Celebrate Earth Day 2008 with these top 10 documentaries about the environment. The films below address a variety of ecological issues including climate change, vegetarianism, crude oil, industrial development and our oceans. When you’re properly inspired to green up your eco-behaviors and help preserve Mother Nature for future generations, and check out these top 10 ways to celebrate Earth Day!

1) An Inconvenient Truth

An Inconvenient Truth offers a passionate and inspirational look at one man’s fervent crusade to halt global warming’s deadly progress in its tracks by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. That man is former Vice President Al Gore, who, in the wake of defeat in the 2000 election, re-set the course of his life to focus on a last-ditch, all-out effort to help save the planet from irrevocable change. [climatecrisis.net]

Edward Burtynsky is internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of nature transformed by industry. Manufactured Landscapes ” a stunning documentary by award winning director Jennifer Baichwal ” follows Burtynsky to China, as he captures the effects of the country’s massive industrial revolution. This remarkable film leads us to meditate on human endeavor and its impact on the planet. [mongrelmedia.com]

3) The Unforeseen

In the 1970’s and 80’s, Land Developer Gary Bradley worked to transform Austin, Texas’ pristine hill country into lucrative residential subdivisions, making both headlines and lots of money. When local residents learned of new plans to develop 4,000 acres over nearby Barton Creek, they rose up to stop Bradley and his partners in their tracks. Whereas the developers had strong connections in the Texas legislature — and a powerful ally in eventual Governor George W. Bush — the city had an even stronger connection to their unspoiled home. [pbs.org]

4) Flow: For Love Of Water

With an unflinching focus on politics, pollution and human rights, FLOW: For Love of Water ensures that the precarious relationship between humanity and water can no longer be ignored. While specifics of locality and issue may differ, the message is the same; water, and our future as a species, is quickly drying up. Armed with a thirst for survival, people around the world are fighting for their birthright; unless we instigate change, we face a world in which only those that can pay for their water will survive. FLOW: For Love of Water, is a catalyst for people everywhere: the time has come to turn the tide and we can’t wait any longer. [flowthefilm.com]

5) Empty Oceans, Empty Nets

Empty Oceans, Empty Nets explores the marine fisheries crisis and the pioneering efforts of fishermen, scientists and communities to sustain and restore these fisheries and our oceans. An ongoing international debate surrounds the complex problems and how best to solve them. Understanding why some fisheries are thriving while most are in serious decline may be the key to averting an impending food crisis. [pbs.org]

6) The 11th Hour

The 11th Hour is the last moment when change is possible. The film explores how we’ve arrived at this moment — how we live, how we impact the earth’s ecosystems, and what we can do to change our course. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolsey and sustainable design experts William McDonough and Bruce Mau in addition to over 50 leading scientists, thinkers and leaders who discuss the most important issues that face our planet and people. [11thhouraction.com]

7) Crude Impact

Crude Impact is an award-winning documentary film which Chris Vernon of TheOilDrum.com called ” a terrific film… the best documentary I have seen on the subject.” This feature film explores the interconnection between human domination of the planet, and the discovery and use of oil. [crudeimpact.com]

8 ) Earthlings

With an in-depth study into pet stores, puppy mills and animals shelters, as well as factory farms, the leather and fur trades, sports and entertainment industries, and finally the medical and scientific profession, EARTHLINGS uses hidden cameras and never before seen footage to chronicle the day-to-day practices of some of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit. Powerful, informative and thought-provoking, EARTHLINGS is by far the most comprehensive documentary ever produced on the correlation between nature, animals, and human economic interests. [isawearthlings.com]

9) Life and Debt

Utilizing excerpts from the award-winning non-fiction text “A Small Place” by Jamaica Kincaid, Life & Debt is a woven tapestry of sequences focusing on the stories of individual Jamaicans whose strategies for survival and parameters of day-to-day existence are determined by the U.S. and other foreign economic agendas. By combining traditional documentary telling with a stylized narrative framework, the complexity of international lending, structural adjustment policies and free trade will be understood in the context of the day-to-day realities of the people whose lives they impact. [lifeanddebt.org]

10) Darwin’s Nightmare

“Darwin’s Nightmare” details the specific kind of horror that seems to happen only in Africa, the perennial ground zero of the West’s zeal for undeveloped natural resources. Written and directed by Hubert Sauper, the film offers an unblinking picture of societal collapse caused by the insidious effects of state-sanctioned predatory capitalism as it plays out in the African nation of Tanzania. [ latimes.com]