Summer Stories: Staying Inspired and Engaged this Summer
By Anu Pillai, 2025 Young Texan Ambassadors Intern
Summer’s here, and if you’re anything like me, you’re probably looking for ways to beat the heat while still feeding your brain with something meaningful. Here is a mix of documentaries and books that’ll make you think, feel, and maybe even get fired up about the state of our world. These are powerful stories about people fighting for the places they love, communities coming together, and the amazing (and sometimes heartbreaking) ways our world is changing. They’re perfect for a lazy afternoon on the couch or a quiet evening on the porch. So, grab a bowl of popcorn and some comfy socks and get ready to be moved and inspired!
Documentary/Movie Recommendations
Deep in the Heart
This documentary takes viewers deep into the Lone Star State to explore the complex relationship between land, community, and conservation in Texas. The film beautifully showcases the incredible landscapes and wildlife present throughout our great state. It is told through the eyes of the wildlife itself and serves as a call to action, to inspire viewers to conserve and protect the world around us. It is also narrated by Matthew McConaghey, which is a nice bonus!
Where to watch: Fandango at Home, Amazon Prime Video, Youtube, Apple TV
Chasing the Tide
Jay Kleberg’s six-part documentary series follows him and his wife as they walk every inch of Texas’ coastline from the Louisiana border to the Rio Grande. The film combines stunning cinematography of Texas’s natural beauty with Kleberg’s narration about the urgent need to address habitat loss and environmental degradation. Chasing the Tide serves as both a love letter to Texas’s wild spaces and a call to action, inspiring viewers to consider their own role in protecting the natural world around them.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Roku, PBS
Manzanar Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust
This powerful documentary explores not only the devastating state of the water crisis at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, but also how water can be used as a means of resistance. The film tells the stories of both Japanese American incarceration during World War II and the displacement of Indigenous peoples, connecting these communities through their shared experiences of removal and their shared commitment to protecting the land. Directed by two female filmmakers, this documentary explores this devastation through the lens of generations of residents and their ongoing work to defend the land.
Where to watch: PBS, Vimeo
Before the Flood (2016)
Leonardo DiCaprio takes viewers on a globe-spanning journey to witness firsthand the dramatic effects of climate change. He takes us to 5 different continents and the Arctic to speak with climate experts, world leaders, and activists working on climate solutions. The documentary stresses urgency and explores different ways humans can reverse the damage done to the Earth, and whether some of the damage is reversible at all. Before the Flood is inspiring, educational, and moving.
Where to watch: Youtube, Disney+, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video
The True Cost
This eye-opening documentary focuses on the fashion industry to reveal the devastating environmental and human costs of fast fashion. The film takes viewers from cotton fields to factory floors, showing how our clothing choices impact everything from water pollution to worker safety in developing countries. The film combines interviews of workers, farmers, and activists to demonstrate the psychological, physical, and environmental harm done by the fast fashion industry.
Where to watch: Tubi, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock
Book Recommendations
Under a White Sky
by Elizabeth Kolbert
Elizabeth Kolbert takes readers on a journey through our often well-intentioned but sometimes misguided attempts to fix the environmental problems we’ve created. The book explores everything from genetically modified coral reefs to massive river diversions, showing how our technological solutions often create new, unexpected challenges.
What We Need to Do Now for a Zero Carbon Future
by Chris Goodall
This guide breaks down the path to a zero-carbon future into manageable, understandable steps. Goodall presents clear, evidence-based solutions across sectors like energy, transportation, and agriculture, making the case that a carbon-neutral world isn’t just possible—it’s achievable with current technology. You’ll come away feeling informed and empowered, with a clear sense of both the big picture changes needed and the role we can play in making them happen.
Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World of Fast Fashion and Second Hand Clothes
by Andrew Brooks
Andrew Brooks pulls back the curtain on the global clothing industry, revealing the complex web of environmental and social issues that connect our closets to communities around the world. The book explores how our discarded clothes travel internationally, often ending up in developing countries where they can both help and harm local economies and environments. This eye-opening read will completely change how you think about your wardrobe and consumption habits.
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
by Michael Braungart and William McDonough
This book challenges everything we think we know about manufacturing, waste, and environmental protection by proposing a completely new approach to how we design and make products. Braungart and McDonough argue that instead of trying to be “less bad” for the environment, we should create systems that are actually beneficial—where we prioritize upcycling instead of downcycling.
Wasteland
by Oliver Franklin-Wallis
Franklin-Wallis takes readers on a global journey through the hidden world of waste, following our trash from the moment we throw it away to its final destinations around the planet. The book reveals the shocking reality of where our garbage actually goes and the communities that bear the burden of processing our consumer culture’s leftovers. This compelling and often surprising book will make you see every piece of trash you produce in a completely new light, while highlighting both the problems and potential solutions in our throwaway society.
About Anu Pillai
Anu Pillai is a new graduate of The University of Texas at Austin with a deep passion for environmental advocacy. Originally from Georgia, she discovered this passion in high school, where she founded her school’s first sustainability organization. Drawn to Keep Texas Beautiful’s mission, Anu was thrilled to join the organization, believing that Texas embodies a larger-than-life commitment to environmental stewardship. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in law, channeling her dedication to sustainability into the legal field. She is particularly excited to work with the Young Texan Ambassadors, inspired by the energy and initiative of young Texans striving to improve their communities.
Outside of environmental work and academics, Anu is an avid film enthusiast. Her Letterboxd account is her most-used app, and her apartment walls are covered with movie posters from floor to ceiling. She is eager to contribute to Keep Texas Beautiful and collaborate with others who share a commitment to making a difference.
