The Mind's Big Bang - 60 minutes
Between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago, something happened that triggered a creative, technological and social explosion, allowing humans to dominate the planet. What forces may have contributed to the emergence of the modern human mind?
Explores the people, ideas, and inventions behind the major scientific breakthroughs in astronomy, physics, anatomy, and mathematics. Examines scientific greats including Galileo, Kepler, and Brunelleschi, and discusses how the life of a scientist often conflicted with existing religious beliefs. DVD divided into chapters. Includes discussion questions and Spanish soundtrack option.
Live footage and colorful graphics teach students about regions and climates, and explain the impact environments and living organisms have on each other. A terrarium project demonstration shows students how they can make their own living ecosystems. Teacher's Guide available in disk and online: www.schoolvideos.com
With the help of Luke Warm, a weatherman on the water channel, two young baseball players come to understand why the big game might be rained out as they are introduced to the key elements that make up and affect the water cycle.
Take a trip to a recycling center, a landfill, and a town dump to understand what happens to trash after it is thrown away. Focus on the environmental problems created by solid waste and discover ways to alleviate the problem. Learn that through daily conservation methods, people can control the amount of waste they produce.
Despite its wonders, Earth's water cycle does not spread water evenly around the planet. The Ogallala Aquifers huge underground reservoir of water gives the relatively dry Central Plains states such as Nebraska a large but limited irrigation source. But the aquifer's water is being used up faster than it is beng replenished.
The Rio Grande is one of our longest rivers, its Texas section forming the border between the U.S and Mexico. Competing human claims for it are viewed through the eyes of two young women: a whitewater rafting guide in upstream New Mexico and a teenager downstream near El Paso.
Drinking polluted water can cause many deadly diseases, especially in children of poor countries around the world. We see the crystal-clear water in a flowing Peruvian rainforest river but are amazed to learn that it is unsafe, due to runoff entering the great connected network of tributaries that flow into the Amazon, the worlds largest source of fresh water.
Polluted waters can have damaging economic and social effects as well as destroy wildlife habitats. Chesapeake Bay is one of the most polluted bodies of water in America, but local students are working with commercial crab catchers and scientists in the Baltimore area to help restore its health.
Our appetite for the earth's resources and consumer goods has led to increased levels of carbon dioxide entering our atmosphere, trapping more heat from the sun and leading to global warming of the atmosphere.
Getting outdoors is one of the great pleasures in life. But our expeditions into natural environments can also cause real horror stories to unfold. Discarded rubbish causes the waterways to become clogged, a campfire can leave a nasty visual scar that can last for years. How can we avoid causing these problems? This program examines ways to minimise our impact when enjoying the outdoors.
An introduction to stem cells while assuming no prior knowledge, and covers the following topics: what stem cells are, the difference between embryonic and adult stem cells, IVF as a key source of embryonic stem cells, therapeutic cloning (somatic cell nuclear transfer), the difference between therapeutic and reproductive cloning, potential medical applications of stem cell research and a brief
This program tackles one of the most contentious areas of contemporary science: embryonic stem cell research. Different viewpoints are presented, and speakers include: Professor Alan Trounson, prominent stem cell scientist; Father Norman Ford, an ethics commentator; Patients with life-threatening medical conditions.
Any ecosystem needs energy to sustain it, and the organisms within it. This energy comes in massive quantities from the Sun, although only a tiny fraction of the solar energy hitting the Earth goes towards sustaining life. The flow of energy through an ecosystem is complex, and vital to sustaining all life within it.
