One Second Before Sunrise

Lynn Redgrave hosts this compilation of five segments which focus on innovative approaches to environmental problems. In the first segment, the groundbreaking work of Dr. Michael Pleass is profiled. After studying the problem of the shortage of drinking water in Third World countries, Dr. Pleass and his colleagues designed a low cost wave powered desalination device. The simple maintenance and 10-minute installation ensures that millions of people who live on coastlines will be able to safely and inexpensively convert salt water to fresh water. In another segment, Redgrave visits with Gary Waldron, an ex-executive with IBM, who decided to bring nature to the Bronx. He started up and ran GLIE Farms, a greenhouse and herb farm which employed some 100 people and thrived for seven years--providing fresh herbs to neighboring restaurants. Other segments include a look at the first cryogenic seed bank, a new barrier design ("a dike with doors") in Holland, and fish farming in Peru. An excellent and thought-provoking series about how concerned individuals are making contributions to the future. Highly recommended. (See GAIA--THE LIVING PLANET for availability.)