In Mongolia, herding has been a way of life for centuries. Today, families raise larger goat herds to meet the demand for cashmere and the vegetation cannot withstand the assault. The thinning grass no longer protects the topsoil, which blows away with the wind. Without intervention, the pastures could be exhausted within ten years, according to some scientists. As happened recently when a Mongolian dust storm blew pollution from China all the way to the mainland United States, what happens in Mongolia has implications elsewhere.
Brazil faces the pressure of competing human demands on natural resources.
The coastal reef at Tamandare is a magnet for tourists and for fisherman, but the beauty and the bounty of its waters are at risk. Marine biologists Beatrice Ferreira and Mauro Maida persuaded the Brazilian government to close off 1000 acres of this endangered reef in hopes that the coral and marine life would recover it worked. Moyers tells individual stories, in far-flung locations, but in the end it is strikingly clear that the program is about what has been done to the Earth and what can still be done to turn things around. The site will provide in-depth information about ecosystems as well as updates on their status and information about how you can take action. The Fraying Web of Life will also be offered as a companion book to the series, which contains more information about ecosystems as well as case studies from around the world.