Tells the little-known story of ecology's history as a science. The naturalist tradition of Henry David Thoreau is contrasted with the hard science tradition of modern quantitative ecologists. Live video footage from Walden Pond and from Silver Springs, Florida, where Eugene and Howard Odum did their pioneering studies. The Web of Life. Carefully outlines the concepts used by ecologists to study ecosystems today.
Program includes a look at how human values play key roles in environmental choices.
An optimistic view of energy for the future. Relying on evidence from the past, this program explains how energy shortages are not likely to hamper the growth of human societies in the near or distant future. A science antidote for many of the scare stories students see on TV and read in the popular press. A Brief History of Energy and Society. Traces the part played by energy throughout human history - muscle power to wind and water to fossil fuels to solar energy and now to large increases in efficiency.