Next Time on NOVA: Ocean Animal Emergency

Part emergency room, part rehab facility, and part research lab, the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California means the difference between life and death for sick and injured ocean animals. NOVA takes you inside this very special ER to witness the efforts of a renowned team of wildlife veterinarians as they fight to save their animal patients as well as to uncover the cause of a mysterious neurological illness plaguing marine mammals like California sea lions and harbor seal pups. 

Watch NOVA: Ocean Animal Emergency, Tuesday May26th at 8PM on WVPT and WVPT-HD.

NATURE: “Frogs The Thin Green Line”

Frogs have been living on this planet for more than 360 million years, and over the centuries, evolved into some of the most wondrous and diverse creatures on earth.  Today, however, all their remarkable adaptations and survival tactics are failing them.  Recent discoveries are startling: more than a third of all amphibians – most of which are frogs and toads – have already been lost, and more are disappearing every day.  It is an environmental crisis unfolding around the globe, traveling from Australia to North and South America.  Where the calls of frogs once filled the air, scientists now hear only silence.  Ecosystems are beginning to unravel, and the potential to discover important medical cures may be lost forever.  Habitat loss, pollution and a human population that has doubled in the past 50 years have set the stage for their diminished numbers.  But now, a fungus called chytrid has been identified as the major culprit, and so far the spread of the fungus can’t be stopped.

Watch more of this fascinating story on  NATURE “Frogs: The Thin Green Line” – Sunday April 5^th at 8PM on WVPT and WVPT-HD.

 

NOVA: The Big Energy Gamble

As he takes office on January 20, 2009, President Obama must deliver on an ambitious campaign pledge to fight global warming. He need look no farther than California, where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is already leading the way with a dramatic and controversial program to slash carbon dioxide emissions and promote energy efficiency. In this program, NOVA explores the pros and cons of California’s bold approach, which could be adopted nationwide during the Obama administration.

To examine the California initiative, NOVA conducts in-depth interviews with Governor Schwarzenegger, skeptics and supporters of the plan, and ordinary citizens and businesspeople whose lives will change significantly when the new regulations take effect. 

 

Tune in Tuesday January 20th at 8pm for NOVA: The Big Energy Gamble – on WVPT and WVPT-HD.