Summary: A staple for over half the world, rice is truly a precious commodity. This program looks at the ubiquitous grain from all angles, offering concise sections on its history, biology, primary production, processing, marketing, and the environmental impact of its farming. In addition, the program highlights the creation of miracle rice strains through breeding or genetic modification and summarizes...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

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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

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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

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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

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

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Summary: Our most valuable treasure, is how residents of Dakar describe the Bay of Han. But pollution from both residential and industrial sources is destroying the body of water that has long supported fishing families in the Senegalese capital. This program reports on Western-aided efforts to restore the bay's ecological health and its viability as an economic resource. Specific challenges include the...

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

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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

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Summary: Close to the Russian border, far removed from Mongolia's polluted and overcrowded capital city of Ulaanbaatar, an ancient herding culture fights to maintain its identity-and its survival. This program examines the nomadic communities of the Mongolian plains and their resistance to change, despite growing pressure on many herders to modernize and migrate to urban areas. Viewers meet some who...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010

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Summary: When an 11-year-old Paraguayan boy named Silvino Talavera died from pesticide poisoning in 2003, his name became a rallying cry in the fight against intensive soya production. This program recounts the tragedy and the legal, political, and economic impact of "agritoxins" in Latin America. Opening with a poetically filmed reenactment and moving on to feature key players in the story, the film...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010

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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: Although the social and economic conditions facing the Maasai people have changed significantly since this classic film was produced, it remains a valuable snapshot of the evolving interaction between an age-old culture, modern influences, and the striking natural surroundings of the Serengeti. Today's geography and anthropology students still stand to gain from the story of Tepilit Ole...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010

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Summary: Journeying to a remote land high in the Andean mountains, this program follows a team of adventurers and scientists on a perilous rescue mission. Their goal is not to save lost tourists or injured hikers but to rediscover forgotten cultures, ancient Inca ruins, and rare species of plants and animals. All of this work must be done before a massive highway, which will crisscross the South...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010

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Summary: The human population is likely to double by the middle of the 21st century, soaring past 10 billion people. How will all these people survive? Will there be enough resources to meet everyone's needs or will there be massive social upheaval, famine, and rampant pollution? These questions have been a consuming passion for biologist and environmental pioneer Paul Ehrlich, who set out decades ago...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

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Summary: The dire prediction by controversial economist Thomas Malthus that the world's expanding population would swiftly outrun its food supply has not come to fruition-yet. In this program, demographer Paul Demeny, of the Population Council; Walter Reid, of the World Resources Institute; and Max Singer, co-founder of the Hudson Institute, join Ben Wattenberg, of the American Enterprise Institute, in...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008

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Summary: With 10,000 children born per hour, 80 million per year, the human population of the Earth surpassed the 6 billion mark in 1999. As resources of every kind get spread thinner and thinner, how will the impoverished peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America survive? And how much longer will it be before their urgent plight devastates Western society? This program thoroughly addresses the grim...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

View online at AVOD

Summary: According to the latest statistics from the United Nations Population Fund, the momentum of world population growth has slowed. But does that mean the population boom is over? This program summarizes the results of the most recent State of World Population Report, highlighting key changes in fertility rates and family size, as well as demographic shifts and the implications of increased human...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

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Hilborn, Elizabeth D.

Summary: "All spring, Dr. Elizabeth Hilborn watched as her family fruit farm of many years rapidly diminished, suffering from a lack of bees and other insects. The plentiful wildlife, so abundant just weeks before, was gone. Everything was still, silent. As an environmental scientist trained to investigate disease outbreaks, she rose to the challenge. Step by step, day by day, despite facing headwinds...

Format: text

Publisher / Publication Date: Chicago Review Press 2023

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Summary: 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: In 1970, the paper industry set its sights on the lush forests of Tasmania-beginning what environmentalists call a chain saw massacre that still cuts down 8 million cubic meters of timber each year. This program documents the ongoing fight to save the coveted woodlands, championed by a diverse group of activists. Viewers learn about early on-site protests that met with violence and abuse, as...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010

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Summary: Despite the extraordinary engineering of Brazil's Porto Primavera Dam, many scientists and environmentalists view its ecological effects as catastrophic. This program offers a sobering look at a nation's effort to balance its growing energy needs against the long-term benefits of preserving unique and irreplaceable ecosystems. Produced prior to the completion of Porto Primavera and the creation...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010

View online at AVOD