Edward Norton Hosts Award-Winning ''National Geographic`s Strange Days on Planet Earth,'' Premiering Spring 2005 on PBS (Check local listings)
BOSTON--(COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Mar 28, 2005--Around the globe, scientists are racing to solve a series of mysteries. Unsettling transformations are sweeping across the planet, and clue by clue, investigators around the world are assembling a new picture of Earth, discovering ways that seemingly disparate events are connected. Crumbling houses in New Orleans are linked to voracious creatures from southern China. Vanishing forests in Yellowstone are linked to the disappearance of wolves. An asthma epidemic in the Caribbean is linked to dust storms in Africa. Scientists suspect we have entered a time of global change swifter than any human being has ever witnessed. Where are we headed? What can we do to alter this course of events?
National Geographic`s Strange Days on Planet Earth, premiering in Spring 2005 on PBS, explores these questions. Drawing upon research being generated by a new discipline, Earth System Science (ESS), the series aims to create an innovative type of environmental awareness. By revealing a cause and effect relationship between what we as humans do to the Earth and what that in turn does to our environment and ecosystems, the series creates a new sense of environmental urgency.
Award-winning actor, writer and director Edward Norton (Primal Fear, American History X, Italian Job) hosts the series. A dedicated environmental activist, Norton has a special interest in providing solar energy to low income families.
Each of the four one-hour episodes is constructed as a high-tech detective story, with the fate of the planet at stake.
Episode 1: Invaders
Alien species of plants and animals have invaded every continent. They have enormous powers; they spread disease; they devour our buildings. Some are destroying the very land under our feet. Think of them as the first wave of an assault that could drive the greatest mass extinction since the end of the dinosaurs. What is causing this invasion, and what can we do to stop the rising tide?
Episode 2: The One Degree Factor
Detectives usually break mysterious cases when they first see the connections among seemingly unrelated clues. Consider these: Dust clouds are building high over the Atlantic. An entire population of caribou is declining, their numbers dwindling, while other species are pushed to the limits of their physical survival in the oceans. A respiratory illness, once uncommon among children in Trinidad, is now widespread. Amazingly, many scientists now believe that these disparate phenomena may be linked to global climate change.
Episode 3: Predators
Deep in the wilds of Venezuela, the natural order is being turned inside out. Miles of verdant forest and savannah have given way to small and scattered islands. Some of these islands are now overrun by bands of voracious howler monkeys, a glut of iguanas and hordes of ravenous ants. What is driving this bizarre transformation? A team of scientists believes that life here is running amok; in large part because its top predators are gone. Similarly, the majestic wilderness of Yellowstone National Park is also showing signs of change that some scientists trace to the depletion of natural predators. Familiar and revered forests have vanished. Researchers are linking these forest losses to the expulsion of the gray wolf some 70 years ago. In Venezuela and around the world, experts are learning that predators seem to play a crucial role in the structure and function of entire ecosystems. When the predators disappear, the consequences can be dramatic. If predators are so vital, should they be brought back and can they be?
Episode 4: Troubled Waters
In the American heartland there have been strange disappearances. Frogs are vanishing without a trace. Further north, in the green waters of Canada�s St. Lawrence River, beluga whales are mysteriously dying � their white corpses found washed up on the stony shores. A world away on the Great Barrier Reef, swarms of monstrous sea stars are overrunning this marine paradise. At first glance, these stories seem unrelated. But, in fact, scientists suspect they may be part of a worldwide transformation brought on by toxins in the water. Have Earth`s vibrant waterways become massive delivery systems for invisible poisons? And are some of these poisons reaching our faucets? As scientists verify that our problem with toxins is mounting, cutting-edge research using plants and bacteria draw on the building blocks of life itself as a solution to problems vexing the planet.
The Web site for National Geographic`s Strange Days on Planet Earth (www.pbs.org/strangedays) explores the major themes of each of the four episodes, providing viewers with additional information on the series. The site delivers users to places, real and virtual, where they can establish lasting relationships with communities that encourage interest in the environment and conservation of our natural resources. It includes access to a consortium of zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, and science and technology centers, as well as richly varied media � including video clips and interactive activities.
Other outreach tools provide learning resources for environmental educators, at locations such as environmental education camps, zoos and aquariums, parks and wildlife refuges, as well as middle-school classrooms. Services are available for free online and include an in-depth educators� guide, video clips, a glossary, interviews, printable educational materials, episode summaries, and weblinks. All of the activities are peer reviewed, correlated to national education standards and conform to the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) Excellence in Environmental Education � Guidelines for Learning (K-12).
Photography and additional press materials are all available for download at the WGBH pressroom: pressroom.wgbh.org.
National Geographic`s Strange Days on Planet Earth is a Sea Studios Foundation Production for Vulcan Productions, Inc. and National Geographic Television & Film; WGBH Boston presents the series on PBS. Its executive producers are Mark Shelley and Nancy Burnett for Sea Studios Foundation, Richard Hutton for Vulcan Productions and Michael Rosenfeld for National Geographic Television and Film. David Elisco is the series producer.
Major funding for National Geographic`s Strange Days on Planet Earth is provided by the National Science Foundation and The David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Sea Studios Foundation was created to increase the public`s understanding and participation in science and environmental issues. To meet its goal, the foundation produces projects based on a new strategy to integrate traditional forms of media, such as television, the Internet and informal learning institutions. Research is beginning to show that media integration can be an effective tool for moving people to awareness and then to action. The foundation was formed in 1996 as a nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization, and it has offices in Monterey California.
Since the foundation`s inception, it has produced two international projects with National Geographic Television, ''The Shape of Life'' and ''Strange Days on Planet Earth.''
Founded in 1997 by investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen, Seattle-based Vulcan Productions devotes itself exclusively to producing independent films of unique vision and artistic quality. With projects such as Far From Heaven, The Safety of Objects, The Blues, Evolution and Me & Isaac Newton, the company commits its talent and resources to creating films of substance and enduring significance�engaging audiences both intellectually and emotionally with storytelling that illuminates the human condition. For more information about Vulcan Productions, please visit www.vulcanproductions.com
Building on its global reputation for remarkable visuals and compelling stories, National Geographic Television & Film augments its award-winning documentary productions (122 Emmy Awards and more than 900 other industry awards) with feature films, large-format films, kids� programming and long-form television drama programming. Worldwide, National Geographic�s television programming can be seen on the National Geographic Channel, MSNBC and PBS, home video and DVD, and through international broadcast syndication. The National Geographic Channel is received by more than 220 million households in 26 languages in 148 countries. For more information about National Geographic Television & Film, log on to nationalgeographic.com, AOL Keyword: NatGeo.
WGBH Boston is America�s preeminent public broadcasting producer, the source of one-third of PBS�s primetime lineup and companion online content as well as many public radio favorites. WGBH is a pioneer in educational multimedia (including the Web, broadband, and interactive television) and in technologies and services that make media accessible for people with disabilities. WGBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors: Emmys, Peabodys, duPont-Columbia Awards ... even two Oscars. In 2002 WGBH was honored with a special institutional Peabody Award for fifty years of excellence. For more information visit www.wgbh.org
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