In the 19th century, England was at the very heart of innovation and was about to become the world's largest industrial power. In order to run steam engines, coal became an essential resource for the development of the economy and entire regions were transformed in just a few decades. South Wales became one of the country's main coal basins. Villages developed around the mines from where coal was delivered to England and the rest of the world.
Our demand for raw materials is enormous and the mineral and ore mines can hardly keep up with the growing demand. Weirdly, we're surrounded by raw materials! They're in our cars, in the underground tunnels we use to travel to work, in the pavement that leads to our houses, in the bridges we cross, and they're in our homes. In European cities, there are approx. 4.500 kg of iron, 340 kg of aluminum, 200 kg of copper, 40 kg of zinc and 210 kg of lead attributed to each inhabitant.
The mining town of Norilsk sits in the heart of the Siberian Arctic, bathed in the billowing smoke and sulphur of its mills and factories. Built by Gulag prisoners under Stalin, Norilsk remains a mysterious place, haunted by its past suffering. While miners ponder lost comradeship and teenagers dream of escape, artists and descendants of the Gulag prisoners seek to shed light on Norilsk’s dark past, long since buried under the Siberian ice.
The world’s food supply becomes more and more imbalanced. One billion people are starving, every second a child dies of hunger or its consequences. At the same time food production is at its peak, the demand for meat is growing not only in the industrial world. Up to 30% of the world’s harvest is ruined by diseases or pests and less than half ends up on our plate. This film reveals the causes and impacts and tries to find solutions how we can feed up to nine billion people in the next 35 years.
