Water: Water Supply

Part of the three-volume BBC-produced series Water (the other titles are Floods and Water's Cycle), this program looks at the water supply in two very different environments, including one of the driest places on earth—the Mojave Desert—neighbor to water-guzzling Las Vegas. In fact, the lavish water use in this ever-growing desert city has lead children at one elementary school to learn about xeriscaping by re-landscaping their schoolyard to include drought-tolerant plants. By contrast, Bangladesh is a monsoon nation, although they have their own problem—lack of pure water for drinking, cooking, and bathing. While hand pumps or tube wells tapped into aquifers provide water that is safer than the disease-prone surface water, these too can run dry during the non-monsoon season, increasing demand for clean water to grow the nation's staple crop—rice. While the program doesn't address how large-scale groundwater purification projects would help the citizens of Bangladesh, the solid illustration of the preciousness of pure water here might make North American kids more aware of conservation at home. Also featuring a teacher's guide, DVD extras include discussion questions and the option of choosing English or Spanish (dubbed) languages. Recommended. Aud: E, I, J, P. (R. Reagan)