Environment

Communities and innovators all over the world are creating new sustainable food sources that are resilient to climate change and growing populations. In Madagascar, we see how villagers are closing off marine areas to allow the fish supply to replenish at a natural pace. In San Diego, California, aquaculturists are exploring open ocean farming as a more sustainable model for the fishing industry.

On his first-ever expedition to Siberia, George witnesses the alarming effect of melting permafrost, visits a 12,000-year-old dog, and camps out with reindeer herders on the chilliest night of his life.

The spirited Los Angeles River gushes from the mountains only to be forced into a concrete corset in downtown LA. 

Five years ago, the Kenyan farmer Kisilu Musya started to document his family, his village and the impact that climate change is having on both. They face and film floods, droughts, storms and when Kisilu's house is destroyed by a storm, he starts a communal farmers' movement and calls for action against the extreme consequences of the weather. Kisilu makes it far in his struggle – all the way to both Oslo and the high circles of COP21 in Paris.

The untamed wilderness of the Colorado River is squeezed to a trickle with the push of one button.

Los Angeles is one of the biggest biodiversity hotspots in the world, despite its smog, urban sprawl and snarling freeways. At least 20,000 native and non-native plant and animal species are thriving despite human interference, and in some cases because of it. How can people help make urban habitats more welcoming to non-human urban dwellers?

(Earth Focus: Episode 45) The future -- Swedish style. Stockholm's Royal Seaport, a rundown district in Sweden's capital, is set to become a model of energy efficiency. Plantagon, a leader in vertical urban agriculture, has an answer to feeding the mega cities of tomorrow -- urban skyscraper farms. The Stockholm eatery Nyagatan, cuts carbon emissions by going local and organic. Solvatten, a Swedish water purification system that uses sunlight is now being used around the world.

George crisscrosses Laos to witness a nation entering the modern world. He comes across ancient farming techniques, visits a conservation center that provides elephants a new way of life, explores an abandoned cave city, and paddles an underground river that holds some timely secrets.

Louisiana still is learning from Hurricane Katrina. Forecasts are dire for Louisiana to experience the second-highest sea level rise in the world. There is a big movement brewing in New Orleans to build adaptive "resilience zones." In Southeast Louisiana, the native peoples of the Isle de Jean Charles have become the first U.S citizens moving within their homeland displaced by climate change.

The Detroit River, still one of the busiest rivers in the world and a witness to the glory times of American industrialization, today sees desolation and the occasional sunflower field in downtown Detroit. 

“Vanishing Coral” presents the personal story of scientists and naturalists who are working with local communities to protect coral reefs that are being destroyed by warming seas, pollution, and destructive fishing practices. Featured in the documentary is the President of the Biosphere 2 Foundation Abigail Alling, marine biologist and coral expert Phil Dustan, captain of the Mir research sailing vessel Mark Van Thillo, and Nono Suparno, a leading conservationist in Bali.

George heads to the iceberg capital of the world — Newfoundland, Canada — for an up-close look at these floating giants from above, from below, and from the very top of a frozen mountain on the move.

Populations are dramatically shifting as climate change drives migration. Droughts and floods are driving many people away from their rural, farming communities into big cities. We see how this is manifesting in Mongolia and examine the factors leading to the new community of Haitian people living in limbo at the border between Mexico and the U.S.

The multi-cultural Miami River originates where Native Americans still value its resources, and ends where the super-wealthy park their yachts.

There are tens of thousands of chemicals in our air, water, and in the everyday products we use. They are largely unregulated and few are adequately tested for safety. They contribute to disease and are linked to conditions such as asthma, autism, ADHD, diabetes, cancers, infertility, cognitive disorders, obesity, reproductive disorders and birth defects. "Earth Focus" looks at endocrine disruptors, ubiquitous chemicals that affect development, metabolism, fertility and intelligence at extremely low doses and at what measures could be taken to better ensure public safety.

(Earth Focus: Episode 48): With a changing climate, a growing population and anticipated fresh water shortages, our food production must evolve. In this episode of Earth Focus, a look at innovative research that is helping develop new and improved root systems for agriculture in stressed conditions, a new Swedish model for urban agriculture, the use of solar energy to power food production in the Himalayas, and an innovative truck farm in New York City.

Ground zero for climate change and literally at risk of being wiped off the map, George is in Bangladesh during monsoon season to see how resilient and creative locals are adapting to their increasingly hostile environment.

Two cities, San Francisco and Freetown, brace for climate change using vastly different methodologies. San Francisco's developers are building expensive real estate on floodplains as officials try to heed expert projections on future sea levels. On the other side of the world, a deadly mudslide caused by torrential rains and deforestation in Sierra Leone shows the consequences of city planning that doesn't take climate change into account.

"Ground Operations," a new film by Dulanie Ellis and Raymond Singer, shows how farming provides both employment and therapeutic recovery for America's combat veterans. Then, meet organic pioneers from Minnesota and Maryland. Also in this episode, a segment showing how California's Pie Ranch develops an innovative way to bring healthy food to a high tech giant while saving a small family business in the process.

The flow of the picturesque Chicago River was reversed to move polluted waters out of sight. 

In Juliette, Georgia radioactive water flows from the tap. In Pennsylvania, three adjoining counties battle a rare form of cancer. One thing these communities have in common is their exposure coal ash. Coal combustion powers 40 percent of America’s electricity but generates 130 million tons of coal ash each year. Though it is known to contain carcinogens, coal ash is often dumped in unlined ponds where it leaches into groundwater. There is no federal coal ash regulation on the books—only a patchwork of state level standards.

The world’s largest land predator is under threat, and George is heading to Canada’s far north to see how polar bears are coping with their rapidly changing climate.

Anticipating future water needs, two regions on opposite sides of the world turn to technology for answers. Western Morocco, near the Sahara Desert, is currently facing unprecedented drought and groundwater mismanagement. But an ancient method of gathering moisture from fog is being taught to 13 villages, allowing people to have a level of local control over their most basic need. In Central Valley, California, the food basket of the world uses nearly 80 percent of the entire state's water supply.