Bag ItTry going a day without plastic. In this touching and often flat-out-funny film, we follow "everyman" Jeb Berrier as he embarks on a global tour to unravel the complexities of our plastic world. What starts as a film about plastic bags evolves into a wholesale investigation into plastic's effects on our oceans, environment, and bodies. We see how our crazy-for-plastic world has finally caught up to us...and what we can do about it.
Publication Date: 2015
Before the FloodFollow Leonardo DiCaprio as he travels around the globe to witness first hand the devastating effects of climate change and what can be done to solve the climate crisis.
Publication Date: 2016
Blood in the Mobile: Mining in the CongoShows the connection between our phones and the civil war in the Congo. Director Frank Poulsen travels to DR Congo to see the illegal mine industry with his own eyes. He gets access to Congo's largest tin-mine, which is being controlled by different armed groups, and where children work for days in narrow mine tunnels to dig out the minerals that end up in our phones.
Publication Date: 2011
Chasing IceJames Balog-one of the world's premier nature photographers-explains how "Earth is having a fever." At tremendous risk to his own safety, Balog has been documenting the erosion of glaciers in Switzerland, Greenland, Iceland, and Alaska. He joins Bill to share his photos and discoveries, describing his process and transformation from climate change skeptic to true believer.
Publication Date: 2012
The CoveIn a sleepy lagoon off the coast of Japan is a highly guarded secret. During the night, Taiji fishermen engage in an unseen hunt for thousands of dolphins. The work is so horrifying, the fishermen will stop at nothing to keep it hidden from the outside world. When a team of elite activists, filmmakers, and free-divers embark on a secret mission to penetrate their cover, the shocking discoveries they find there are just the tip of the iceberg.
Publication Date: 2009
CrudeThree years in the making, Crude tells the epic story of one of the largest and most controversial legal cases on the planet: the infamous 7 billion "Amazon Chernobyl" lawsuit pitting 30,000 rainforest dwellers in Ecuador against the U.S. oil giant Chevron. Winner of 19 international awards, Crude takes you inside a riveting, high stakes drama steeped in global politics, the environmental movement, celebrity activism, human rights advocacy, multinational corporate power, and rapidly-disappearing indigenous cultures.
Publication Date: 2009
Deep Down: A Story from the Heart of Coal CountryNeighbors and friends living in a small eastern Kentucky community find themselves on opposite sides of a debate over the activities of a coal mining company conducting mountaintop removal mining in their backyards.
An Inconvenient TruthFormer Vice President Al Gore explains the facts of global warming, presents arguments that the dangers of global warning have reached the level of crisis, and addresses the efforts of certain interests to discredit the anti-global warming cause. Between lecture segments, Gore discusses his personal commitment to the environment, sharing anecdotes from his experiences.
Publication Date: 2006
The Island PresidentA film about one man's mission to save his nation and perhaps the planet, The Island President is a riveting, uplifting story that is impossible to take your eyes off of. President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives is confronting a problem greater than any other world leader has ever faced - the survival of his country and everyone in it. Nasheed, who brought democracy to the Maldives after decades of despotic rule, now faces an even greater challenge: as one of the most low-lying countries in the world, a rise of three feet in sea level would submerge the 1200 islands of the Maldives and make them uninhabitable. A classic David and Goliath tale, The Island President captures Nasheed's battle to stop global warming - and save his country.
Publication Date: 2011
Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important ThingsCan true happiness and success be measured by material possessions? What is the personal and global impact of our consumer culture? Is there an alternative? Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things examines the many aspects of the growing "minimalist" movement that is challenging compulsory consumerism and seeking a different path. The authors of two best-selling books on minimalism, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, take viewers on a road trip across America that reveals the core ideas behind minimalism and meets people who share their transformational stories. Millburn and Nicodemus are friends from college who lived the corporate rat race only to find that it never really brought them happiness. Though their paychecks grew, the void in their lives remained the same. Each had their own personal breaking point that moved them away from the consumer lifestyle. From architects, designers, and musicians, to businessmen, authors, and families, the film explores the ways that many different types of people are attempting to live simpler, more meaningful lives, and their varied motivations for doing so. Among the leading voices in the minimalist movement the film visits with are: sociologist/author Juliet Schor, Zen Habit's Leo Babauta, Becoming Minimalist's Joshua Becker, neuroscientist/author Sam Harris, and Colin Beavan, aka "No Impact Man". Each lends their experience living a minimalist life and delves into the environmental, social and psychological wake that is the result of compulsive consumerism.
Publication Date: 2016
No Impact ManAuthor Colin Beavan, in research for his next book, began the No Impact Project in November 2006. A newly self-proclaimed environmentalist who could no longer avoid pointing the finger at himself, Colin leaves behind his liberal complacency for a vow to make as little environmental impact as possible for one year. No more automated transportation, no more electricity, no more non-local food, no more material consumption ... no problem. That is, until his espresso-guzzling, retail-worshipping wife Michelle and their two year-old daughter are dragged into the fray. Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein's film provides a front row seat into the familial strains and strengthened bonds that result from Colin's and Michelle's struggle with this radical lifestyle change.
Publication Date: 2013
Rebels with a Cause: How a Battle Over Land Changed the Landscape ForeverNarrated by Frances McDormand, Rebels With a Cause spotlights the schemers and dreamers who fought to keep developers from taking over the breathtaking landscape of the northern California coast. Rebels describes in fascinating detail how they protected agriculture and wildlife, established public parks next toi a densely populated urban center, and shaped the environmental movement as we know it today
Publication Date: 2012
The Story of PlasticThe Story of Plastic takes a sweeping look at the man-made crisis of plastic pollution and the worldwide effect it has on the health of our planet and the people who inhabit it. Spanning three continents, the film illustrates the ongoing catastrophe: fields full of garbage, veritable mountains of trash, rivers and seas clogged with waste, and skies choked with the poisonous emissions from plastic production and processing. - Film website
Publication Date: 2019
Sustainable Communities: Studying SettlementWith increased emphasis on getting students to carry out a local study, this video is a good prompt. It encourages students to think about their methodology and how they might evaluate and study their own locality. It contains case study material for 'sub-urbanised villages', 'managing rural environments', 'change in urban and rural environments', 'sustainable cities' and 'sustainable futures'. It also ties in with SOWs looking at traffic and transport issues, as well as service and retail provision.
Publication Date: 2008
TomorrowIn 2012, "Nature" published a study led by more than 20 researchers from the top scientific institutions in the world predicting that humankind could disappear between 2040 and 2100. It also said that it could be avoided by drastically changing our way of life and take appropriate measures. Shortly after giving birth to her first child, French actress and director Mélanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds) became increasingly aware of the dangers and the state of urgency that her son will face in the future. Along with friend and activist Cyril Dion and their crew, she decided to travel the world in search of solutions that can help save the next generations. The result is Tomorrow, an inspiring documentary that presents concrete solutions implemented throughout the world by hundreds of communities. From the US to the UK and through Finland and India, together they traveled to 10 countries to visit permaculture farms, urban agriculture projects and community-owned renewable initiatives to highlight people making a difference in the fields of food, energy, finance, democracy, and education. Their common ideas and examples make Tomorrow one of the most essential and unexpectedly inspirational viewing experiences of our time.
Publication Date: 2015
Streaming Video Series: Blue Planet I & II
Blue Planet: Episode 1, The Blue PlanetThe oceans are an essential part of our lives. Their influence dominates the world's weather systems. They also support an enormous range of life, from the largest whales to the smallest plankton; whilst still remaining largely unexplored and mysterious. Discover the sheer scale, power and complexity of the Blue Planet.
Publication Date: 2001
Blue Planet: Episode 2, The DeepJourney into the abyss to see strange creatures, many of which are new to science. Including terrifying fish with massive teeth that eat prey twice their size and strange jellyfish that flash in the darkness. See the deep sea sharks that have never been filmed before and discover the submerged mountain ranges and volcanoes far larger than anything on land.
Publication Date: 2001
Blue Planet: Episode 3, Open OceanThe open ocean covers more than 360 million square kilometres. Much of this huge expanse of seawater is marine desert with virtually no sign of life. Yet somehow life survives out here. We follow the extraordinary path of the yellowfin tuna from its beginnings as a tiny egg until it becomes a 400 pound, voracious predatory giant.
Publication Date: 2001
Blue Planet: Episode 4, Frozen SeasLife on the edge of a frozen sea is tough. Pack-ice at both poles is constantly on the move, and in winter it freezes solid. Only in spring, does life begin again. Witness the plankton bloom and how this feeds vast hordes of migrating fish, birds, whales, seals and polar bears. Walruses also rake the seabed for clams during this time. But it is a brief respite, for the ice soon returns.
Publication Date: 2001
Blue Planet: Episode 5, Seasonal SeasSunlight is the vital source of energy used by the countless billions of plankton which live in the world's temperate sea. Forests of giant kelp harbour thousands of animals. Sharks, Sea otters, brilliantly coloured anemones, squid and exquisite leafy dragons are just a few of the creatures that live in this cool, rich water.
Publication Date: 2001
Blue Planet: Episode 6, Coral SeasCoral reefs are the rainforests of the sea. They are rich oases of life; the competition is highly visible as brightly coloured fish compete for food, territory and mates. But the corals themselves are also dynamic. With incredible time-lapse photography we show the dramatic formation of a coral reef and its ultimate destruction.
Publication Date: 2001
Blue Planet: Episode 7, Tidal SeasTidal marshes are among the most productive habitats on Earth. Numerous plants support numerous animals, yet life is not easy. Relief comes with the crashing waves, as the tides flow once more. Between the tides, when the sands become depleted of food and air, the worms, clams and shrimps must endure the expected pause.
Publication Date: 2001
Blue Planet: Episode 8, CoastsFrom the open oceans, millions of seabirds are forced to come onto land to breed, bringing coastal areas to vivid life. Sea eagles steal kittiwake chicks from their nesting ledges. Turtles lay their eggs in the sand and marine mammals haul themselves out to fight on the beaches. In an unforgettable sequence, sea-lions emerge to give birth, before killer whales come crashing in on the surf to snatch their young.
Publication Date: 2001
Blue planet II: Episode 1, One OceanAll life on Earth is at the mercy of the ocean and its ability to give life. It is our global life- support machine.
Publication Date: 2017
Blue planet II: Episode 2, The DeepHow does life survive in the deep ocean where conditions get hostile? Here, life becomes increasingly extreme.
Publication Date: 2017
Blue planet II: Episode 3, Coral ReefsCrazy, colourful, vibrant. The reefs are like a mad metropolis. How do you get ahead in the most crowded place in the ocean?
Publication Date: 2017
Blue Planet II: Episode 4, Big BlueThe open ocean is like a vast marine desert. To survive here animals go to the extreme with epic feats of endurance and intelligence.
Publication Date: 2017
Blue planet II: Episode 5, Green SeasAn enchanted world home to magical sea creatures. From towering forests to great plains of seagrass how do its creatures cope in this seasonal world of boom and bust?
Publication Date: 2017
Blue planet II: Episode 6, CoastsIt's a battleground. To survive on this front line between two very different worlds requires endurance and ingenuity.
Publication Date: 2017
Blue planet II: Episode 7, Our Blue PlanetThe ocean is changing fast. But is it too late to save it? In this companion film, dedicated scientists from around the world share their latest discoveries and reveal what future holds for our ocean.
Publication Date: 2017
Streaming Video Series: Planet Earth
Episode 1, From Pole to PoleThe lives of animals and plants are dominated by the sun and fresh water which trigger seasonal journeys. The latest technology and aerial photography enable the Planet Earth team to track some of the greatest mass migrations. In the Arctic spring, a mother polar bear and cubs emerge from their winter den. They have just two weeks to cross the frozen sea before it melts and they become stranded. Share the most intimate and complete picture of polar bear life ever filmed. Further south, time-lapse cameras capture the annual transformation created by the Okavango floods.
Publication Date: 2006
Episode 2, MountainsTour the mightiest mountain ranges, starting with the birth of a mountain at one of the lowest places on Earth and ending at the summit of Everest. One of Earth's rarest phenomena is a lava lake that has been erupting for over 100 years. The same forces built the Simian Mountains where troops of gelada baboons live, nearly a thousand strong. In the Rockies, grizzlies build winter dens inside avalanche-prone slopes. The programme also brings us astounding images of a snow leopard hunting on the Pakistan peaks, a world first.
Call Number: 2006
Episode 3, Fresh WaterFresh water defines the distribution of life on land. Follow the descent of rivers from their mountain sources to the sea. Watch spectacular waterfalls, fly inside the Grand Canyon and explore the wildlife in the world's deepest lake. Planet Earth captures unique and dramatic moments of animal behaviour: a showdown between smooth-coated otters and mugger crocodiles, deep-diving long tailed macaques, massive flocks of snow geese on the wing and a piranha frenzy in the perilous waters of the world's largest wetland.
Publication Date: 2006
Episode 4, CavesThe Cave of Swallows in Mexico is a 400m vertical shaft, deep enough to engulf the Empire State Building. The Lechuguilla cave system in the USA is 193km long with astonishing crystal formations. Caves are remarkable habitats with equally bizarre wildlife. Cave angel fish cling to the walls behind waterfalls with microscopic hooks on their fins. Cave swiftlets navigate by echo-location and build nests out of saliva. The Texas cave salamander has neither eyes nor pigment. Planet Earth gets unique access to a hidden world of stalactites, stalagmites, snotites and troglodytes.
Call Number: 2006
Episode 5, DesertsAround 30% of the land's surface is desert, the most varied of our ecosystems despite the lack of rain. Saharan sandstorms reach nearly a mile high and desert rivers run for a single day. In the Gobi Desert, rare Bactrian camels get moisture from the snow. In the Atacama, guanacos survive by licking dew off cactus spines. The brief blooming of Death Valley triggers a plague of locusts 65km wide and 160km long. A unique aerial voyage over the Namibian desert reveals elephants on a long trek for food and desert lions searching for wandering oryx.
Publication Date: 2006
Episode 6, Ice WorldsThe Arctic and Antarctic experience the most extreme seasons on Earth. Time-lapse cameras watch a colony of emperor penguins, transforming them into a single organism. The film reveals new science about the dynamics of emperor penguin behaviour. In the north, unique aerial images show a polar bear swimming more than 100km. Diving for up to two minutes at a time. The exhausted polar bear later attacks a herd of walrus in a true clash of the titans.
Publication Date: 2006
Episode 7, Great PlainsAfter filming for three years, Planet Earth finally captures the shy Mongolian gazelle. Only a handful of people have witnessed its annual migration. Don't miss the bizarre-looking Tibetan fox, captured on film for the first time. Over six weeks the team follow a pride of 30 lions as they attempt to hunt elephants. Using the latest night vision equipment, the crew film the chaotic battles that ensue at close quarters.
Publication Date: 2006
Episode 8, JunglesJungles cover roughly three per cent of our planet yet contain 50 per cent of the world's species. Our cameras enable unprecedented views of animals living on the dark jungle floor. In the Ngogo forest the largest chimpanzee group in the world defends its territory from neighbouring groups. Other jungle specialists include parasitic fungi which infiltrate an insect host, feed on it, and then burst out of its body.
Call Number: 2006
Episode 9, Shallow SeasA humpback whale mother and calf embark on an epic journey from tropical coral paradises to storm ravaged polar seas. Newly discovered coral reefs in Indonesia reveal head-butting pygmy seahorses, flashing 'electric' clams and bands of sea kraits, 30-strong, which hunt in packs. Elsewhere plagues of sea urchins fell forests of giant kelp. With new ultra high-speed photography, the lightning ambushes of great white sharks on seals are slowed down as they leap out of the ocean to catch their prey. Huge bull fur seals attack king penguins, who despite their weight disadvantage, put up a spirited defence.
Publication Date: 2006
Episode 10, Seasonal ForestsThe Taiga forest, on the edge of the Arctic, is a silent world of stunted conifers. The trees may be small but filming from the air reveals its true scale. A third of all trees on Earth grow here and during the short summer they produce enough oxygen to change the atmosphere. In California, General Sherman, a giant sequoia, is the largest living thing on the planet, ten times the size of a blue whale. The oldest organisms alive are bristlecone pines. At more than 4,000 years old they pre-date the pyramids. But the baobab forests of Madagascar are perhaps the strangest of all.
Publication Date: 2006
Episode 11, Ocean deepLife goes to extraordinary lengths to survive this immense underwater realm. A 30 tonne whale shark gorges on a school of fish and the unique overhead heli-gimbal camera reveals common dolphins rocketing at more than 30km an hour. Descending into the abyss, deep sea octopus fly with wings and vampire squid use bioluminescence to create an extraordinary colour display. The first ever time-lapse footage taken from 2,000m down captures eels, crabs and giant isopods eating a carcass, completely consuming it within three hours.
Publication Date: 2006
Streaming Video Series: Years of Living Dangerously
Episode 1: Dry SeasonThe series premiere of this globetrotting series about the human impacts of climate change explores the devastating effects of extreme drought and deforestation. Harrison Ford travels to Indonesia to investigate how the world's appetite for palm oil - an ingredient in everything from candy bars to laundry detergent - has led to massive deforestation and turned that country into one of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases. Back in the U.S., Don Cheadle visits Plainview, TX where a community once reliant on a meat-packing plant for its livelihood is looking for answers. Many blame the drought that caused the plant's closure on the will of God or say it's part of a natural cycle; however, Katharine Hayhoe-a climate scientist and Evangelical Christian-has a very different explanation. And, Pulitzer Prize-winner Thomas Friedman embarks on his first of three Middle Eastern trips to examine how climate change can be a stress point in a volatile political situation and push it over the edge. In his first stop, he investigates how drought contributed to the civil war in Syria.
Publication Date: 2014
Episode 2: End of the WoodsIn episode two of the series "Years of Living Dangerously", Harrison Ford continues his investigation into the global effects of the palm oil industry and further explores the corruption that has ravaged the Indonesian landscape resulting in the country being one of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases through deforestation. Meanwhile, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joins an elite team of wild-land firefighters-known as the "Hot Shots"-as they battle a new breed of forest fires, one made more deadly by climate change. He also discovers another killer wiping out trees at an even faster rate than forest fires.
Publication Date: 2014
Episode 3: The SurgeIn episode three of the series "Years of Living Dangerously", MSNBC's Chris Hayes shadows a climate change skeptic, Republican Congressman Michael Grimm, for a year in Staten Island in the wake of Superstorm Sandy and questions what he might have learned about climate change in the process. In addition, conservationist M. Sanjayan travels to Christmas Island with a climate scientist who gathers thousands of years of temperature data from coral to determine whether El Nino has taken on unprecedented severity.
Publication Date: 2014
Episode 4: Ice and BrimstoneIn episode four of the series "Years of Living Dangerously", 60 Minutes' Lesley Stahl travels to Greenland to investigate the effects of global warming in the Arctic; Down south, Ian Somerhalder travels to North Carolina to listen in on both sides of the evangelical community's debate over climate change. Somerhalder finds himself entrenched in the middle of not only a religious debate, but a familial one. The father: a megachurch preacher who doesn't believe in climate change. The daughter: an activist trying to shut down the local coal-fired power plant.
Publication Date: 2014
Episode 5: True ColorsIn episode five of the series "Years of Living Dangerously", Olivia Munn profiles the nation's most climate-conscious governor-Jay Inslee of Washington State-and together they discuss the issues he has faced since being elected. Meanwhile, New York Times columnist Mark Bittman probes New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's evasion of the topic of man-made climate change during the rebuilding of his state's coastline post-Superstorm Sandy. A scientific consensus Christie used to acknowledge, but steadfastly refused to discuss during the rush to rebuild.
Publication Date: 2014
Episode 6: The Winds of ChangeIn episode six of the series "Years of Living Dangerously", America Ferrera profiles prominent climate skeptic James Taylor of the Heartland Institute as he crusades against clean energy, and investigates the battle over the future of renewable energy in the US. New York Times columnist Mark Bittman returns to conduct a yearlong investigation into natural gas, which has been touted as "America's energy source" and a way towards a cleaner, greener future. Is it true?
Publication Date: 2014
Episode 7: Revolt, Build, RenewIn episode seven of the series "Years of Living Dangerously", three stories provide insight into the economic costs and opportunities of global warming. Jessica Alba meets three members of Climate Corps-an innovative MBA-focused program developed by The Environmental Defense Fund - as they try to convince America's top corporations that sustainability can actually boost their bottom lines. Having traveled in episode one to investigate drought in Syria, Pulitzer Prize-winner Thomas Friedman finds himself in Egypt to explore how what happens in the wheat fields of Kansas plays out on the volatile streets of Cairo. MSNBC's Chris Hayes returns to reveal an intimate story about life after Superstorm Sandy, with the most economically vulnerable trying to survive the impacts of climate change.
Publication Date: 2014
Episode 8: A Dangerous FutureIn episode eight of the series "Years of Living Dangerously", Matt Damon takes viewers on an investigation into the impact of extreme heat on human health and mortality. With a focus on startling new research from leading scientists and researchers, Damon uncovers the ways in which climate change and rising temperatures are becoming a public health emergency locally, nationally and globally. Michael C. Hall journeys to the low-lying deltaic country of Bangladesh where rising seas are expected to submerge 17% of the nation. Hall explores the prediction that by 2050, the migration of upwards of 150 million people worldwide will be the single most worrisome impact of our climate-changed future. Pulitzer Prize-winner Thomas Friedman concludes his investigation of three Middle Eastern nations-Syria, Egypt, and now Yemen-to witness how climate change can be a stressor that can take a volatile political situation and push it over the edge.
Publication Date: 2014
Episode 9: Moving a MountainIn the final episode of the series "Years of Living Dangerously", Michael C. Hall concludes his journey to Bangladesh, where rising seas are expected to submerge 17% of the nation. After traveling to Christmas Island in episode three, M. Sanjayan returns to further address and question some of the top climate scientists in their fields as they collect key data unlocking the past and future of our planet's changing climate. His destination: Tupungatito, the northernmost historically active stratovolcano in the southern Andes. Pulitzer Prize-winner Thomas Friedman concludes the series in the White House with an on-the-record discussion of global climate change with President Barack Obama.
Publication Date: 2014
Streaming Video Series: The National Parks: America's Best Idea
Part 1, The Scripture of Nature (1851-1890)In 1851, word spread of California's beautiful Yosemite Valley, attracting visitors who wished to exploit the land for commercial gain as well as those who wished to keep it pristine. This episode relates how a Scottish-born wanderer named John Muir made protecting this land a spiritual calling. In 1864, Congress passed an act that protects Yosemite from commercial development - the first time in history that any government put forth such an idea. Control of the land was given to California. Meanwhile, a "wonderland" of geysers, mud pots, and sulfur pits in the Wyoming territory was also protected. Since it was located in a territory, rather than a state, it became America's first national park: Yellowstone.
Publication Date: 2011
Part 2, The Last Refuge (1890-1915)This episode tells how, by the end of the 19th century, industrialization had left many Americans worried about whether the country would have any pristine land left. Poachers in the parks were rampant, and visitors were littering or carving their names in wilderness sites. Congress had yet to establish judicial authority or set aside appropriations for protection of the parks. This sparked a conservation movement by organizations such as the Sierra Club, led by John Muir; the Audubon Society, led by George Bird Grinnell; and the Boone and Crockett Club, led by Theodore Roosevelt. The movement failed to stop San Francisco from building the Hetch Hetchy Dam at Yosemite, flooding Muir's "mountain temple" and leaving him broken-hearted.
Publication Date: 2011
Part 3, The Empire of Grandeur (1915-1919)In the early 20th century, America had a dozen national parks, but they were a haphazard patchwork of special places under the supervision of different federal agencies. This episode traces how the conservation movement pushed the government to establish one unified agency to oversee all the parks. This led to the establishment of the National Park Service in 1916. Its first director, Stephen Mather, launched an energetic campaign to expand the NPS and attract more visitors. It was Mather who protected the Grand Canyon from encroaching commercial interests and established it as a national park, rather than a national monument.
Publication Date: 2011
Part 4, Going Home (1920-1933)This episode follows the growth of the NPS after the advent of the automobile gave more people than ever the ability to travel to visit the parks. Stephen Mather embraced this opportunity and worked to build more roads in the parks. In North Carolina, Horace Kephart, a reclusive writer, and George Masa, a Japanese immigrant, launched a campaign to protect the last stands of virgin forest in the Smoky Mountains by including them in a park. In Wyoming, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., began quietly buying up land in the Teton Mountain Range and valley in a secret plan to donate it to the government as a park.
Publication Date: 2011
Part 5, Great Nature (1933-1945)In this episode, Franklin D. Roosevelt, to battle unemployment in the Great Depression, created the Civilian Conservation Corps, which spawned a "golden age" for the parks through major renovation projects. In a groundbreaking study, a young NPS biologist named George Melendez Wright discovered widespread abuses of animal habitats and pushed the service to reform its wildlife policies. Congress narrowly passed a bill to protect the Everglades in Florida as a national park - the first time a park had been created solely to preserve an ecosystem. As America became embroiled in World War II, Roosevelt was pressured to open the parks to mining, grazing, and lumbering.
Publication Date: 2011
Part 6, The Morning of Creation (1946-1980)Following World War II, the parks were overwhelmed as visitation reached 62 million people a year. This final episode describes how a billion-dollar campaign, Mission 66, was created to build facilities and infrastructure to accommodate the growing flood of visitors. Biologist Adolph Murie introduced the revolutionary notion that predatory animals deserved the same protection as other wildlife. In Florida, Lancelot Jones, grandson of a slave, sold his family's property on a string of unspoiled islands in Biscayne Bay to the federal government to be protected as a national monument. During the late 1970s, President Jimmy Carter set aside 56 million acres in Alaska for preservation - the largest expansion of protected land in history.
