This film was created by Shell (:15). Shell Oil is one of the largest oil companies in the world first established in 1912. Throughout the 1960’s and into the 1980’s Shell was one of the oil companies conducting research into the harmful effects of the oil industry and pollution on the environment. As industry grows and creates waste, these pollutants end up in our ecosystems and waterways. Rivers are generally able to maintain and cleanse a manageable amount of pollutants through microbes and chemical processes in the waters. However, in an increasingly more industrious world, the earth and it’s water ways are being over polluted and new methods of handling and treating the waste must be developed. The film opens with signs of seasons changing; snow melting (:41) and orange flowers blossoming (1:33) to highlight the natural beauty of the environment. Waterways are traced down and through the town (2:45). Water is vital to cities for the survival of it’s inhabitants but also for methods of cleaning (3:20). 25 million gallons of water are required to clean the cathedral. A 1966 Volkswagen Beetle drifts through a car wash (3:38). A window washer uses water to clean city building windows (3:40). The film notes an average human uses 50 gallons of water daily (3:46). A reservoir follows from which some of city’s water source is pulled from (3:54). As water reservoir supplies begin to diminish, a reliance begins on lakes and rivers (4:16). Produce for consumers, such as peas, require water for washing (4:34). Once used, waste water washes down the drains and into the environment (4:44). Water is shown to be unsafe to drink by humans in an unpolluted river (5:04) as minerals and living organisms are picked up along the way (5:04). A Petri dish sample is investigated under a microscope (5:18). A close shot follows of a leaf decaying in the river water (5:46). The microscopic image reveals fungi working to break down the leaf (5:49). Bacteria subdivides and multiplies rapidly into large colonies (6:31) when given the proper amount of oxygen. Algae is zoomed in on (6:59). Large clumps of algae are formed over time which are visible to the naked eye (7:38). Protozoa (7:46); microscopic animals are shown to feed on the waste in the water (8:00). Fish move through a healthy river along it’s bed (8:23). As waste from the town is added, bacteria in the water multiplies and multiplies (9:08) lowering the level of oxygen. Fish in the river begin to struggle (9:25). Polluted rivers are able to recover given the time and the bacteria will die off allowing healthy fish return to the stream (10:06). However, some waste discharges happen too quickly and this leaves the river no time to recuperate (10:18). Dead fish again float in the water (10:33) as even the cleansing microbes are flushed out (10:47). A microscope shows algae breaking down (10:51). Sterile water rests in the dead river now (11:29). All rivers eventually dump their pollutants into the ocean (11:52). Clouds then pull the droplets of moisture into them which will be dumped again onto the land as rain (12:18). This water ends up in the river once again (12:36). An image shows pollutants added to the river again (12:44). The film then points to the need of treating waste water prior to disposal in order to keep the environment and waterways in a condition so that they may at the very least sustain themselves (12:51). A water treatment facility follows (13:02) as sludge is skimmed from the surface of the water (13:13). Chemicals can also be added which aide in the breakdown process (13:32). Water is also shown being aerated in order to build up it’s supply of oxygen (13:57). The film wraps up with images of wastes breaking down from these processes (14:40) and the note that this would aide in the goal of maintaining a river’s ability to maintain itself (15:02).

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com