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Inside Hurricane Katrina 8:00 AM
People‘s Planet: What Price Nature? 10:00 AM
The One Degree Factor 11:00 AM
Tsunami: One Place, Many Stories 12:00 PM
People‘s Planet: Consuming Passions 1:00 PM
Fantastic Plastic: The Magic Molecules 2:00 PM
Invaders 3:00 PM
People‘s Planet: Feeding Nine Billion 4:00 PM
Green Car 5:00 PM
Predators 6:00 PM
People‘s Planet: Race for the Sun 7:00 PM
People‘s Planet: Transforming the City 8:00 PM
A Quiet Revolution 9:00 PM
Troubled Waters 9:30 PM
Fantastic Plastic: A Future Near You 10:30 PM
People‘s Planet: The Search for Global Justice 11:30 PM
A Quiet Revolution 12:30 AM
Episode Title: A Quiet Revolution
Episode Description: Against a backdrop of global poverty and ecological concerns, this half-hour program looks at examples of how small scale action can make a significant difference in people‘s lives across the globe. In the Indian village of Neemi, learn how rainwater harvesting has provided water in times of drought, and may ultimately produce material wealth for the villagers. Slovakia‘s lake Zemplinska Sirava serves as an example of the environmental dangers posed by PCBs and other "persistent organic pollutants", see how local activists are working to educate the public and promote change. Then in Africa, learn about Wangari Maathai and her Greenbelt movement, which has planted trees to combat deforestation in Kenya since the early ‘70s. Dr. Maathai‘s organization has empowered Kenyan women to act at the local level to preserve natural resources, for the ultimate benefit of all humanity.
Duration: 0.5 hr
Series Title: Strange Days On Planet Earth
Series Description: A new age of exploration is about to begin. And National Geographic Channel‘s STRANGE DAYS ON PLANET EARTH will take you there in four landmark hours.
Episode Title: Invaders (Ep. 1)
Episode Description: Strange transformations are taking place around the world because of alien invaders. People in New Orleans no longer trust the floor beneath their feet. Their houses are collapsing, under siege by voracious termite hordes that scientists suspect began their journey half a world away.
In Tokyo Bay, General Douglas MacArthur presided over Japan‘s formal surrender in World War II. U.S. forces in Japan and China packed up to return home, making crates from local wood. The crates wound up in garbage dumps near military bases in the American South. But the discarded containers were not necessarily empty - they were likely teeming with stowaways - aliens in the form of Formosan subterranean termites. Over time, the dangerous broods built up their numbers throughout New Orleans.
Given the magnitude of the infestation, scientists are now working to slow down the beasts devouring the city by locating their supply lines. To control the termites, scientists hope to exploit one aspect of the insects‘ lives. Colonies are intensely social - a quality that explains the success of all termites. Most importantly, this means they share food. Using bait stations buried in locations across the city, scientists replace wood bait with poison-soaked paper. Workers carry it back to colony headquarters. In as little as three months, the nest could be destroyed.
Meanwhile, in Uganda, an alien interloper may be jeopardizing the very health of the people living near Lake Victoria. Cases of the tropical disease, schistosomiasis, have been on the rise and scientists suspect the alien water hyacinth plant is partly to blame. In a short time, this weed has clogged 80 percent of Uganda‘s shoreline, providing an ideal breeding ground for snails hosting this deadly disease. In addition, as the snails multiply, fish life suffers under the suffocating blanket of weeds. And when the weeds rot, the drinking water coming straight from the lake is fouled, further weakening the health of all the lakeside inhabitants.
At his laboratory on the outskirts of Uganda‘s capital, researcher James Ogwang looks for a way to fight the invader. The weed has taken over, Ogwang believes, because it left its predators behind in its native Brazil. His theory: Why not import natural enemies?
Using a technique known as bio-control, Ogwang and his team carry 1,200 weevil insects to Uganda. After making sure the weevils do not have a taste for local crops, Ogwang‘s team breeds his insect army and releases it into the waters, where it eats and depletes the plants.
At the same time, in Hawaii, a foreign species of plant threatens to remodel the landscape. Botanists are tracking a plant called Miconia that left its native Mexico on a ship bound for Europe in the mid-1800s. In 1961, a botanical garden in Hawaii welcomed Miconia as a gift. Soon, the plant was being sold at nurseries, where it became a popular decoration. Its escape from backyards was facilitated by way of another introduced species, the Japanese white-eye, a bird that excels at spreading seeds. Now, only 40 years later, the invasive plant has spread over 10,000 acres on the Big Island and is shading out the native species. In its takeover, Miconia replaces the natives‘ deep roots with its own shallow root system, placing the steep slopes of Hawaii at grave risk of landslides. To combat Miconia, researchers use state-of-the-art detection devices to map its growth in forests then uproot the plant, region by region.
Episode Duration: 1 hr
Episode Title: The One Degree Factor (Ep. 2)
Episode Description: From the Arctic north to the tropical isles of the Caribbean, scientists are documenting a series of perplexing phenomena many believe is linked to climate change.
As heat accumulates in the global climate system, places such as Alaska and the northwest corner of Canada are getting more than their share. The average temperature has increased in some places here by as much as 11 degrees Fahrenheit. Emerging signs indicate that the region‘s rising temperature is affecting the indigenous porcupine caribou in ways both subtle and potentially severe.
For decades researchers have been tracking the rise and fall of the porcupine caribou population. While their numbers have varied over the years, recent declines have caused some to question whether global climate change will impact the herd‘s long-term survival. Can they adapt and thrive in a warmer world?
Longer summers in the region may mean a larger mosquito population, and these tiny tormenters feed on the caribou. To escape, the caribou seek out the cooler temperatures atop mountains and ridges, away from their traditional feeding grounds. The life of a caribou is a trade-off between time spent evading insects and time spent feeding or resting. The more time spent evading insects, the more energy expended and the less energy taken in by way of feeding. Researchers suggest this may weaken adult caribou considerably, resulting in lower reproduction rates.
Across the world, other events that some scientists link to climate change are unfolding. In Central Africa, Lake Chad has been shrinking into a bed of dust over the past decades. No one is sure if the lake‘s disappearance is due to climate change, but one thing is certain, this dust is swept into the air, where it is blown toward the Americas, thousands of miles away. In Trinidad, African dust is now a prime suspect in the increased rates of childhood asthma. At the same time, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, scientists are examining possible connections between airborne dust and sea fan disease.
These are but a few of the puzzling events that lead some scientists to believe life on Earth may be pushed to extremes by rising global temperatures.
Episode Duration: 1 hr
Episode Title: Predators (Ep. 3)
Episode Description: Deep in the wilds of Venezuela, the natural order is being turned inside out. Miles of savanna and verdant forest have given way to small, scattered islands. Some of these islands are now overrun by bands of howler monkeys, a glut of iguanas and hordes of ravenous ants. What‘s driving this bizarre transformation? And could it be linked to other mysterious events around the world?
A team of scientists may have the answers. They believe that life on these islands is running amok in large part because the top predators are gone. In fact, in Venezuela and around the world, experts are learning that predators could play a crucial role in structuring entire ecosystems. And when the predators disappear, the consequences may be dramatic.
It‘s not just on land that predators appear to be crucial. In the Caribbean, once-vibrant coral reefs are under attack by insidious algae. With the reefs suffocating under shaggy layers of algae, scientists are investigating the role that the loss of top predatory fish such as sharks, groupers and jacks have played in the reef‘s slow demise. As these large fish were decimated by fisheries, smaller fish became the next commercial target - including those vital grazers that kept fast-growing algae in check. When those few remaining grazers in the over-fished reef were hit by disease, the algae were free to take over.
Similarly, the majestic wilderness of Yellowstone National Park is also showing signs of change that some scientists trace to the depletion of natural predators. Familiar and revered forests have vanished. Researchers are finding intriguing evidence that may link these forest losses to the expulsion of the gray wolf some 70 years ago.
Wolves were once a vital part of North American ecosystems before bounty hunters, starting at the turn of the century, decimated their numbers. A big question for biologists worldwide is what has been the effect of removing large carnivores? In Yellowstone, researchers are uncovering intriguing clues. By hunting elk in particular, wolves literally may be reshaping the landscape. Researchers suggest that wolves instill a primal fear in the resident elk that keeps the herds on the run - spending less time intensively grazing on Yellowstone‘s aspen and willow trees.
Though other factors may have played a role, it seems the disappearance of trees and streamside vegetation can, in fact be traced to the missing wolves. Now, following the controversial reintroduction of wolves to the environment, where elk are on the run, trees and shrubs are starting to come back.
Episode Duration: 1 hr
Episode Title: Troubled Waters (Ep. 4)
Episode Description: A series of apparently unconnected crises among animal populations around the world turns out to be linked by water. The fourth hour of STRANGE DAYS ON PLANET EARTH examines evidence that toxins are being spread throughout the world‘s water systems and explores what people can do to remedy the problem.
Around the world, at least 20 frog species have become extinct, and many surviving populations are dying out. Clues to the disappearances may be appearing in the American heartland where some frog populations are declining dramatically. An investigation into this mystery has led scientist Tyrone Hayes and his students to marshes and ponds, where a closer look at the Northern Leopard frog reveals anomalies inside the frog‘s reproductive organs. At the same time, U.S. farms are producing about one trillion ears of corn every year often using manmade chemicals like Atrazine, which can reach the world‘s waterways by wind and rain. The team‘s research suggests that even tiny amounts of Atrazine can be dangerous to these aquatic animals.
Elsewhere, epidemiologists in Columbia, Missouri are investigating the effects of chemicals found in tap water. They have discovered evidence of human vulnerability, reporting high miscarriage rates in women who drink tap water with elevated levels of chlorine by-products. Now they are looking at the reproductive health of men in cities versus farm areas, finding lower sperm counts in rural areas where exposure to farming chemicals through tap water is more likely.
Farther north in the waters of Canada‘s St. Lawrence River, biologists have discovered pods of beluga whales with some of the highest cancer rates of any wild animal studied. Dozens of chemicals have been discovered in the bodies of these St. Lawrence belugas. Some dead belugas are so full of toxins and chemical mixtures from the water that they technically qualify as hazardous waste. It‘s these chemical mixtures, as opposed to any one toxin in particular, that are causing scientists to worry.
And near the Great Barrier Reef, scientists try to solve another mystery. In recent years, repeated massive outbreaks of Crown of Thorns Starfish have been destroying large parts of the reef. Are these population explosions part of a natural cycle? Or could human activity be to blame? Some scientists believe the outbreaks could be related to nitrogen-rich agricultural runoff.
As invisible toxins infiltrate our water, much of that water ends up flowing straight into our coastal zones. According to one school of thought, toxins are diluted to safe levels by the time they reach the open ocean. But are the creatures that live here really protected from chemicals? In the past decades, researchers have become aware that sharks, blue fin tuna, swordfish, and killer whales often store large amounts of toxins in their tissues. Where are they being exposed? To find out, marine biologist Tierney Thys and her team with the Census of Marine Life Oceanographic Project try to discover where open-ocean animals spend their time. Thys uses new tracking devices to chart the travel habits of the animals, once widely believed to live primarily in the open ocean. Surprisingly, the tags reveal that these animals spend a lot of time close to shore, in close proximity to where toxin-filled runoff enters open water. The good news is that we are now locating the particular places where open-ocean species approach our shores to feed and from that information, we know where to concentrate our clean-up efforts.
Such research calls into question how we assess chemical safety. The water that animals rely on is part of a single interconnected system - the same network that provides our drinking water. Each of these stories may be part of a worldwide transformation in which Earth‘s vibrant waterways - its streams, rivers, estuaries and even ocean - have become massive delivery systems for invisible poisons. Yet even as the level of water-borne toxins rises, scientists and farmers alike are discovering exciting new solutions.
Episode Duration: 1 hr
Episode Title: Inside Hurricane katrina
Episode Description: August 29th, 2005: Hurricane Katrina, a category four hurricane, hits land and storms across Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana?leaving in her wake a trail of devastation. Towns all along the coast are destroyed. Three of the levees protecting New Orleans fail, eventually submerging 80 percent of the city. Chaos reigns as some residents flee, countless others hang on for dear life and the dead float by. Two New Orleans police officers commit suicide, looters take to the streets and officials scramble as the death toll and economic impact climbs. In total, more than 32,000 people are rescued from the sunken city. People around the world are left wondering: how could so many people have been left in the path of the storm? Why was the response so delayed? In this two-hour special, National Geographic Channel will take viewers on an in depth examination of Katrina and uncovers the decisions and circumstances that doomed countless Gulf of Mexico residents. INSIDE HURRICANE KATRINA (1 x 120) is a minute-by-minute chronology of the events leading up to, including, and following Hurricane Katrina. For years, it was widely predicted that a catastrophic Category 4 or 5 storm could devastate the Gulf Coast, including the vulnerable city of New Orleans. And yet, when the storm came, the world watched as chaos broke out, people were trapped in their homes, hundreds died, and government failed at all levels. What happened? The program provides a comprehensive visual account of the deadliest hurricane to hit America in more than a century. By interviewing elected officials, disaster experts, journalists on the scene, as well as ordinary citizens who contributed to the relief effort, the special provides context and historical background on the way natural disasters are handled in the United States, and how the response to this hurricane proved catastrophic. In the post 9/11 world, there can be no more urgent question than whether government at all levels--local, state, and federal--is properly prepared to respond to disasters, whether they are natural ones, or terrorist ones. The program also tracks the science of the hurricane, and how, beginning as a tropical depression in the Bahamas, it developed into a monster. Among those interviewed in the special: Vice Admiral Thad Allen, head of the recovery efforts, following the departure of FEMA director Michael Brown; Gen. Russel Honore, Louisiana State University hurricane expert Ivor van Heerden, Red Cross Preparedness chief Joe Becker, Army Corps of Engineers Col. Richard Wagenaar, New Orleans jazz legend Kermit Ruffins, New York Times reporter Christopher Drew, CBS News White House correspondent Bill Plante, and disaster expert Rutherford Platt, author of "Disasters and Democracy."
Episode Duration: 2 hrs
Episode Title: Tsunami: One Place, Many Stories
Episode Description: Just as the news crews were pulling out of the Tsunami ravaged countries bordering the Indian Ocean, National Geographic Channel sent in its own team of documentary makers so you can all share in the real story of hope and triumph in the wake of tragedy. Of the eleven countries that suffered casualties on Dec 26, 2005, the Island nation of Sri Lanka is second only to Indonesia, in the loss suffered. Tsunami:One Place, Many Stories is a moving document of what happened on one tiny 20 km stretch of the Southern coastline of Sri Lanka from the town of Galle to the villages of Talpe, Habaradua and on to Koggala. The stories of survival tug at the heart and beg to be told. From Day 14 to day 28 post Tsunami, viewers will see what passion and action can achieve at one stretch of the vast tsuami-made coastal wastelands. Based at the village of Talpe, the head monk of the temple and a local lawyer set about feeding and clothing the displaced and traumatized. They then teamed up with an Aussie architect, and by accessing donations from concerned foreigners around the world, have set out to get the homeless out of the rubble and temporary tents and into homes of their own. Costing just U$2,500 per house these grass roots inspired shelters are giving new hope, where their was none for those who lost everything. NGC‘s cameras where there when incredible just 28 days after the wave struck, the foundation stone is laid for a new house and a new beginning. The characters we follow in this film and hope to continue to follow in updates are: Dilrukshika and her family including her 2-month-old baby who lived 125 metres from the sea in a house of sticks. On the day, she was there with her husband and baby but her other two children were with relatives on the beach. In our film her ‘Tsunami baby" gets named ‘Oshan‘ (pronounced Ocean). Somananda, is a 45-year-old day labourer, who with his wife and three children lived in a mud and stick house between a swamp and railway line. The waters took everything. Dulag is a nine-year-old boy who wants to play cricket for Sri Lanka when he grows up. His family lived in a tiny house on the beach at Habaradua, but only the foundations now remain. He lost his grandfather, his aunties and close cousins who all lived next door. His father sold fish door to door from the back of a motorbike. What of their future and thousands like them? Tsunami:One Place Many stories is a film that anyone who felt compassion for those effected by this natural disaster, will want to see and be glad thankful they can help. Australian adventurer and photographer, Sorrel Wilby, and NGC producer and executive Bryan Smith take viewers into what looks like a war zone, but in reality this 20 kms of Sri Lanka is one place where the better nature of humans can be seen in action, rising to rebuild locations, but more importantly rebuilding lives.
Episode Duration: 1 hr
Episode Title: Green Car
Episode Description: As automobiles crowd the planet adding more and more greenhouse gasses many of us want to help by driving greener and cleaner. To help us sort out what we can do host Kamal Sidhu and eco expert zookeeper, Hayden Turner, take us on a tour of what‘s hot and what‘s not on the green car scene. Starting with Hybrids - cars that use gasoline and electricity - Hayden travels to Florence Italy, where Toyota is showing off it‘s latest Hybrid, the Prius - a car that puts out up to 90% fewer tail pipe emissions than comparable petrol or diesel powered cars. Hayden is delighted to discover not only does it drive greener it also has "grunt" and looks good too. To investigate no emission Hydrogen fuel cell cars, Hayden visits Los Angeles where the city leases a Honda powered by solar manufactured hydrogen. . The only thing that exits the exhaust pipe is water. Cars don‘t come much cleaner than this. At the Electric Vehicle Symposium in Long Beach, California, it‘s green-car-alley for Hayden with over a 100 motor vehicles to try out. There are certainly some exciting eco friendly machines, including a hybrid electric mini chopper and a fuel cell powered all-terrain-vehicle. But as he, and the public discover on open day, there are a lot of environmentally friendly vehicles, but many are still in the development stage and not for sale. Alternative fuels are a green option that kamal backgrounds and Hayden investigates. In New Orleans veggie car driving, bio-diesel crusading, Josh Tickell takes Hayden to a restaurant to collect old fryer grease and then demonstrates how to turn it into bio-diesel using a blender. For those who like tyres spinning and wheels squealing there‘s plenty of action with a battery electric Porsche. The torque of this vehicle has to be seen to be believed and it‘s completely green - well it would be if it stopped burning rubber. Finally Hayden travels to China and drives GM‘s futuristic Hydrogen Fuel cell car the "Hy Wire". Vehicle numbers there are exploding and GM, looking decades ahead, believes China may be in the box seat to bypass a gasoline economy and head straight into a hydrogen economy giving us a much greener planet.
Episode Duration: 1 hr
Series Title: Fantastic Plastic
Series Description: In only a century, plastics have penetrated every part of our existence: replacing body parts, shaping our homes and appliances, creating the environments in which we drive, fly and sail, shaping the clothes we wear and covering everything we eat or drink. This is the Age of Plastics and our lives are being changed in ways few of us fully comprehend. In only a century, plastics have penetrated every part of our existence: replacing body parts, shaping our homes and appliances, creating the environments in which we drive, fly and sail, shaping the clothes we wear and covering everything we eat or drink. This is the Age of Plastics and our lives are being changed in ways few of us fully comprehend. Our series will explore the remarkable world of plastics and their impact on humanity over the past century, explaining how these materials were created, what makes them so special, and how we are putting them to use in such areas as medicine, electronics, warfare, aviation, motoring, and sport. It‘s an absorbing story of trial and error, chance discoveries, tycoons and dedicated scientists who work at the level of individual molecules to create their miracle substances. The history of Plastics is rich with fascinating anecdotes - such as the ‘exploding billiard ball‘ story on the page attached. The documentaries will also consider the darker side of plastics, the many concerns surrounding their effects on our health and the environment, and the ingenious recycling methods now being introduced to stem the rising tide of plastic waste around the planet. Our series will explore the remarkable world of plastics and their impact on humanity over the past century, explaining how these materials were created, what makes them so special, and how we are putting them to use in such areas as medicine, electronics, warfare, aviation, motoring, and sport. It‘s an absorbing story of trial and error, chance discoveries, tycoons and dedicated scientists who work at the level of individual molecules to create their miracle substances. The history of Plastics is rich with fascinating anecdotes - such as the ‘exploding billiard ball‘ story on the page attached. The documentaries will also consider the darker side of plastics, the many concerns surrounding their effects on our health and the environment, and the ingenious recycling methods now being introduced to stem the rising tide of plastic waste around the planet.
Episode Title: The Magic Molecules (Ep. 1)
Episode Description: In only a century, plastics have penetrated every part of our existence: replacing body parts, shaping our homes and appliances, creating the environments in which we drive, fly and sail, shaping the clothes we wear and covering everything we eat or drink. This is the Age of Plastics and our lives are being changed in ways few of us fully comprehend. Our series will explore the remarkable world of plastics and their impact on humanity over the past century, explaining how these materials were created, what makes them so special, and how we are putting them to use in such areas as medicine, electronics, warfare, aviation, motoring, and sport. It‘s an absorbing story of trial and error, chance discoveries, tycoons and dedicated scientists who work at the level of individual molecules to create their miracle substances. The history of Plastics is rich with fascinating anecdotes - such as the ‘exploding billiard ball‘ story on the page attached. The documentaries will also consider the darker side of plastics, the many concerns surrounding their effects on our health and the environment, and the ingenious recycling methods now being introduced to stem the rising tide of plastic waste around the planet.
Episode Duration: 1 hr
Episode Title: A Future Near You (Ep. 2)
Episode Description: In only a century, plastics have penetrated every part of our existence: replacing body parts, shaping our homes and appliances, creating the environments in which we drive, fly and sail, shaping the clothes we wear and covering everything we eat or drink. This is the Age of Plastics and our lives are being changed in ways few of us fully comprehend. Our series will explore the remarkable world of plastics and their impact on humanity over the past century, explaining how these materials were created, what makes them so special, and how we are putting them to use in such areas as medicine, electronics, warfare, aviation, motoring, and sport. It‘s an absorbing story of trial and error, chance discoveries, tycoons and dedicated scientists who work at the level of individual molecules to create their miracle substances. The history of Plastics is rich with fascinating anecdotes - such as the ‘exploding billiard ball‘ story on the page attached. The documentaries will also consider the darker side of plastics, the many concerns surrounding their effects on our health and the environment, and the ingenious recycling methods now being introduced to stem the rising tide of plastic waste around the planet.
Episode Duration: 1 hr
Series Title: People‘s Planet
Series Description: The People‘s Planet focuses on the environmental revolution needed to bring our activities into balance with the natural world. It was shot in 24 countries on five continents. Developed with the Worldwatch Institute in Washington, DC, it sets the scene for the next UN Earth Summit in July 2002. The People‘s Planet portrays the quest for sustainable development at the turn of the new millennium. Against the background of the world‘s major environmental problems, it focuses on the efforts now being made to improve the relationship between humanity and our "host planet". Worldwide adoption of American and European living standards would require the resources of three planets rather than the one we actually have. The series argues that joint initiatives by civil society, governments and companies can greatly improve our use of resources and dramatically reduce our global impacts.
Episode Title: Consuming Passions (Ep 1)
Episode Description: Every year some twenty million people around the world will cement their marriage vows. But for every twelve gram gold ring that‘s slipped over the bride‘s finger there‘s a gaping hole, eight feet long and six feet deep, somewhere in the world that‘s been blasted out of the earth to pay for it. Environmentalists warn that if the world‘s populations, both rich and poor, are to survive the next century there has to be a shared responsibility for the consequences of our actions. They say that our relentless obsession with consumerism is destroying the planet. Take a global look at the problems, and potential solutions, of our ever-expanding global economy, from the effects of gold mining in Brazil to new recycling programs in Tokyo.
Episode Duration: 1 hr
Episode Title: Transforming the City (Ep 2)
Episode Description: In the last hundred years, our world population has grown four fold, from one and a half billion to six billion. But the populations of our cities have grown fifteen fold and in the next fifty years more than three-quarters of us could be living in them. Although cities only take up about 2% of the world‘s land surface, they use about 75% of the world‘s resources, so they have an enormous effect on the planetary environment. Take a look at four cities, Curitiba, Shanghai, Cairo, and London, to see how they are dealing with the environmental challenges, from resources and waste to urban farming.
Episode Duration: 1 hr
Episode Title: Feeding Nine Billion (Ep 3)
Episode Description: How would you begin to feed six billion people? Though it sounds like a miracle, it happens every day on planet Earth. But ,as the world population swells to ever-increasing numbers - some estimates place it at nine billion by the middle of this century - resources are more in demand with every new baby born. Will supply be able to meet demand or will people go hungry? Poorer countries are already finding it difficult to feed their people, and the outlook, to some, looks bleak. This episode takes an in-depth look at the people and technologies that are taking on the challenge of providing enough food and water for our entire planet.
Episode Duration: 1 hr
Episode Title: What Price Nature? (Ep. 4)
Episode Description: Could we be facing a future where we would pay to enjoy the outdoors? This episode asks, at what price is Nature? Nature doesn‘t charge us for maintaining the planet nor for providing our food, and making the earth a more beautiful place. And because we don‘t pay for its services we tend to take Nature for granted. See why environmentalists say it‘s an oversight that puts our planet and us in peril. The ability of the wilderness to regenerate itself and support the endless diversity of life on earth is coming under threat. Payoff time has arrived and the true value of nature‘s free services must be fully taken into account - everyone‘s future depends on it.
Episode Duration: 1 hr
Episode Title: Race for the Sun (Ep 5)
Episode Description: As the twenty-first century began, rising oil prices led to world-wide protests. Not since the 1970‘s oil embargo was there so much havoc at the gas pumps. Across Europe, truckers, farmers, and ordinary citizens took to the streets to protest what they saw as unacceptably high fuel prices. Their fear was that it would soon be too expensive to drive to work, deliver food to supermarkets, or even fuel ambulances, fire trucks and buses. But underlying this international protest was the uneasy feeling that perhaps the start of a new millennium was the time to question our dependence on fossil fuels and consider the alternatives. Environmentalists warn the future health of the planet will depend on renewable energy. But some worry whether the damage of a fossil-fuel dependency can be corrected before it‘s too late. Clean, alternative energy sources exist, but getting the public to accept them will mean getting society to change long-held habits, and convincing companies and politicians that the alternatives make economic sense.
Episode Duration: 1 hr
Episode Title: The Search for Global Justice (Ep 6)
Episode Description: As the new century begins, the warnings of environmentalists are becoming more and more urgent. However it can be said that there is a new sense of awareness and understanding of the measures that must be taken, if mankind as a whole is to survive, with a fair share of peace and prosperity within the reach of everyone. From the protests in Seattle at the conference of the World Trade Organization, to a local hero in Tahiti taking a stand against nuclear testing, see how people are taking matters in their own hands and standing up to destruction of the environment and the globalization of the economy.
Episode Duration: 1 hr
