LibGuides: Environmental Science: Media

Featured Streaming Media

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BBC A Perfect Planet Series (5 Titles) Our planet is one in a billion. How incredible, awe-inspiring life is driven by its natural forces - and how we can ensure humans become a force for good. With David Attenborough.
CarboOcean: Why the Sea Can't Protect Us Against Climate Change (50:00) Here’s the good news: if we stop our carbon emissions now, the Earth’s oceans can still render them harmless through absorption. The bad news? It will take 100,000 years. That and other stark realities are among the findings of an international research project known as CarboOcean, the subject of this eye-opening film. Spearheading the project are scientists from the University of Bergen’s Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, who demonstrate newly developed technology used to conduct their studies in the North Atlantic. They explain why the oceans absorb carbon emissions at an unstable rate, why 50 percent less CO2 is assimilated now than it was just 15 years ago, and why it’s futile to expect the sea to fight climate change for us. Interviews with other prominent researchers are also featured.
Meet the Frackers: Energy Independence or Environmental Nightmare? (27:00) Spreading out beneath the suburbs of Dallas, the underground deposit known as the Barnett Shale promises vast oil and gas riches. This program follows the efforts of Texas developers as they stampede for a piece of the action, even as local residents and environmental activists raise major objections. Liberating the bounty below calls for fracking—a controversial process in which huge quantities of water and chemicals are injected underground, shattering rock and releasing gas and oil. The film also examines other states where fracking is taking place, such as North Dakota, where farmer Jacki Schilke insists that frackers “are here to rape this land.” Viewers are given a wide-ranging look at the pros and cons of what is touted as a major step toward America’s independence from foreign oil.
PBS Forces of Nature (4 Titles) Take a global tour in four themed episodes, answering the simplest questions about the complex forces that shape our planet. Why is water blue? How can a shape defy gravity? Why do bees make hexagonal honeycombs? And how do these things affect our own lives? Discover what lies beneath Earth's startling beauty as we reveal the secrets of our cosmos and the natural forces that govern everything within it.
PBS H2O: The Molecule That Made Us Series (3 Titles) Earth is alive because of liquid water and the human story is intimately connected to our relationship with it. But the growth of our civilizations has created a dangerous dependence on a precious resource that may be about to run out.
Rivers: Shapers of Earth Landscapes (23:00) Whether they work on a timescale of eons or within the space of a few astonishing hours, rivers are, in a real sense, the architects of our landscapes. This dynamic program illustrates the water cycle, categorizes types of streams, and explains fluvial processes with dramatic footage of the Amazon, Mississippi, Rhine, Nile, Ganges, and Mekong rivers. Viewers learn how rivers are formed, how they carve their channels into soil and rocks, and how they eventually flow to larger rivers, to lakes, or to the sea. Depicting erosion and deposition processes, the video shows the effect of gradient on water velocity and what this means in terms of the water’s load capacity as well as its shaping action on surrounding land forms. Sea level impact is also discussed.
Series: Strange Days on Planet Earth Why would a one-degree rise in global temperature have dramatic, even dangerous effects? What happens to an ecosystem when top predators vanish? Why do invasive species cause such harm in their new surroundings? Hosted and narrated by Academy Award nominee Edward Norton, this six-part award-winning series uses engaging storytelling and remarkable imagery to explore new discoveries about the health of planet Earth. Each episode reveals the way seemingly distant events are connected and, ultimately, how they can affect human health and society today. A National Geographic Production. 6-part series, 51-54 minutes each.
Series: Thirsty Planet (6-part series, 27 minutes each) Funded in part by UNESCO, this six-part series provides a comprehensive examination of the world's water crisis. Footage from around the globe is combined with commentary from corporate and public leaders, scientists, farmers, engineers, and experts including Klaus Topfer of the UN Environment Program, Peter H. Gleick of the Pacific Institute, and Vandana Shiva, author of Water Wars. 6-part series, 27 minutes each.
Shattered Ground (52:05) Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” is a new technology that has opened up immense resources of natural gas buried in deep shale beds. Some see it as the answer to the energy crisis and a chance at energy independence. But fracking is an incredibly divisive issue ripping apart communities. The backlash is unprecedented, with states and countries adopting fracking bans. Is fracking bad? Or is it truly an unexpected gift of energy and jobs? This film looks past the rhetoric and emotional arguments to find the real issues involved, the opportunity, and the potential health and environmental issues.
Treating Earth like Dirt: David Montgomery (57:00) This episode of The Green Interview features David Montgomery, a geomorphologist. Montgomery is the author of Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations, in which he argues that conventional agriculture, characterized by mechanization such as plows and tillers, has resulted in mining soil to produce food. Plowing leaves soil bare, he explains, and exposes it to the elements leaving it vulnerable to erosion. Conventional tillage also reduces soil organic matter—the microorganisms and nutrients that make soil productive and fertile. Montgomery warns that soil erosion is now outpacing soil production and this can have dire consequences since it's “an essential resource renewable only at a glacial pace.”
Land and Water Pollution Water consumption and pollution from farming, agriculture, and sewage can have a devastating effect on quantity and quality of water supply as well as all forms of water life.
Scientific Research, Technology, and the Environment (8:28) While ecosystems face increasing pressure from human activity, science plays a critical role in controlling and minimizing harmful effects. This clip explores the role of science and technology in identifying impacts on ecosystems and finding solutions for a more sustainable future. It provides students of biology and other sciences with an excellent overview of this important area of study.

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