Earth At Risk Environmental Video Series

Why are the statues of the early patriots in the City of Brotherly Love turning green? Acid rain. Why are a hundred plant and animal species becoming extinct every day? Deforestation. How can paper account for 32% of the nation's trash volume? Lack of recycling. Trouble in River City is the message of this excellent 10-part overview of our environmental woes featuring former MTV host Kevin Seal, and a group of concerned students. The ten titles are: Recycling, The Ozone Layer, Acid Rain, Degradation of the Land, Clean Air, Clean Water, Nuclear Energy/Nuclear Waste, Global Warming, The Rainforest, and Extinction. In each of the programs, Seal and the kids outline a project or series of experiments they're going to perform relating to the subject. Next, a computer-animated "CPU" offers vital facts about the topic, followed by interview clips featuring science, health, and environmental professionals. The program concludes with results of the project/experiments and a brief discussion session about what viewers can do to help. "People really care about what they eat, but they don't care much about what the planet is eating," says one of the kids, and it's a perception that must change and change soon. With exploding populations and the beginnings of industrialization on the other side of the globe, Earth is in for some major new abuse in the coming decades to add to our own (America's 4% of the world's population consumes 25% of the world's resources). Yipes. The Earth at Risk series is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (Available from: Library Video Company, P.O. Box 1110, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004; (800) 843-3620.)