Summary: Much of what is known about the environmental disaster in Libby, Montana, has been due to the unflagging efforts of residents Les Skramstad, U.S. attorney for Montana, and Gayla Benefield. In this ABC News program, these determined individuals are joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Andrew Schneider; Drs. Brad Black and Alan Whitehouse, of Libby's Center for Asbestos-Related...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Alongside the glittery promise of nanotechnology sits a Pandora’s box of potential concerns that range from worrisome applications like nano-enhanced surveillance devices and weapon systems to unintended consequences such as nanopollution and nanotoxicity. This program takes a balanced look at the debate over potential nanotech risks as it presents viewers with the informed opinions of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Harnessing the power of the atom is a staggering technological achievement-but how is it done, exactly? This program guides viewers through the complex science and basic operation of a nuclear power station. Outlining the nuclear fuel cycle-including mining, milling, enrichment, fabrication, storage, and reprocessing-the video looks at specific mining procedures; discusses the structure and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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Summary: In 1980, three frustrated mothers made American history by taking federal officials hostage in the community built on the site of New York's toxic Love Canal. In this riveting expose, the three activists-Lois Gibbs, Barbara Quimby, and Patti Grenzy-and research scientist Dr. Beverly Paigen, who staunchly stood by the residents, discuss their volatile four-year political battle to have the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: With more than half of America's landfills already closed, it is predicted that 22 states will soon run out of landfill capacity. Episode one of this program presents regionalization, the pooling of municipal resources across political boundaries, as a partial solution. Environmental project specialist Elizabeth Tarver, representatives of BFI and Waste Management, and others address topics such...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: Rich in history, the Rhine feeds Europe's collective identity-as well as its divisions. Flowing from Switzerland through Austria, Germany, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, the river intersects a multitude of towns and cities in the process. This program follows the Rhine on its multifaceted journey and examines economic, political, environmental, and historical issues surrounding it....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program examines the harm done to the Everglades by decades of exploitation and contamination. The impact of the sugar and orange industries, of flood control efforts, of Florida's burgeoning population, and even of competing conservation initiatives are considered. The points of view of environmentalists, industry, Native Americans, and academics are represented by John Ogden, of the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: A great many materials can impact the environment in a negative way-and while the by-products of manufacturing are a significant factor, pollution can also consist of discarded and post-consumer items. This program explores how pollution can affect the air, water, and land in the form of gases, liquids, and solids. Viewers learn about substances that constitute pollution, such as petroleum...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: The Donana marshland. The oyster beds below Rio. The Caspian's sturgeon fishing grounds. The coral reefs of the South Pacific. This program travels to Spain, Brazil, Iran, and Fiji to observe efforts to mitigate severe ecological damage to these sensitive regions-places primarily spoiled by water pollution, with causes as varied as upland agricultural runoff and the rupture of a mine tailings...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The Karuk, Yurok, and Hoopa peoples live along northern California's Klamath River, and each tribe's ancient culture revolves around the majestic Pacific salmon. Today, four large hydroelectric dams have made salmon extinction a real and frightening possibility. This case study follows tribal members as they confront the owners of the dams-specifically, a global energy giant in Scotland which...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Household waste can cause pollution of all kinds, but more and more of these wastes can be recycled effectively and economically. The result is reduced pollution and a useful new source of raw materials and energy. Hospital waste disposal presents the additional problems of contaminated waste, which is a series of problems depending on the nature of the waste: contaminated blood waste, for...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Flush toilets are one way to deal with human waste-but they themselves are wasteful, as clean water and nutrient-rich biological matter are allowed to simply go down the drain. This earthy but informative program addresses the benefits of the dry toilet and waterless urinal, ecosanitation devices that collect human waste for use as compost and fertilizer. Ideal for regions where conventional...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: A typical city of 100,000 produces millions of gallons of wastewater every day. In this program, Harold Gorman, of the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board; Teresa Battenfield, director of Houston's wastewater treatment plant; Casi Callaway, executive director of Mobile Bay Watch; and many others consider the challenges of collecting wastewater via aging pipes as populations continue to grow....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: An excellent example of governmental and community cooperation in the face of long-standing legal enmity, this program explains how the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power are working to eliminate hazardous concentrations of airborne dust from the Owens Lake lakebed-drained nearly dry to supply L.A. with water. The biggest...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: As fresh water sources dwindle in the arid American Southwest, California faces growing difficulty in managing and sustaining its irrigation infrastructure. This program analyzes the multifaceted problem, sifting through environmental and political factors and assessing a number of potential solutions. Beginning its fact-finding tour at the Water Education Foundation in Sacramento, the film...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Why are girls entering puberty at progressively younger ages? Why are the rates of heart attack, cancer, and adult-onset diabetes rising? This program examines growing indications that food affects our genes-a concept vitally important to the science of epigenetics. Viewers encounter a wide range of experiments, case studies, and historical evidence, including Dutch birth records and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: This is the ugly face of globalization, says A. R. Chowdhury-Repon, director of the Bangladesh Occupational Health, Safety, and Environment Foundation. He refers to a failure on the part of Western multinationals to ensure worker safety and proper environmental procedures in developing countries, and his description is echoed by many others throughout this program. Hidden camera interviews...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Rising from a Himalayan ice cave and emptying into the bay of Bengal, the Ganges River is sacred to Hindus as a purifying spirit-yet it currently suffers from pollution and neglect. This program follows the Ganges through various Indian cities, studying their relationship with the river and assessing its uncertain future. Beginning in Gangotri, the program profiles a photographer who has...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: The Clean Water Act has led to a vast improvement in the overall quality of industrial point source wastewater, but there is still a significant amount of work to be done. In this program, George Crozier, executive director of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab; attorney David Perry; wastewater superintendent Bhaskar Patel; representatives of International Paper and petroleum refiner Koch Industries;...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: They are now banned worldwide-but the toxins known as PCBs are not going away. This program explains how the compounds have almost irreparably polluted the globe and still threaten future generations. The film begins in 1927, when PCBs became integral to electric power and, eventually, a vast array of agricultural and technological products. Describing the growth of scientific awareness of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Have Earth's vibrant waterways-its streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans-become delivery systems for pollutants and poison? This program points to signs that toxic substances are overwhelming our planet's aquatic ecosystems. Viewers encounter many of the causes for this concern, including a radical decrease in frog populations, distressed marine mammals in estuary habitats, and disturbing changes...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Slipping beneath the radar of everyday awareness are things that can sicken the unsuspecting-and even kill. This 48 Hours report uses compelling personal accounts from anti-pollution activist Erin Brockovich, crusading attorney Jan Schlichtmann, and others to raise viewers' awareness about four of them: infestations of the toxic mold Stachybotrys in the home; deadly blood clots believed to be...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Innovations in chemistry over the past 50 years have produced thousands of man-made chemicals. The majority of Americans believe that the government is making sure that they are protected from any harmful substances, but are they right? In this report, Bill Moyers sets the record straight, drawing on industry documents and interviews with historians, scientists, and public health professionals...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: They take hundreds of years to biodegrade and have sparked heated debate around the world. This documentary examines the controversy over plastic bags, from their often devastating environmental impact to their remarkable ubiquity in consumer culture. Outlining the bag's connection to Big Oil, the film presents environmental case studies in Mumbai, where clogged flood drains have sparked...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009