PBS Terra
Climate Change Won't End the World. This Could.
- Title
- Climate Change Won't End the World. This Could.
- Runtime
- 12:51
- Date posted
- 9 months ago
- Description
- Patreon: https://tinyurl.com/352v7xnn Merch: https://tinyurl.com/y478bz9h
Is this how civilizations end? As climate disasters intensify, some cities survive — and others collapse. So what makes the difference?
In this episode of Weathered, host Maiya May investigates what history reveals about system collapse, failed cities, and civilizations that didn’t survive climate shocks. Were they doomed? Or did they miss warning signs we’re seeing today?
With climate disasters and global warming accelerating, researchers Luke Kemp and strategic climate risk expert Laurie Laybourn break down the common patterns behind civilization collapse — and the 5 strategies that can help modern societies avoid the same fate.
If you’ve ever wondered:
Is it the end of the world?
When do systems collapse?
Can cities survive climate change?
How do we prevent total societal collapse?
Thi...
- Title
- Why did the Ice Age forget this one spot?
- Runtime
- 1:39
- Date posted
- 9 months ago
- Description
- In the middle of America’s flattest land lies a rugged secret the Ice Age somehow forgot—the mysterious Driftless Region.
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- Title
- Why Do Farmers Love This Seed?
- Runtime
- 1:11
- Date posted
- 9 months ago
- Description
- Love tofu, soy sauce, or edamame? 🌱 Farmer Christina Chan of Choy Division Farms shares why soy is the one seed she’d grow for life, while also showing us how seed saving helps protect our food supply and save money.
- Title
- The Vegetables 99% of American Farms Refuse to Grow
- Runtime
- 13:31
- Date posted
- 10 months ago
- Description
- Urban food systems prioritize long-distance supply chains that favor shelf life and transportability over flavor, nutrition, and ecological resilience. As a result, many East Asian vegetables consumed in U.S. cities are conventionally grown, imported from far away, and limited to a narrow range of commercially viable varieties.
At Choy Division Farm in the Hudson Valley, Christina Chan demonstrates an alternative model of localized vegetable production. Growing 40–50 varieties of East Asian crops in nutrient-dense black dirt soils, the farm emphasizes varietal diversity, seed saving, and soil health to reduce food miles, preserve flavor, and strengthen regional food security.
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- Title
- This Storm is OVERPOWERING Global Warming ?!?
- Runtime
- 1:13
- Date posted
- 10 months ago
- Description
- If global warming mean what it says it means, then why did the US get hit with such a powerful winter storm?
Weathered's Maiya May explains how cold Arctic air coming south is, counterintuitively, affected by a warming Arctic.
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- Title
- How Stealing Endangered Turtle Eggs Saved Them From Extinction
- Runtime
- 10:28
- Date posted
- 10 months ago
- Description
- Each fall, a remote stretch of volcanic sand in Costa Rica transforms into one of nature’s greatest spectacles: Tens of thousands of sea turtles arrive en masse and nest in unison. But this breathtaking event hides a surprising paradox that may actually help save the species.
Thank you to the people of Ostional and the Asociación de Desarrollo Integral de Ostional for their support and guidance in working with the sea turtles and filming this episode.
Hosted by Joe Hanson from @besmart , Overview uncovers Earth's mysteries through revealing unexpected visuals and fresh perspectives.
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- Title
- What if the Deccan Traps erupted today?
- Runtime
- 2:04
- Date posted
- 10 months ago
- Description
- What if the volcanoes that helped wipe out the dinosaurs erupted again today? Turns out the answer is pretty frightening. But maybe not for the reasons you think. Weathered's Maiya May explains.
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- Title
- This Is How the World Ends According to Science
- Runtime
- 11:47
- Date posted
- 10 months ago
- Description
- Check out our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/PBSWeathered?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Weathered Merch: https://crowdmade.com/collections/weathered?srsltid=AfmBOoqD_u-BPUDcUpEZyzLnz95hLnizczYPEILsp1PXZM4XadRuxK_M
There’s an 18% chance that global warming exceeds four degrees by 2100 and that’s not a small risk when the stakes are civilization-ending.
In this episode of Weathered, host Maiya May talks with civilization collapse researcher Luke Kemp and strategic climate risk expert Laurie Laybourn about why high-end warming scenarios are often dismissed as “doomerism,” even though worst-case planning is standard in most fields. We break down how uncertainty in climate sensitivity and political derailment could push warming higher than expected and how climate shocks can trigger cascading failures across food systems, financial markets, and geopolitics. Understanding ...
- Title
- The weird way bees use pheromones
- Runtime
- 1:17
- Date posted
- 10 months ago
- Description
- Bees may not hear as humans do, but they can still communicate! By performing the remarkable waggle dance, bees can uniquely find new homes and food.
- Title
- I Know Why LA Burned (And Why It WILL Happen Again)
- Runtime
- 56:10
- Date posted
- 10 months ago
- Description
- Nearly a year after the devastating Los Angeles fires, Weathered host Maiya May returns to document what recovery really looks like. What she finds shocks her: communities still navigating immense loss, bureaucratic roadblocks, and unresolved questions about what went wrong. Yet amid the challenges, she is unexpectedly uplifted by the determination, innovation, and solidarity taking root.
With newly reported material added to this updated hour-long special, Maiya follows survivors as they confront the questions that keep them up at night—why systems failed, what could have changed the outcome, and how to prevent this from happening again. Her investigation leads to an emerging, hopeful blueprint for wildfire-resilient communities—one that could reshape how cities prepare for a hotter, more fire-prone future.
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Check out our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/PBSWeathered?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&u...
- Title
- Why Bees Are Swarming Our Cities
- Runtime
- 10:32
- Date posted
- 11 months ago
- Description
- In the midst of a widespread honeybee decline across the US, Nicole Rivera Hartery has made it her mission to provide accessible beekeeping classes to people of all ages in her community.
Through hands-on hive tours at Palmyra Cove Nature Reserve and educational programs for kids in classrooms, Nicole is working to dismantle a fear of insects, deepen respect for pollinators, and remind us all that bees—and women who care for them—are vital threads in the fabric of our ecosystems.
Women of the Earth, produced by Summer Moon Productions, featuring stories of women across America who are leading a new movement to restore and protect the land. By focusing on women in land stewardship roles, the series will explore women’s unique relationship to the earth and their innovative undertakings to heal the earth from climate change.
Take our audience survey: https://to.pbs.org/2025SurveyWOTE
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- Title
- How can these rivers flow BACKWARDS?
- Runtime
- 2:08
- Date posted
- 11 months ago
- Description
- Reversing the flow of a river seems like something that just can't happen. But nature and humans have made it happen time and again...
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- Title
- A Cat-4 atmospheric river just SLAMMED the PNW
- Runtime
- 1:33
- Date posted
- 11 months ago
- Description
- We just witnessed a 7,000 mile long category 4 atmospheric river hitting the Pacific Northwest. But what exaclty are atmospheric rivers, and how does the ratings system work? Weathered's Maiya May explains.
- Title
- How Goats Make Your Food Healthier
- Runtime
- 1:19
- Date posted
- 11 months ago
- Description
- Healthy food starts with healthy soil. Tiny microbes like bacteria and fungi help plants grow, but industrial farming often disrupts this. Thankfully, goats can help to naturally restore it! Their grazing and manure recycle nutrients, feed the microbes, and help soil hold more water and carbon.
- Title
- The WORST Climate News I've Ever Seen
- Runtime
- 13:39
- Date posted
- 11 months ago
- Description
- Check out our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/PBSWeathered?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Weathered Merch: https://crowdmade.com/collections/weathered?srsltid=AfmBOoqD_u-BPUDcUpEZyzLnz95hLnizczYPEILsp1PXZM4XadRuxK_M
New research shows sea level rise could accelerate far faster than cities can adapt to. In this episode, Maiya breaks down why even today’s warming may already be enough to trigger long-term ice-sheet collapse. And what that means for our coasts, our cities, and our future.
Chris Stokes and Andrea Dutton's Study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02299-w
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- Title
- The invisible cloud which connects two worlds
- Runtime
- 1:34
- Date posted
- 12 months ago
- Description
- Each year, millions of tons of nutrient-rich Saharan dust travel 3,000 miles across the Atlantic—fertilizing the Amazon rainforest and sustaining one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth.
Overview is hosted by Joe Hason from @besmart
Subscribe for more cool stories about our planet!
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- Title
- Is this the world's WEIRDEST glacier?
- Runtime
- 1:30
- Date posted
- 12 months ago
- Description
- Most glaciers are shrinking around the world. But there is at least one interesting exception: inside the exploded cone of Mt. St. Helens. Here, a growing glacier exists despite the presence of a lava dome. But this ice could also make Mt. St. Helens especially dangerous if - or when - it erupts again. Weathered host Maiya May explains.
Weathered is a show hosted by weather expert Maiya May and produced by Balance Media that helps explain the most common natural disasters, what causes them, how they’re changing, and what we can do to prepare.
- Title
- How Tiny Hooves Are Rewilding the Great Plains
- Runtime
- 13:26
- Date posted
- 12 months ago
- Description
- In Montana, noxious weeds have become a widespread problem due to ecosystem disturbances and degraded landscapes. Over time, the dominant method of managing these weeds has been the use of herbicides. But herbicides leave behind toxic residues—harmful both to us and to the planet.
Chia Thrane is taking a different approach. Through rotational grazing, her herd of goats naturally manages noxious weeds, restoring biodiversity, strengthening soil health, and proving that healing the land doesn’t have to come at the planet’s expense.
Women of the Earth, produced by Summer Moon Productions, featuring stories of women across America who are leading a new movement to restore and protect the land. By focusing on women in land stewardship roles, the series will explore women’s unique relationship to the earth and their innovative undertakings to heal the earth from climate change.
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- Title
- There's Something MUCH Bigger Than Yellowstone. And It Will Happen Again.
- Runtime
- 14:42
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Check out our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/PBSWeathered?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Annual Survey: https://to.pbs.org/2025SurveyWTHR
Weathered Merch: https://crowdmade.com/collections/weathered?srsltid=AfmBOoqD_u-BPUDcUpEZyzLnz95hLnizczYPEILsp1PXZM4XadRuxK_M
Yellowstone was massive. Roughly a thousand times larger than the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, the biggest eruption in the history of the continental United States. And if Yellowstone erupted again, the consequences for the U.S. and the world would be devastating. But there’s something far bigger than Yellowstone. Something so powerful it’s been linked to nearly every mass extinction in Earth’s history. And astonishingly, most people have never heard of it.
In this episode of Weathered, we explore the true giants of Earth’s volcanic past: the Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs). These vast flood basalt events dwarf sup...
- Title
- This Brazilian national park is unlike anywhere on Earth
- Runtime
- 1:03
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Lençóis Maranhenses in Brazil looks like a desert, but it’s actually one of the most unique ecosystems on Earth. Every rainy season, thousands of lagoons appear between the dunes, creating a rare landscape. How does this ecosystem work?
- Title
- Why do BILLIONS of flowers bloom in the desert?
- Runtime
- 1:47
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- In one of the hottest, driest places on Earth, a barren desert suddenly bursts into a breathtaking explosion of color — a rare superbloom!
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- Title
- Did we just witness the LIMIT of hurricane power?
- Runtime
- 1:26
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Hurricane Melissa could represent the maximum possible intensity of a hurricane, based on the Potential Intensity formula. Maiya May explains.
Weathered is a show hosted by weather expert Maiya May and produced by Balance Media that helps explain the most common natural disasters, what causes them, how they’re changing, and what we can do to prepare.
- Title
- It Looks Like a Desert. But It Has Thousands of Lakes
- Runtime
- 9:15
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Lençóis Maranhenses sits at the intersection of three biomes—a rare overlap that supercharges biodiversity. Across 350 square miles of dunes, the rainy season brings thousands of crystal blue lagoons into view, many big enough to swim in. What makes this surreal environment possible? And why, even after 2 million years in existence, does it still feel so mysterious?
Untold Earth explores the seeming impossibilities behind our planet’s strangest, most unique natural wonders. From fragile, untouched ecosystems to familiar but unexplained occurrences in our own backyard, this series chases insight into natural phenomena through the voices that know them best.
Untold Earth is produced in partnership with Atlas Obscura and Nature.
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- Title
- Mushrooms Can Eat Metal?!
- Runtime
- 1:15
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Environmental scientist Danielle Stevenson is pioneering an alternative to the costly “dig-and-dump” approach that simply moves contaminated soil elsewhere. At fire sites across California, Danielle is harnessing fungi and native plants through a process called mycoremediation—using nature itself to break down pollutants, pull heavy metals from the ground, and help devastated landscapes heal.
Women of the Earth, produced by Summer Moon Productions, featuring stories of women across America who are leading a new movement to restore and protect the land. By focusing on women in land stewardship roles, the series will explore women’s unique relationship to the earth and their innovative undertakings to heal the earth from climate change.
*****
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- Title
- We Just Crossed Our FIRST Tipping Point… And It’s NOT What You Think
- Runtime
- 13:30
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Check out our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/PBSWeathered?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Check out our merch here! https://www.youtube.com/pbsterra/store
Scientists just released the 2025 Global Tipping Points Report. And they say we’ve already crossed our first major tipping point, but it’s not what you think.
From melting ice sheets to collapsing ocean currents, these sudden, irreversible changes could reshape the planet in ways we can’t undo. But what does it really mean to cross a tipping point? How do we know we’ve crossed one? And how close are we to triggering others?
In this episode of Weathered, Maiya May talks with scientist Tim Lenton, who helped popularize the term “tipping point” in a landmark 2008 paper, to uncover which Earth systems are at risk, why they’re so hard to predict, and what crossing a tipping point means for our future.
- Title
- How are hurricanes hitting ALASKA now?
- Runtime
- 1:59
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Typhoon Halong, a strong tropical cyclone recently hit into Alaska. But if tropical storms are supposed to be, well, TROPICAL storms - how did it head as far north as Alaska? And what more could've been done to prepare for the damage?
Weathered is a show hosted by weather expert Maiya May and produced by Balance Media that helps explain the most common natural disasters, what causes them, how they’re changing, and what we can do to prepare.
- Title
- The continent that’s tearing itself apart
- Runtime
- 1:42
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Nothing to worry about, but for the last 30 or so million years now, the African continent has been slowly splitting apart to form a new ocean. Let's talk about how this and other epic geologic shift may have actually helped shape the evolution of modern humans.
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- Title
- Why The World’s Rarest Fish Is Trapped In The Hottest Desert On Earth
- Runtime
- 7:47
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- With under 40 pupfish left in the wild, these are possibly the rarest fish on the planet. The Devils Hole pupfish have existed in isolation for thousands of years in an extreme environment where few species could survive. How did they end up in such an inhospitable place? And what makes their survival so important?
Untold Earth explores the seeming impossibilities behind our planet’s strangest, most unique natural wonders. From fragile, untouched ecosystems to familiar but unexplained occurrences in our own backyard, this series chases insight into natural phenomena through the voices that know them best.
Untold Earth is produced in partnership with Atlas Obscura and Nature.
*****
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- Title
- How American Chestnut Trees (Nearly) Disappeared
- Runtime
- 1:51
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- American chestnut trees fed wildlife, built homes, and sustained communities… until billions vanished, leaving eastern forests forever changed. But hope remains in the millions of sprouts that still cling to life, and in the science working to restore them. Human Footprint host Shane Campbell-Staton meets Sara Fern Fitzsimmons in Pennsylvania to uncover the story and the effort to revive a lost giant.
- Title
- She's Healing Wildfire Pollution. With Mushrooms.
- Runtime
- 16:10
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Wildfires don’t just burn homes—they leave behind a toxic legacy. When cars, buildings, and everyday materials go up in flames, they release heavy metals, asbestos, dioxins, and other contaminants that seep into soil and water, threatening communities long after the smoke clears.
Environmental scientist Danielle Stevenson is pioneering an alternative to the costly “dig-and-dump” approach that simply moves contaminated soil elsewhere. At fire sites across California, Danielle is harnessing fungi and native plants through a process called mycoremediation—using nature itself to break down pollutants, pull heavy metals from the ground, and help devastated landscapes heal.
Women of the Earth, produced by Summer Moon Productions, featuring stories of women across America who are leading a new movement to restore and protect the land. By focusing on women in land stewardship roles, the series will explore women’s unique relationship to the earth and their...
- Title
- The hidden cause of the life expectancy gap
- Runtime
- 1:37
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Why do people living in the Southeastern United States die about a decade earlier on average than other Americans? New research reveals a hidden toll that’s been overlooked for decades: hurricanes.
Weathered is a show hosted by weather expert Maiya May and produced by Balance Media that helps explain the most common natural disasters, what causes them, how they’re changing, and what we can do to prepare.
*****
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- Title
- Did we just witness a ONCE IN A LIFETIME event?
- Runtime
- 0:47
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- When two hurricanes get really close, it creates a phenomenon called the Fujiwhara Effect, where they essentially start to orbit each other, attracted by their massive low pressure systems. And in the case of Hurricanes Humberto and Imelda, affecting each other's path...
Weathered is a show hosted by weather expert Maiya May and produced by Balance Media that helps explain the most common natural disasters, what causes them, how they’re changing, and what we can do to prepare.
- Title
- Are we playing chicken with hurricanes like Melissa?
- Runtime
- 12:54
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Check out our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/PBSWeathered?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Check out our merch here! https://www.youtube.com/pbsterra/store
Just as hurricane season ramps up, severe budget cuts, layoffs, and now a government shutdown threaten NOAA’s ability to forecast these deadly storms. Meanwhile, hurricanes are intensifying faster than ever before. This season has started out quiet, but will it remain that way? What will hurricanes of the future look like? Watch this episode to find out.
Weathered is a show hosted by weather expert Maiya May and produced by Balance Media that helps explain the most common natural disasters, what causes them, how they’re changing, and what we can do to prepare.
*****
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateTerra
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...
- Title
- California’s Deadliest Body of Water
- Runtime
- 1:35
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Once celebrated as a desert paradise, the Salton Sea lured boaters, swimmers, and vacationers from across California. Now, it’s a chemical soup evaporating under the desert sun and leaving behind toxic dust storms. Shane Campbell-Staton, host of Human Footprint, roams around the toxic wasteland with community advocate Luis Olmedo, navigating how decades of neglect provoked an urgent environmental crisis.
- Title
- Something weird happened to these trees…
- Runtime
- 1:15
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- At Petrified Forest National Park, what were once towering trees have turned into stone, preserving a look into life from over 200 million years ago. These fossilized forests and ancient ecosystems tell a story of survival and resilience during one of Earth’s most extreme periods of environmental change.
- Title
- What causes these MASSIVE waves?
- Runtime
- 1:28
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- The science behind the world’s biggest surfed waves and why they seem to form off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal.
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- Title
- America's Great Lost Tree Is Finally Returning
- Runtime
- 8:33
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- We used to have BILLIONS of these extraordinary trees. Thanks to a tragic twist of fate, now… there are only 4.
Once towering over eastern U.S. forests, billions of American chestnut trees nourished ecosystems, built homes, and sustained Appalachian communities. But in the early 1900s, a foreign fungus arrived, and within decades, nearly all of them were gone.
However, the species never fully vanished. Its roots still survive underground, sending up sprouts that grow, die, and regrow in an endless cycle. These trees are biologically alive, but with most never reaching maturity, they remain functionally extinct.
In the forests of Pennsylvania, Shane Campbell-Staton joins Sara Fern Fitzsimmons from The American Chestnut Foundation to track this tree’s strange afterlife and learn the science behind its potential revival. With the help of rare surviving trees, selective breeding, and even gene editing, scientists and volunteers are working to br...
- Title
- The Ocean’s Most Underrated Creature?
- Runtime
- 1:11
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Oysters may not have brains, but they are brilliant ecosystem engineers. An acre of healthy oyster reef can filter more than 30 million gallons of water in a day! They increase biodiversity, can decrease shoreline erosion and ocean acidification, and generally perform a whole host of essential ecosystem services. Abby Barrows, oyster farmer at @deerisleoysterco, shares how oysters are helping our oceans and what makes them essential for the ecosystem.
- Title
- Did Scientists Just Figure Out Why People Die A DECADE Earlier in the Southeast US?
- Runtime
- 14:07
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Check out our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/PBSWeathered?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
People living in the Southeastern United States die about a decade earlier on average than other Americans. At first glance, natural disasters don’t seem to explain it. Data even suggests that global disaster deaths are going down. But new research reveals a hidden toll that’s been overlooked for decades. And it uncovers what exactly is causing millions of “invisible deaths” in the Southeast.
Rachel Young and Solomon Hsiang Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07945-5
Life Expectancy Map: https://americaninequality.substack.com/p/life-expectancy-and-inequality
Images of 1931 Chinese Floods provided courtesy of the Missionary Society of St. Columban.
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- Title
- How Did Rabbits Almost Wreck Australia?
- Runtime
- 1:52
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- One man’s choice to hunt ignited an ecological disaster that consumed a continent. A small release of rabbits in Australia multiplied into a relentless wave, with millions devouring the land and native wildlife. Shane Campbell-Staton, host of Human Footprint, talks with historian Martha Sear to chart the rise of the rabbit plague, and the scientific breakthrough that nearly solved the crisis… but the battle isn’t over.
- Title
- These Ancient Footprints Rewrite Human History
- Runtime
- 7:54
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- The shimmering dunes of White Sands National Park harbor an extraordinary secret: fossilized human footprints that suggest human presence in the Americas as much as 10,000 years earlier than previously believed. How did these footprints in the sand manage to survive for so long? And why is their discovery changing everything we thought we knew about human history in the region?
Untold Earth explores the seeming impossibilities behind our planet’s strangest, most unique natural wonders. From fragile, untouched ecosystems to familiar but unexplained occurrences in our own backyard, this series chases insight into natural phenomena through the voices that know them best.
Untold Earth is produced in partnership with Atlas Obscura and Nature.
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PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateTerra
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Subscribe to PBS Terra so you never miss an episode! https:...
- Title
- How can a river flow THROUGH a mountain?
- Runtime
- 2:28
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- We need to talk about antecedent rivers. This river looks like it cuts through these mountain ridges —but the real story, according to geologists, is way more surprising than what the internet says. This is a story of hydrology, orogeny, erosion, and more.
Hosted by Joe Hanson, Overview is a series which explores the world from unique perspectives. The series combines incredible cinematography with science storytelling to reveal both the natural phenomena and human forces shaping our planet.
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Subscribe to PBS Terra so you never miss an episode! https://bit.ly/3mOfd77
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- Title
- I Visited America's Poison Sea
- Runtime
- 9:10
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Why does America have a toxic sea… and how did it get there?
The Salton Sea was once one of California’s most vibrant tourist hotspots, a beach teeming with visitors and wildlife. Today it’s a shrinking, toxic lake at the center of a water crisis impacting 40 million people across the Southwest. What happened?
Shane Campbell-Staton visits the Imperial Valley to examine how a desert transformed into America’s vegetable garden, but at serious environmental and social costs. He meets Alex Jack, a third-generation farmer pioneering water-saving techniques to sustain his family’s farm, and Luis Olmedo, a community advocate fighting for the health and rights of migrant workers who harvest the valley’s crops.
The story of the Salton Sea reveals the harsh realities of scarce water, toxic pollution, and a system that doesn’t protect everyone equally. As new water regulations for the Colorado River loom in 2026, this pivotal moment demands a...
- Title
- How Microplastics Infiltrated Our Food (And One Way To Get Them Out)
- Runtime
- 18:17
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Oysters are powerful ecosystem engineers—they filter water, reduce ocean acidification, and build reefs that act as natural breakwaters, protecting our coasts. But the plastic gear used to farm them is doing irreversible harm to the very ecosystems oysters help restore.
Abby Barrows, a marine scientist and microplastics researcher turned oyster farmer, is confronting this paradox head-on. At her Maine-based oyster farm, Deer Isle Oyster Company, Abby is pioneering plastic-free aquaculture gear—and in doing so, she’s challenging not only how we farm oysters sustainably, but also how we imagine the future of aquaculture itself.
Women of the Earth, produced by Summer Moon Productions, featuring stories of women across America who are leading a new movement to restore and protect the land. By focusing on women in land stewardship roles, the series will explore women’s unique relationship to the earth and their innovative undertakings to heal the earth from...
- Title
- The Ice Age Graveyard Discovered by Mistake
- Runtime
- 1:37
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Long before Los Angeles was a maze of highways and skyscrapers, it was home to mammoths, saber-toothed cats, and dire wolves. Beneath today’s city streets, the La Brea Tar Pits preserved a prehistoric ecosystem in remarkable detail, with millions of fossils frozen in time. Predators got trapped, prey piled up, and thousands of years later, miners stumbled onto the remains. Human Footprint host Shane Campbell-Staton and paleontologist Emily Lindsey uncover how a sticky patch of ground became an accidental archive of the Ice Age.
- Title
- The Mystery of Northern Lights Sounds
- Runtime
- 1:22
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Imagine watching the Northern Lights and hearing them crackle, hiss, or sizzle. Arctic communities have reported it for centuries, but scientists have said it was impossible. Now, new research reveals those mysterious sounds may be real, and much closer to us than we thought. Watch the full story in this Untold Earth episode on PBS Terra
- Title
- Is There a Goldilocks Zone of Global Warming?
- Runtime
- 14:24
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- Check out our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/PBSWeathered?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Climate scientists warn of climate disaster. But economists? Many say the economic hit from global warming will be negligible. But a new study shows the cost could be way worse than we once thought. In this episode, we reveal exactly how much poorer we will be in 2100, break down why previous models got it wrong, what this study means for our future, and the “goldilocks” path to decarbonization.
Dr. Timothy Neal's Study: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/adbd58
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PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateTerra
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Subscribe to PBS Terra so you never miss an episode! https://bit.ly/3mOfd77
And keep up with PBS Terra on:
Facebook: https://facebook.com/p...
- Title
- How 13 Rabbits Became 600 Million
- Runtime
- 8:56
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- You might think rabbits are cute and harmless… After all, they’re the beloved protagonists of some of our most cherished children’s stories! But when 13 of them were released in Australia in 1859, they triggered one of the most destructive biological invasions in history. Within just 50 years, rabbits had overrun two-thirds of the continent, stripping ecosystems bare and threatening native species.
In this episode of Human Footprint, Shane Campbell-Staton meets historian Martha Sear to uncover the astonishing story of Australia’s rabbit invasion and the ecological nightmare it created. From the first release of the deadly Myxoma virus in the 1950s to more recent outbreaks, Shane explores how researchers used biological weapons against the rabbit plague… and why the struggle continues today, more than 160 years after rabbits arrived in Australia. Wildlife manager Ian Lenon and CSIRO scientist Tanja Strive help Shane understand how today’s experts are tracking ra...
- Title
- How a MASSIVE dam altered the length of a day
- Runtime
- 1:34
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- The Three Gorges Dam is so massive that when completed, the project altered the rotation of the Earth.
*****
PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateTerra
*****
Subscribe to PBS Terra so you never miss an episode! https://bit.ly/3mOfd77
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Facebook: https://facebook.com/pbsdigitalstudios
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbsterra
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- Title
- The Odd Yet Brilliant Method Protecting Millions of Bees
- Runtime
- 1:22
- Date posted
- 1 year ago
- Description
- You’ve heard of saving the bees, but have you heard of rerouting a highway for them? In Washington’s Walla Walla Valley, traffic and pesticides began threatening the survival of ground-nesting alkali bees, vital pollinators for alfalfa crops. Human Footprint host Shane Campbell-Staton meets entomologist Doug Walsh, whose surprising and effective solution is helping safeguard low-flying bees and the farmers who rely on them.
