Week Eight: Kiss the Ground Review

“the solution is right under our feet and it’s as old as dirt.”

Kiss The Ground is a documentary I have never heard of. Although, I am so glad I chose to watch it because it lit the fire under me that I needed so desperately. The film essentially is proposing that humans have the ability to reverse climate change, support farmers by regenerative agriculture.

Up until this documentary I had no idea what regenerative agriculture was. Using the world’s soil, we are able to potentially stabilize the Earth’s climate and create a plethora of food sources. Unlike other climate change documentaries I’ve seen, they acknowledged that this would be a challenge. They give small solutions such as planting a local food forest, however they understand that this is a collective effort.

I also learned a lot of things that I was unaware of. For one, carbon itself isn’t bad. Carbon is claimed as the main issue of climate change, and while that’s true, it isn’t carbon alone. The problem is that carbon cannot be absorbed back into the soil where it is supposed to be.

Overall, I really enjoyed the approach taken to the documentary. I think having Woody Harrelson narrate the film definetly helped. Usually when a big celebrity is behind a documentary, for some reason, it makes the documentary seem more credible. (I’m not saying this is true, but for example, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was involved in the documentary Game Changers, I listened more for some reason) I was shocked to see Ian Somerhalder and Jason Mraz in the documentary! Seeing big names attached to the film probably helped attract viewers who were skeptical or not willing to watch. I also thought the use of graphics, live footage, and drawings did a great job of keeping the viewer engaged.

Lastly, another aspect I appreciated was the idea that everyone can make a change. If we all work together we can create a better, healthier Earth. I am really glad I chose to watch this documentary because I feel inspired again.