From Armageddon to The Towering Inferno, Hollywood seems to have an obsession with disaster movies, and, while these movies have fun with fantastical scenarios, there are many real-life disasters regarding our environment being prevented every day by real heroes. The Earth, after all, is our home, and many movie heroes have risked their lives to protect it.

RELATED: 10 Best Disaster Movies Ever, Ranked

Unlike other disaster movies, these movie heroes could be real people trying to prevent disasters from happening or prevent them from happening again—which can hopefully inspire audiences to do the same.

The Lorax

The Lorax standing on a tree in The Lorax.

Based on the classic book by Dr. Seuss, The Lorax takes place in a world without trees where a young man, Ted, in order to impress a girl, ventures outside his city and along with the help of the Lorax (Danny DeVit0) retrieves a tree seed from "The Once-ler" in order to grow new trees. However, he then faces backlash from the mayor and the town for trying to plant it.

Like the book, the film is a critique of pollution and uses the Lorax himself as a symbol of activism, which is a smart way to start educating children about environmentalism. The movie received mixed reviews but was an enormous box-office hit.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

The environmental message of the Star Trek movies.

Directed by Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy, the fourth Star Trek movie outing features the crew of the U.S.S Enterprise traveling back in time to retrieve an extinct humpback whale. Using the whale's song, the crew hopes to communicate with a probe whose signal is causing power outages and environmental catastrophe in the future. First, the crew must save the mammal from poachers and then bring it to the future in order to save the Earth.

RELATED: 10 Best Star Trek Movies (According To IMDB)

The movie was a huge box office hit, and the film and environmentally-conscious message were a hit with both audiences and critics.

Fire Down Below

Fire Down Below, an environmentally-conscious action movie starring Steven Seagal.

Action movie legend Steven Seagal probably wouldn't be the first name that comes to mind when thinking about environmental protection, but that is indeed the premise of the action film Fire Down Below. In the film, Seagal plays an EPA agent investigating a Kentucky town where dangerous toxins are being dumped into the mines, causing a deadly effect on the environment. However, the townsfolk, who depend on the mine, are hesitant to do anything about it. Fire Down Below has an environmental message, but, unlike other movies on this list, there is much more hand-to-hand combat involved.

Avatar

The environmental message of 2009's Avatar movie.

Avatar was a massive blockbuster directed by James Cameron and, at one time, was the highest-grossing movie ever. The story takes place in the future where corporations are mining the beautiful planet of Pandora for a special mineral, negatively impacting the indigenous humanoid Na'vi.

The taking of the natives' land is, of course, allegorical, but Avatar features an ecological message, as well. The special effects are some of the best ever created for a film, and, unlike many other blockbusters, actually elevates the story because the planet is so beautiful that its destruction becomes all the more tragic, and the need to defend it greater.

A Civil Action

John Travolta in A Civil Action.

Written and Directed by acclaimed screenwriter Steven Zaillian and based on the book and true story, John Travolta stars as flashy lawyer Jan Schlictmann who initially becomes interested in a contaminated water case because he expects a big payout from the huge companies responsible. However, he winds up losing everything to beat them and bring justice to the families affected after realizing that it's the right thing to do.

RELATED: 15 Best Courtroom Movies, Ranked According To IMDB

Besides Travolta, A Civil Action boasts great performances from John Lithgow and James Gandolfini. Critical reviews were mixed, with most praising the film but feeling that Travolta didn't quite fit the role.

Dark Waters

Mark Ruffalo in the movie Dark Waters.

Based on the true story, Mark Ruffalo stars as a corporate lawyer who brings a case against chemical company DuPont for contaminating the water of an Ohio town. The movie was so effective at showcasing DuPont's malfeasance that, following an already difficult year for the company, their stock prices dropped further upon the film's release.

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Todd Haynes, Dark Waters also stars Anne Hathaway and Tim Robbins. Critics praised it as a tragic-but-thrilling look at the effects of corporate malfeasance and for being a triumph for the victims.

The China Syndrome

Jane Fonda in the movie The China Syndrome.

The China Syndrome, which refers to nuclear reactor components melting into the earth, is the story of a news reporter (Jane Fonda) and her cameraman (Michael Douglas) who witness and film a near nuclear meltdown at a power plant. However, their superiors refuse to release it, so they join forces with the plant's supervisor to bring the incident to light before a nuclear disaster can take place.

Critics praised the film, but those in the nuclear power industry did not. However, a few weeks after the movie's release, a real nuclear reactor melted down, adding credence to the movie's message. Ultimately, this caused the studio to pull the film as to not further exploit the incident, but it would go on to receive many Oscar nominations and has since become a classic.

Promised Land

Matt Damond in the movie Promised Land.

Written by and starring Matt Damon and John Krasinski and directed by Gus Van Sant, Promised Land tackles the controversial subject of fracking. Damon stars as a man who's tasked with enticing landowners in a Pennsylvania farming town to give his company the right to drill for natural gas on their land. However, his heart is changed after being persuaded by the leaders of a grassroots campaign whose farm was lost due to the effects of fracking.

The film caused a lot of controversy among pro-fracking advocates and those in the petroleum industry, with many criticizing it. The film wasn't a big hit with movie critics, either, and was a box office bomb, proving that, unfortunately, audiences aren't always drawn to important films about the environment.

Silkwood

Meryl Streep in the movie Silkwood.

Acclaimed actress Meryl Streep stars in Silkwood, the story of Karen Silkwood, a mother and nuclear facility worker who winds up being a whistleblower about the company's unsafe conditions regarding their workers and radiation. Ultimately, her crusade against them led to her mysterious death.

Written by Nora Ephron and directed by Mike Nichols, Silkwood was praised by critics for being such a moving and powerful film. The film and many involved, including Meryl Streep, were nominated for Oscars, and Karen Silkwood has gone down as one of cinema's greatest heroes.

Erin Brockovich

Albert Finney and Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich

Actress Julia Roberts won an Oscar for her performance as the titular real-life character in Erin Brockovich. Famously, Brockovich was a single mother who took a job at a law firm and exposed a cover-up by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, which had been contaminating a community's water source, giving many of its residents devastating health problems.

Because of Brockovich, PG & E paid out an enormous settlement to the victims. Not only did Julia Roberts win for Best Actress, but the film was also Oscar-nominated for Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay. Overall, Erin Brockovich showcased how a film can have an important message while being greatly entertaining at the same time.

NEXT: 10 Best Movies About Taking On The Wild