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Africa, Sub-Saharan Social conditions Conservation of natural resources Economic aspects Cultural geography Environmental geography Environmental protection Human ecology Human geography Environmental aspects Human geography Social aspects Nature Effect of human beings on Social ecologyFilter By Subjects
Africa, Sub-Saharan Social conditions Conservation of natural resources Economic aspects Cultural geography Environmental geography Environmental protection Human ecology Human geography Environmental aspects Human geography Social aspects Nature Effect of human beings on Social ecologySummary: 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
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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
View online at AVOD
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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: The consequences of armed conflict are complex and long-lasting. Using Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, and Afghanistan as points of departure, this program examines some of the economic, environmental, and social impacts of conflicts at the national and international levels. Topics include the pernicious phenomenon of child soldiers; the plight of refugees and internally displaced persons; thorny...
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
View online at AVOD
Summary: What's wrong with enjoying the rich variety of foods that importers make available? Do the reported drawbacks of globalization mean that we should eat only locally grown food? How are Western food choices related to environmental problems and to developing-world farmers? This program explores those questions by studying agricultural practices in the United Kingdom and worldwide. Comparing...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: Over 100 million children worldwide have never spent a day in school. One in four does not complete even five years of basic education. Now, 182 nations have promised to provide access to free and compulsory education for every child in the world-by 2015. To test the reality of that sweeping commitment, this Wide Angle installment profiles children in Japan, Kenya, Benin, Brazil, Romania,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The 2009 installment in Wide Angle's Time for School series reenters the lives of seven students in seven different countries, offering a glimpse of the worldwide battle to get what most American children take for granted: a basic education. These riveting case studies in India, Afghanistan, Kenya, Benin, Brazil, Japan, and Romania feature young teenagers embracing academic challenges that...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Among the most utilized waterways in the world, the Yangtze River is also one of the most volatile. This program sheds light on humanity's battle to tame and profit from the river-specifically, a project initiated by Chiang Kai-shek in the 1930s. The program also studies corresponding ecological problems. Viewers are introduced to the Three Gorges Dam, a concrete mega-structure visible from...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Unlike the primarily east-to-west conquest of the Americas, European incursions into sub-Saharan Africa proceeded south-to-north-an approach, climatically speaking, that did not favor the invaders. Cattle and crops failed to thrive, and indigenous diseases decimated the newcomers, yet still that vast region was subdued. How? This program tells a story of colonization and exploitation that shows...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Does the future of capitalism favor the global corporations of the West-or small, competitive businesses that are homegrown in the developing world? This program offers valuable case studies that clearly illustrate both the challenges and the enormous potential of non-Western entrepreneurship. In Senegal, plastics manufacturer SIMPA has obtained funding for equipment upgrades and employee...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
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: 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
View online at AVOD
Summary: With hundreds of thousands of employees worldwide, a net worth in the billions, and a dozen brands, General Motors is at the center of the political debate over globalization, the environment, and the future of the U.S. economy. In this program, GM President and CEO Rick Wagoner talks with BBC Chief Washington Correspondent Matt Frei. Topics under discussion include America's unending love...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: In 2003, the Wide Angle program Time for School profiled children in seven countries-Afghanistan, Benin, Brazil, India, Japan, Kenya, and Romania-as they started their first year of school, often in the face of great adversity. Three years later this Wide Angle episode returns to visit each child, updating the progress of their educational and personal development. The similarities and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Indentured servitude, however dehumanizing, played a role in the colonization and development of early America. But its 21st-century incarnation, the practice of debt bondage, contributes virtually nothing to the common good of southern Asia. This program examines the plight of workers in India's rural areas, exposing the conditions in which they toil to pay off staggering personal debts. More...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010