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Earth FocusAn environmental news magazine that puts a human face on the environment by featuring under-publicized stories about how changes in our environment are affecting everyday people.
(Earth Focus: Episode 39) Two iconic American rivers are under threat. The Colorado River, a lifeline for the expanding population of seven US and two Mexican states, faces an increasing demand for water for drinking, sanitation, agriculture, and energy generation. Yet the Colorado already runs dry before reaching its natural end at the Gulf of California. Jamie Redford and Mark Decena discuss their new film Watershed: Exploring a New Water Ethic for the New West, which explores sustainable solutions to help address this pressing problem.
The Potomac provides water for 4 million people in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Once so polluted that it was called a "national disgrace," the river made a dramatic comeback over the years. But now it tops the 2012 list of America's Most Endangered Rivers. Pollution is a growing concern and may be a reason why the majority of male bass in the river now exhibit female traits such as egg production. Alexandra Cousteau discusses her film The Nation's River, which looks at the state of the Potomac and what can be done to protect it.
Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of legendary marine explorer Jacques Yves Cousteau, discusses her film The Nation's River, which looks at new threats to the Potomac River and what can be done to protect it. The Potomac provides water for 4 million people in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. It starts its 382-mile journey to the ocean in the mountains of West Virginia, flows along fields and farmlands, and runs through the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area before it reaches the Chesapeake Bay. It used to be so polluted that is was once called "a national disgrace." Thanks in large part to the Clean Water Act, things have dramatically improved. Now the Potomac is threatened by polluted rainwater -- wastewater overflowing from sewers and agricultural waste. According to a report released by American Rivers on May 15, 2012, the Potomac is one of the the nation's most endangered rivers. Alexandra Cousteau took a 17,000 mile journey across North America to look at the state of rivers. The Potomac was the last stop on her journey.
Producer James Redford and Director Mark Decena discuss their new film, "Watershed: Exploring a New Water Ethic for the New West."
The Colorado River, is the lifeline for an expanding population in seven US and two Mexican states and their booming urban centers that demand water for drinking, sanitation and energy generation. The river also faces major demand from agriculture -- 70% of the Colorado River's water supports 20% of US agricultural output.
Today, the Colorado River already runs dry before it reaches its natural end at the Gulf of California. Unless action is taken, the river will continue its retreat with potentially catastrophic consequences for the millions who rely on it.
"Films like 'Watershed' are a necessary part of the solution," says Executive Producer Robert Redford. The film is part of an outreach effort by The Redford Center to promote efforts that will help reconnect the river to its delta.
(Earth Focus: Episode 38) Hamburg, Germany, is setting standards for what it means to be green. Correspondent Constantino de Miguel explains why this industrial port city was voted Europe's Green Capital in 2011.
And the world?s first carbon financed water scheme. Vestergaard Frandsen, a company that makes products to prevent disease in the developing world, shows how providing safe drinking water while cutting more than two million tons of carbon emissions a year is good business.
Learn more at www.carbonforwater.com
A new film by Evan Abramson and Carmen Elsa Lopez looks at the world's first carbon financed water scheme. Vestergaard Frandsen, a company that makes products to prevent disease in the developing world, shows how providing safe drinking water while cutting more than two million tons of carbon emissions a year is good business.
Learn more at www.carbonforwater.com
(Earth Focus: Episode 37) Food and social justice. Human rights abuses, rape and corrupt practices in the Bangladesh shrimp industry. A report by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation uncovers the human and environmental cost of shrimp farming and shows why buying shrimp from Bangladesh where they are exposed to pesticides and injected with dirty water may be hazardous to your health.
UK's The Ecologist investigates the plight of African migrant workers in Italy and looks how financial speculation is threatening the livelihood of Mexican farmers.
Learn more about food issues around the world, and find out what you can do.
All eyes are on Germany as the country prepares to abandon nuclear power by 2020. Hamburg, an industrial port on Germany's northern shore, may seem like an unlikely candidate to be voted Europe's Green City of 2011. But this urban hub won accolades for its innovation in green planing, transportation, and construction. Is it a model city of the future? Correspondent Constantino de Miguel reports.
Orange Harvest, an original investigation by Britain's Ecologist TV exposes the poor conditions and low wages endured by African migrant workers harvesting oranges in southern Italy. Andrew Wasley reports from Rosarno, Calabria that as many as 2,000 migrants travel to this small agricultural town from Ghana, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast to make a meager living picking oranges that end up in markets or as juices or concentrates used in making soft drinks. This investigation has led to calls for multinational food and drink firms purchasing orange ingredients from the region to address the problem. Italy's largest farmers association says it has written to several companies including Coca Cola, manufacturer of the Fanta orange drink -- complaining that prices paid for orange concentrates are unfair and foster unbearable living conditions for migrant workers. Coca Cola says its direct Calabrian supplier was given a clean bill of health by an independent auditor as late as May 2011 but admits the nature of the supply chain means it is unable to audit every farm or consortium whose juice may be bought by its supplier. Coca Cola is now examining how it can help facilitate "fair" conditions and wages for workers harvesting oranges in southern Italy.
(Earth Focus Episode 36) US military and intelligence leaders are increasingly concerned about climate change. Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism graduate students look at how climate change threatens national security. Earth Focus features four of their reports: how the CIA is spying on changing climate; where US earth satellites fall short in providing the climate data needed for assessing national security threats; why Bangladesh may be a humanitarian challenge for the US military; and how Arctic posturing is heating up -- the new geopolitics of a changing Arctic. Produced in collaboration with Medill's National Security Journalism Initiative.
