The Amazon forest—"The Green Ocean"—is not only the source of the highest biodiversity of life on Earth, but also acts as a massive hydrological pump that is essential to maintaining climate stability for the whole planet: In effect, the health of the river and the rainforest is fundamental to our survival.

But in the last thirty years vast tracts of the Amazon forest have been destroyed, most recently by soya plantations that supply the world markets, and previously by logging, mining and cattle ranching. To date an area larger than France has been destroyed, and though industry has been good for the Brazilian economy, the cost has been unprecedented drought in Amazonia, increased hurricane activity in North America, and the imminent demise of the Bolivian glaciers.

In Amazon: The End of Infinity, representatives of the indigenous people of Amazonia, Western religious leaders, scientists, environmentalists and policy makers come together to examine the ecological reality in the Amazon basin, the global impact of deforestation and, importantly, to propose sustainable solutions to preserving the forest for the future.

The film examines the historical split between religion and science in regards to the environment; the ecological lessons to be learned from the indigenous people of Amazonia; the interdependence of ecosystems and sustainable livelihoods for all those who live in the region; and how payments for ecological services must be factored in to economic equations regarding the ecosystems on which we all depend.

About the symposia:

The symposia of the Committee on Religion, Science and Environment are lead by the Ecumenical Patriarch His All Holiness Bartholomew I. The symposia bring together scientists and religious leaders from all faiths and from all over the world in order to seek solutions to the ecological crisis threatening the world's major bodies of water. Apart from studying the ecological issues, the symposia also look at theosophical concepts—such as pollution as a sin—alongside practical solutions, for example how to halt pollution, over fishing etc. In the end, as the Patriarch notes, "The crisis is not in the environment, but in the human heart."