up documents some of the elements of this operation, including changes to legislation affecting the emission of industrial pollutants into the environment, on both sides of the Canada/US. border. The film's images speak very strongly for the importance of saving the Great Lakes from further pollution.