Videos and Films 
Saline Lakes and 
Global Climate Change 
by Sandra Zicus
  

    Title: A Desert Sea (Great Salt Lake) 

    Abstract: 
     

      By Terry Tempest Williams, Produced by John Howe, KUED TV. 1993. Docu- drama featuring a stunning performance by our own Great Salt Lake, 
      with Terry Tempest Williams in her best supporting role. VHS videocassette.  
       
    Source: Barten Company - products about the Great Salt Lake 

    Title: PBS - Cadillac Desert:  Mulholland's Dream (Mono Lake) 

    Abstract: 
     

      Copies of the first Cadillac Desert episode, titled Mulholland's Dream, are           available individually for $23.95. This episode chronicles the development of Los Angeles' water supply and includes an interview with Mono Lake Committee cofounder Sally Gaines.  Focus on Owen's Valley and Mono Lake area. 
       
    Source: Sold by the Mono Lake Committee bookstore. 
       
       
    Title: Plant Earth Series: Climate Puzzle: Is a New Ice Age Inevitable or Will Life be Swept Away by Flood? 

    Abstract:  
     

      Witness the power of the savage forces that created our world. Voyage from the ocean's depths to the distant boundaries of the solar system. This Emmy winning chronicle of discovery documents astonishing developments in the new geo-science as it guides us to a better understanding of our planet's past, present and future. (58 minutes) 
       
    Source:  Total Marketing Services, Inc
     

    Title Modifying the Weather: The Case of the Man-Made Desert  

    Abstract:  
     

      By building roads, watering crops, and grazing cattle, we are constantly changing the climate. We may also modify the weather by cloud seeding, though there is no scientifically accepted proof that rain or snow would not have occurred naturally in cases where seeding appears to have been successful. This program shows how migration in the Sahel has altered regional climate; examines the torrow-be-damned policy of water usage in Arizona; and investigates the drastic miscarriage of good intentions in Central Asia, where efforts to irrigate the desert turned into the worst climatic disaster in the history of the Soviet Union: the drying up of the Aral Sea, once the world’s fourth-largest lake. The program details how this catastrophe happened and reveals its consequences for the population, the physical geography, and the climate of the area. (26 minutes, color)  Item #BVL2404   VHS Format  Purchase: $89.95  
       
    Source:  
     
      Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 
      P.O. Box 2053, Princeton, NJ 08543-2053 
      Tel. 1-800-257-5126 
      URL: http://www.films.com/
     
    Title:  The Holy Land: Sweet Water, Bitter Sea (Dead Sea) 

    Abstract:  
     

      From the ruins of Masada to the stalactites of the Dead Sea, take a journey through a land of violent contrasts. Rare footage uncovers the resourceful creatures that thrive on the sea's barren shores and the land's sweet oasis. (60 minutes) 
       
    Source: moviesearch.spree.com 

    Title:  Life in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands  

    Abstract:  
     

      This program explains what a desert is, why it occurs, what kinds of plant and animal life it sustains, and how that life is adapted to–or adapts to–the lack of water. The primary focus is on the effects of growing populations in arid or semi-arid regions: lack of vegetation leads to overgrazing, humus mineralizes, rare rainfall creates runoff and washes away the remaining topsoil, the soil becomes hard and impermeable to water, dries out, and becomes infertile. Thus the desert grows.
      
      The desert of Thar in northwest India is a case study of the problem, with a population of over 10 million plus 20 million cattle. How can the people of this region survive? How do they feed themselves and their animals? What do they use for shelter and fuel? This example, and that of the Bichnoïs–who have created green oases in the desert–are used to show what can be done. (28 minutes, color) 
      Item #BVL2334 VHS Format   Purchase: $89.95  
       
    Source:  
     
      Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 
      P.O. Box 2053, Princeton, NJ 08543-2053 
      Tel. 1-800-257-5126 
      URL: http://www.films.com/
       
       
    Title:  Climate and Man 

    Abstract:  
     

      This series offers a thorough introduction to and analysis of the relationship between climate and humanity: our linked prehistory, history, and likely future. Climate is the determining factor in where and whether life exists–why there is life on Earth and not on Mars and Venus; in specialized organisms where it is hot or cold, wet or dry, light or dark. Climatic change killed off the dinosaurs and        brought prehistoric humans out of the trees and upright on their feet to search for food. And climatic change is threatening now to  wipe out life on Earth–by drowning, boiling, suffocating, starving, or genetic destruction. These programs examine the nature of climate, what people have done to alter it, whether we are prepared to foot the costs of saving our planet, or to try to reverse the processes we have set in motion by attempting with scientific means to counter the deadly prospects which confront us. 6-part series, 26 minutes each.
     
      The series includes: The Greenhouse Effect, Sun, Sunlight, and Weather Patterns, Civilization and Climate, Modifying the Weather: The Case of the Man-Made Desert, Global Warming, Danger Ahead: Is There No Way Out?  Item #BVL2400 
    Source:  
     
      Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 
      P.O. Box 2053, Princeton, NJ 08543-2053 
      Tel. 1-800-257-5126 
      URL: http://www.films.com/ 
       
    Title:  The Heat Is On: The Effects of Global Warming  

    Abstract:  
     

      The question is no longer whether the earth is heating up, but how much and how quickly. Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and at various university research centers explain the life-modifying effects of the global heat trap–a rise in extreme weather systems, droughts, floods, and forest fires; the extinction of animal species whose delicate feeding, breeding, and migration timetables are upset by melting ice, rising water and temperature levels, and shifting or disappearing habitats; the movement of forests northward at immense speed, eliminating many plant and animal species; and an increase in disease epidemics. The program shows how future changes are predicted and makes it clear that major irreversible effects may be no more than 20 years away.  Global warming cannot be stopped, but it can be slowed by reducing CO2 emissions, halting deforestation, and stabilizing world population. (26 minutes, color)  Item #BVL2412   VHS Format   Purchase: $149.00 Rental: $75.00  
       
    Source:  
     
      Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 
      P.O. Box 2053, Princeton, NJ 08543-2053 
      Tel. 1-800-257-5126 
      URL: http://www.films.com/
       
    Title: Sahara: Before the Desert  

    Abstract:  
     

      Rock engravings and cave paintings depicting hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, buffalo–even boats–provide evidence that the vast and forbidding Sahara Desert was once a “lush paradise.” The program begins by examining the archaeological evidence for a Sahara of rivers, lakes, thriving vegetation, and abundant animal life, then moves on to introduce viewers to some current inhabitants of the region. Particularly intriguing are the nomads who hold male beauty pageants in which men adorn themselves and dance, in hopes of securing the affections of women in the audience. (43 minutes, color)  Item #BVL2387 VHS Format   Purchase: $149.00 Rental: $75.00  
       
    Source:  
     
      Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 
      P.O. Box 2053, Princeton, NJ 08543-2053 
      Tel. 1-800-257-5126 
      URL: http://www.films.com/

 

  

Created 30 August 1998. Last updated 30 January 1999 by REF.