Video

Assignment Earth, Environmental Protection, Video / 06.04.2010

In the shadow of the Canyonlands of Eastern Utah, a site has been proposed for the state’s first nuclear power plant. Located outside the town of Green River, the plant would generate electricity for three million homes and provide a much need economic boost to the community. But the project would depend on huge amounts of water from the Green River itself, raising questions about its capacity to support this new development and other claims to its shrinking supply, not mention the impact on fish and other wildlife “Whether it be oil shale, coal gasification plants, nuclear power plants and so, quite frankly there’s not enough water to support all these things,” said John Weisheit, the conservation director of Living Rivers in Moab. “In a river system such as this, even a small incremental drop can strand endangered fish habitat.” In the edition of Assignment Earth we weigh the balance between energy generation and environmental protection.
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Film Review, Fun Film Friday, Video / 26.03.2010

This visually graceful film is a short depiction of grounded flight. Yogaslacker Adi Carter demonstrates the poses that can be achieved using the new eLine from Trango. This low-stretch slackline offers a quick and easy setup for creating a yoga flow station that's kind on trees and reduces wear on anchors. Slackasana may well be a up and coming form of practice for climbers and yogies alike.

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Film Review, Fun Film Friday, Video / 12.03.2010

This poignant short film by Sean Mullens is a portrait of humanity’s struggle toward our inherent excellence. One man’s daily challenge to overcome his disability and indulge a desire for ecstatic play models for the rest of us the joy that can be achieved in perseverance. “You can transcend,” the film’s star Michael says. “You can get to a place where you’re sort of free, to be able to dance, to be able to be fluid, to be able to be so in the moment, to just be natural…to be what you were meant to be.”
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Assignment Earth, Environmental Protection, This American Land, Video / 10.03.2010

For 10 years, the Ski Area Citizens Coalition has published its ski area environmental report card, a rating system that grades ski resports across the west according to their impact on the natural environment. Paul Joyce, a conservation assoicate at the environmental protection group Colorado Wild, says a ski resort’s grade depends on how well it plays in its own backyard. “When a ski area expands into the back country, expands into habitat, affects wildlife, affects vegetation, thereby affecting water, watersheds, water quality,” Joyce said, “those things weigh really heavy with the report card.” Resorts owned by the Aspen Skiing Company dominate the highest rated resorts in the west. “People listen to us in part because we’re an interesting news story, but also because we’re business people.,” Auden Schendler, environmental affairs director at Aspen Skiing. “Ultimately we’re not environmentalists. We’re business people. And we see climate changes as an existential threat to business. In this edition of This American Land we explore ski resorts that employ environmentally sustainable practices to protect natural areas that surround their slopes.
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Assignment Earth, Environmental Protection, Video / 08.03.2010

Researcher Aly Courtemanch starts her work day on skis. That’s how she gets around on the alpine terrain where she studies the Teton Range bighorn sheep herd. Using GPS devices and trail counters, Courtemanch a scientist at the Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Wyoming, tracks the movemnts of both sheep and skiers. "We really want to get a better sense of how bighorn sheep survive in the Tetons, both summer and winter,” she said. “We don't know very much about this bighorn sheep herd, it's really small and really hard to study because they're so remote and hard to observe." While other wild sheep move down to more moderate terrain, this herd winteres at some of the highest elevations in Wyoming. But they’ve stopped migrating about 60 years ago due to human development, firs suppression and other factors. In this edition of This American Land researchers take a look at this species on the brink of extinction.
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Assignment Earth, Environmental Protection, Video / 05.03.2010

Yellowstone National Park has been described as a winter wonderland. “We find that a lot of people from across the United States enjoy going into the park on snowmobiles, because ... you're out in the fresh air,” said Bill Howell, part owner of a local snowmobile and snowcoach tour company. “You get to see things on a snowmobile. With your guide you can stop and take pictures." But conservation groups have been seeking to ban snowmobiles here for more than a decade. Even snowmobile enthusiasts now admit the machines became a problem in 1990s. “The amount of machines and the amount of people going into the park skyrocketed, a lot more than I think anybody had ever predicted or thought would happen,’ Howell said. “And as a result it probably did get a little out of hand." In this edition of This American Land we take a look at efforts to create a balance between the use of snowmobiles in Yellowstone and those who aim to limit motorized access to the park.
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