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A school's history of sustainability

Discover the history of sustainability at a local primary school as two generations of past students reflect on their time at the school. View this clip called 'The past of our present', created by young reporters from North Fitzroy Primary School, Victoria. The clip was developed as part of the ABC Splash Live 'Making ...

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Four Corners: Industrialisation versus conservation

The conflict between industry and conservation is not a new one. This clip, taken from a 1973 Four Corners program, highlights the conflict between those wishing to preserve Australia's natural environment and those representing industrial interests. Industry is shown to be spending millions of dollars to prevent pollution. ...

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BTN: China's internal migration

For decades China has experienced a mass migration of people from rural to urban areas. This large-scale movement of people is putting pressure on the resources and facilities of cities such as Shanghai. Watch this clip, first broadcast in 1993, to find out the reasons for China's internal migration and the challenges it ...

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Food for thought

Food security, or sufficient access to safe and nutritious food, is of rising global concern. Watch this animated clip to discover the main problems facing food security, and to see some suggestions for solutions that might incorporate strategies like waste management practices and emerging technologies.

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Lateline: City bound

China is experiencing rapid urbanisation. Rural workers are on the move, searching for new opportunities in China's largest cities. This process is fuelling China's economic growth and improving the wellbeing of its citizens. But is the rate of change too fast? Are there pitfalls on the road to prosperity?

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Foreign Correspondent: Dams and dolphins on the Mekong?

If the Lao Government's plans are realised, nine hydropower dams will be built across the Mekong River in Laos, and more across its tributaries. The government wants the country to become the 'battery of Asia'. With this dream comes a host of issues. Listen to reasons why the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) suggests hydro-dam ...

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ABC News: Disease threatens fish

Imagine what would happen if a deadly fish disease found its way into Australia's biggest river system. Watch this clip to learn more about a disease threatening the ecology of the Murray-Darling River. Scientist, Professor Richard Whittington, explains that the disease could be the final straw for an endangered Australian ...

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Catalyst: Chemical pollutants toxic to whales

Explore how chemical pollutants affect the Antarctic food web. A scientist shows that baleen whales are consuming Antarctic krill contaminated by accumulated residues of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from pesticides and industrial chemicals. Find out why these pollutants are concentrated at the Earth's polar regions.

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ABC News: Supporting sustainable farming

Consider the vast land that is Australia. How might we, as a community, help to keep our land sustainable? Explore the ideas put forward by Professor Peter Cullen and Dr John Williams in response to the continuing drought conditions of 2003. What role could city dwellers play so that farmers could better care for the land?

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Foreign Correspondent: New dam, new house: The Mekong

The mighty Mekong river provides a way of life for millions of people, and is arguably the most important resource in the developing country of Laos. Discover how villagers are being relocated to make way for hydropower dams on this river, which stretches for nearly 5,000 kilometres from the mountains of Tibet to Vietnam. ...

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BTN: World population explosion, 1996

The growth of the world's population and the pressure this places on resources and the environment is a highly debated topic. Watch this clip from 1996 to find out about the trends and concerns associated with population growth at that time, and consider how perspectives and patterns may differ today.

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Foreign Correspondent: Damming the free and mighty Mekong

The Mekong has been a rare thing: a largely untouched and free-flowing river. Stretching for nearly 5,000 km from the mountains of Tibet to Vietnam's Mekong Delta, it has provided a way of life for millions of people and been an important trading route between south-western China and south-eastern Asia. In this clip from ...

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Sciencey: Five things you need to know about climate change

Find out how carbon dioxide makes the Earth warmer, how oceans store heat and the way we can see climate history in ice. What are the consequences of changes in the global climate? What can we do as individuals and communities to stop these negative changes?

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Catalyst: How high will sea levels rise?

Much of the world’s population will eventually have to deal with the consequences of sea-level rise, but the question is: how high will the water get? Dr Graham Phillips investigates how scientists are turning to the distant past to predict the impact of rising sea levels. Watch scientists explore 120,000-year-old coastlines, ...

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How did change accelerate?

This 12 minute video is divided into two parts and presents an overview of the rapid development of the modern world. Part 1 presents reasons for the exponential growth in the world's population over the last 500 years including the development of global networks and commerce and the discovery of fossil fuel energy, which ...

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Foreign Correspondent: Bali - tourism and development

Bali, a world-renowned slice of paradise in Indonesia, is undergoing rapid development to accommodate the increase in foreign tourism. Tourism brings money but it also drives up prices and affects the environment. View this clip to explore the issues experienced by those living in paradise.

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Catalyst: E-waste, recycling, and sustainability

What happens to electronic waste (e-waste)? Watch this clip about the physics of recycling to find out the way that useful materials are captured from waste at a local materials recovery facility. Presenter Tanya Ha investigates e-waste, the products it comes from, and the sustainability challenges it poses.

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Magical Land of Oz: Koalas and climate change

The koala population in rural NSW has been declining over the years due to drought and heatwaves. What causes some of the temperature extremes experienced in this region? Dr Mella believes koalas normally get most of the moisture they need to stay hydrated from eucalyptus leaves. What has changed in recent years that means ...

Interactive

Global change - iTunes app

Explores the global carbon and water cycles as well as the role that plants play in these cycles with particular emphasis on the stomata in the leaves. Also looks at human impact on these cycles and the climate. Includes videos, simulations showing changes over time, graphs, maps and a detailed glossary section. Free when ...

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Sustainable table: the coming famine

This is a website about the key issues related to global food insecurity. It contains sections on the scarcity of primary resources; land degradation; land scarcity; waste; climate change; consequences of inaction; and proposed solutions. Photographs, statistics, graphs, maps and figures support the information. This resource ...