Global Warming and the Extinction of Species

“Biologists are telling us species are disappearing,” Ted Koppel deadpan intones in this ABC News Nightline segment (simply called Extinction in the credits) that manages to be both superficial and dire (unlike former Vice President Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, which issues a warning, but is also a comprehensive, well-made documentary). In this July 14, 2005 report, we're told that species are disappearing at an alarming rate (with no mention of the fact that species have been disappearing throughout time), while the ABC correspondent visits scientists in the field in Madagascar, Costa Rica, and southern California to talk about endangered species of frogs and butterflies. While some of the comments and observations offer food for thought (and do indeed touch on some aspects of the far-reaching effects of seemingly small climate changes), this barely 20-minute production would have benefited from more scientific and historical context and less faux concern on the part of newsmagazine reporters. In addition, it should be noted that this is presented on a DVD-R with noticeably sub par image quality (possibly because Films Media Group added their own logo—an “f” in a circle—which annoyingly appears in the upper left corner of the screen throughout the program). Not a necessary purchase. Aud: J, H, C, P. (R. Pitman)