Topics include specific technologies designed to improve potatoes & tomatoes; the issue of genetically modified food; environmental risk and labeling; how scientists have improved sheep wool through gene technology.
Subjects: Earth Science
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Forming and Shaping Metal
This video examines the way metals can be manipulated when making products. The three most common methods of forming that are used in manufacturing are heating, cold forming and milling. The operations that are previewed for each of these methods include the following: heating, cold forming, and milling. This program is highly recommended for students of metals and engineering at both school and tertiary levels. It can be used as a complete preview of the common methods of forming metals or as a focus on a particular method.
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Food Production and the Environment
PEACHES – Process from generation of the raw product through to processing and canning, Climate, weed & pest control, water management, & recycling factory waste. MACADAMIAS – farming, processing and value-adding. How landscapes are altered for farming, Integrated Pest Management, soil erosion controls, conflict with urban encroachment, and factory noise and waste controls.
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Fragile Ecosystems
The Pacific Islands of Palau contain some of the world’s most pristine coral reef ecosystems. The interaction between coral reefs, rainforests, inter-tidal wetlands and mangroves is explored. The indigenous people of Palau are developing management strategies to preserve the reefs. These include pollution control, fish conservation, aquaculture and ecotourism.
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Fish – A Limited Resource
We follow a German coast guard ship enforcing fishing regulations. Topics discussed include mesh size of nets, size of fish, problem of over fishing, the Newfoundland over fishing aftermath, Canadians trying to control the European fishing craft, and Senegal in western Africa, over fishing by European boats.
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Fish Sustainability
Topics include fish ecology, fishing industry, the decline of the cod and the reasons, sustainability, fight for resources.
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Environmental Impact Assessment
At Shell harbor the plan is to dredge a wetland and build groins to convert the area to a harbor for a residential development. The proposed Jabiluka Uranium mine would produce a tailings dam that could contaminate local water with radioactivity. Although EIAs have been carried out the protesters are not always willing to accept the legal decision.
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Australia’s Threatened Plants & Animals
Produced by Classroom Video and the Australian Nature Conservation Agency, this video is an introduction to some of our rare and threatened species. By exploring some of Australia’s fragile ecosystems, we define the links between biophysical environments and species diversity. Emphasizing careful ecological management, the video outlines what each species needs to survive.
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Ecological Niches
In winter, the river overflows to create shallow lagoons that provide a new living space for plants and animals. Observe pelicans, herons, egrets, ducks, warthogs, and the Nile monitor python as they secure their own ecological niche where there is food for all, only to find once winter is over that the real struggle begins for survival through the harsh summer months.
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Natural Disasters – Senior
Topics include earthquakes, volcanoes, floods & bush fires, causes and effects of these natural hazards and human responses to them, the global distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes and their relationship with the boundaries of the crustal plates, case study of Wellington, New Zealand, and preparing for a major earthquake.