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Conservation of natural resources Economic aspects Economic Geography Environmental geography Environmental protection Human ecology Human geography Economic aspects Human geography Environmental aspects Land use Environmental aspects Nature Effect of human beings on Social ecologySummary: According to Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at London's City University, future wars may be fought specifically over agricultural resources. Given the present volatility of food prices and the riots they provoked in 2008, his theory seems to be on the mark. This program assesses the potential for a global food crisis as it guides viewers through issues involving climate change, oil...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
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Summary: A city shouldn't be a problem, says Jaime Lerner, the former mayor of Curitiba. "It should be a solution." This program explores innovative planning, engineering, and conservation at work in the Brazilian metropolis as it transcends many of the problems plaguing other South American cities. The film spotlights fully modernized public transportation and recycling systems, a "Citizenship Street"...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Year by year the tourist trade has dwindled in fictional Pingwah Falls, leaving the town practically bankrupt. When a plan was unveiled for a modern resort, everyone's hopes rose.until they learned the land is home to a threatened species of bird. In this Fred Friendly Seminar moderated by Harvard Law School's Arthur Miller, panelists including former county supervisor Tom Mullen; Christopher...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: Illegal deforestation, slash-and-burn practices, poverty, land disputes-these are among the many problems associated with farming in Madagascar. This program guides viewers through the real-world challenges of building sustainable agriculture in the country. Outlining reasons why many growers are unable or unwilling to leave outmoded techniques behind, the film visits community offices that...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
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Summary: Characterized as an LDC or Least Developed Country, the nation of Chad wrestles with drought, population growth, and resulting tensions between farmers and herders. This program investigates hydraulic projects and mediation initiatives that are fostering relationships between Chad's food growers and its nomadic, livestock-centered cultures. Overviewing the basic causes of Chadian land disputes...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: To at least one resident of the fictional city of Metropolis, a new outer suburb being planned for some pristine farmland sounds like the American Dream come true. His brother, also a Metropolite but an advocate of smart growth, sees it as a nightmare. Moderated by Harvard Law School's Arthur Miller, this Fred Friendly Seminar seeks to understand the housing situation facing the U.S.-a...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: Urban punks with green hair and green thumbs, the members of Tierra Viva transform toxic Mexican earth into vegetable gardens. Their actions make up one remarkable part of this wide-ranging Mexican odyssey. Depicting Michoacan farmers who are fighting the trend to move to the cities-and preserving the winter home of the monarch butterflies-the program also journeys to Magdalena Bay,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: The fictional locale known as Eagle Bay is breathtakingly beautiful. First home to a handful of modest houses, over the decades it has transitioned into a neighborhood of stately mansions-except for one 50-acre parcel, whose owners now want to sell it for subdivision. This Fred Friendly Seminar moderated by Harvard Law School's Arthur Miller explores the complexities that arise when a family's...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: In Luang Prabang, amidst the customary begging of Buddhist monks and the irksome giddiness of camera-wielding tourists, history lies waiting on street after street of traditional architecture. This program takes viewers into the heart of the Laotian city, where builders and bureaucrats contest the fate of land, houses, and public structures while traditional artisans and architects work to...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: The moment demand outpaces supply, water becomes a commodity to be traded in the global market. But who owns the rights to water? And how can a price be set on water? In this program, the pros and cons of privatization are assessed in a number of water management situations around the world: Aguas Argentina in Buenos Aires; the Bechtel corporation in Cochabamba, Bolivia; Thames Water company in...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Scottish fishermen have trawled for cod in the North Sea for generations. Under new European Union laws, many families are being forced out of the trade. This Wide Angle documentary poignantly depicts a year in the life of Fraserburgh, a hard-hit community caught between E.U. policies designed to preserve fish stocks and the need to earn a living. Showing how commercial overfishing has...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: No matter where on Earth, the one human activity that consumes the most water is the one that wastes the most: agriculture. From locations around the world, this program surveys both disasters of agricultural irrigation, such as cotton farming in Uzbekistan, and innovative successes in water-efficient techniques and crops, such as in California and India. Numerous examples illustrate the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: In a dramatic reversal of policy since apartheid, South Africa has become a model of water fulfillment. Despite being one of the driest regions on Earth, India's Rajasthan is an oasis due to the revival of a system of ancient rain basins. This program looks at these encouraging examples to show how sustainable solutions to long-term water management can be achieved, while a visit to Sertao in...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Among the largest, most pristine areas of tropical woodland on the planet, the Congo Basin forests could easily fall prey to shortsighted and exploitative commercial interests. This program looks at sustainable lumber production initiatives taking root in the region, with a focus on cutting-edge forestry management as well as economic growth through increased cooperation between local...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Scientists expect the island nation of Tuvalu to disappear into the sea during the next few decades. If that is true, what will become of the country's citizens and its unique South Pacific culture? Should the traumatic task of evacuation begin now, and if so, to where and under what circumstances? This program grapples with those questions by interviewing key figures in Tuvalu's government and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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Summary: Were it not for the elemental forces of the Nile River, the great architecture of ancient Egypt and Ethiopia might never have been built. But in today's water-starved world, the river could lead both countries down a destructive path. This program examines lives and livelihoods that depend on the Nile, from the humble to the hugely ambitious. In Egypt, viewers encounter a struggling Cairo...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Swept to power in 2006 on a wave of social unrest, Bolivian President Evo Morales has vowed to shift the balance of power in favor of his poorest constituents. This program examines the wealth generated from Bolivia's natural resources-precious metals in particular-and highlights Morales' efforts to redirect revenues away from what he sees as neoliberal interests. Noting Morales' indigenous...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Poverty in Africa reminds us that abundant natural resources don't automatically translate into widespread economic wealth. This program brings home the disturbing reality of daily life in Angola-marked by ramshackle houses, open sewers, and a question that grows louder every day: who benefits from the country's vast oil resources? Outlining the nation's colonial and Cold War traumas, the film...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
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: Stretching over 4,000 miles across South America, the Amazon River has long defied human efforts to tame it. Not a single bridge crosses it, and not one dam halts its flow. This program visits urban centers on the banks of the Amazon and examines new attempts to harness-or exploit-the river's energy and natural abundance. The journey begins at Iquitos-a Peruvian city blighted by poverty and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Will rampant overdevelopment of agriculture, housing, and industry increase the demands for fresh water beyond the finite supply? This program examines the role of high-level corporate and political players in the shrinking availability of what is already the most precious substance on Earth. Viewers follow numerous worldwide examples of the struggle for the basic right to water-from local...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Thirst, starvation, claustrophobia-all three await the whole of humanity, if global population and consumption rates continue unchanged. This program explores the looming crisis in practical terms, measuring as accurately as possible our planet's capacity for human habitation. Host Sir David Attenborough guides viewers through the core problems of water scarcity, shortsighted agricultural...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Having overtaken the U.S. as the world's biggest polluter, China is now responsible for 11 percent of all greenhouse gas production. Can the country reduce its carbon footprint without slowing its unprecedented economic growth? This program shows how that question is playing out in the Chinese construction industry, highlighting the creation and practical application of new homebuilding...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Virtually every reef system in the world is endangered, and the island nations of the South Pacific provide some of the most troubling examples. This program examines the uncertain future of tropical offshore ecosystems using the French collectivity of New Caledonia as a case study. Viewers accompany lagoon protection crew members as they patrol fragile marine reserves by boat; an itinerant...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010