The film reviews the development of the modern environmental movement—from the post-war 1950s and the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson’s bestseller Silent Spring, to the successful Earth Day celebration in 1970.

Featured pioneers of the era include the former United States Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall; biologist Paul Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb; Whole Earth Catalog founder Stewart Brand; Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart; "The Forecaster" Dennis Meadows, scientist and Emeritus Professor of Systems Management; and "The Politician" Pete McCloskey, former Republican.

Also included are Richard Nixon, former Governor of California Jerry Brown, Jimmy Carter, Denis Hayes, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and Hunter Lovins.

The website's critical consensus reads, "This engaging and well-organized eco-doc maps the successes and failures of the American environmental movement, thanks to sharp interviews and remarkable archive footage.

"[4] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".