Earth Focus

Grand Canyon - View from Rim Trail east of Mather Point (large)

David Brower: The Man Who Saved the Grand Canyon From Dam Builders

Many historians see David Brower’s early successes in saving Dinosaur National Monument and the Grand Canyon from dam builders as a turning point for the environmental movement.

"Earth Focus" is an environmental news magazine that features investigative reports and in-depth stories about our changing environment and how it affects people around the world.

"Earth Focus" presented the inaugural Earth Focus Environmental Film Festival, Los Angeles' first festival of its kind, free to the public on July 29 at Hollywood's iconic Egyptian Theatre, presented by KCET and Link TV in partnership with Washington, D.C.'s renowned "Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital." A full day of screenings and panels Included "Water & Power: A California Heist," "Rise: Sacred Water- Standing Rock," "Tomorrow" and "The Age of Consequences" with films Introduced by celebrity activists Raphael Sbarge, Ed Begley Jr., Patrick Fabian and Sharon Lawrence.

This series is a part of KCET and Link TV's “Summer of the Environment,” which offers a robust library of content on multiple platforms from June-August intended to ignite compassion and action for helping to save and heal our planet.

Upcoming Airdates

Young Voices for the Planet

This episode features author and illustrator Lynne Cherry's film series "Young Voices for the Planet" about young adults making positive environmental change.

2017-08-23T00:30:00-07:00

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2017-09-20T18:30:00-07:00

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Saving The Rivers of the American West

Episode 54

"Earth Focus" speaks with Jeremy Monroe about his film "Willamette Futures," which documents the effort to restore the watersheds of Oregon's largest river system. Satirical writer George Wolfe's controversial act of civil disobedience, leading a kayaking expedition down the cemented Los Angeles River, is the focus of Thea Mercouffer's film "Rock the Boat." The expedition sought to have EPA declare the river navigable so that it could gain protection under the Clean Water Act. The boating trip down the L.A.

2017-08-23T18:30:00-07:00

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Chesapeake: Can Oysters Save the Bay?

Episode 65

After centuries of over-harvesting and bouts of disease, oyster populations in the Chesapeake Bay plummeted along with profits for the oyster industry and the health of the Bay. In some areas, native oysters are becoming more abundant. But culture and ecology clash as watermen, who depend on harvesting oysters for income, are at odds with scientists and conservationists who want to restore oyster populations. Filmmaker Sandy Cannon-Brown looks at oysters and the people behind them in her documentary "Spat! Bringing Oysters Back to the Bay."

2017-08-24T00:31:05-07:00

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Tackling Ocean Challenges

Episode 66

Oceans support life, yet they are overfished, polluted, and, with global climate change, are becoming increasingly acidic.

2017-08-28T00:30:00-07:00

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Mining Battles: Uranium, Coal and Gold

Episode 67

An impoverished former mining community in Colorado hopes that a proposed uranium mill will bring jobs and prosperity until environmentalists step in to try to stop it. Who gets to decide? Filmmaker Suzan Beraza documents the debate in her new film Uranium Drive In.

2017-08-29T00:30:00-07:00

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Exposed: Killing Dolphins-Dying for Lobsters

Episode 63

Thousands of dolphins are killed solely for shark bait each year off the coast of Peru. An upsurge in shark meat consumption in Peru and the rise in the cost of fish bait has helped drive the hunt to as many as 10,000 dolphins killed each year according to some estimates. Jim Wickens documents this illegal practice in an original undercover investigation for "Earth Focus."

2017-08-29T13:30:00-07:00

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2017-09-06T18:30:00-07:00

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Climate Change: The Rising Cost

Episode 70

(Earth Focus: Episode 70) The cost of climate change is rising and its consequences are increasingly threatening our national security. Droughts, floods, wildfires, and severe weather cost lives and livelihoods when they damage property, crops, and infrastructure. Communities in Texas, Iowa, Colorado, Alaska are already struggling with the impact of climate change and coastal cities face expensive consequences within a couple of decades. The high price we are paying today is a harbinger of what the future may hold. How will the US economy and national security be affected?

2017-08-30T18:30:00-07:00

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Illicit Ivory

Episode 71

Every twenty minutes an elephant is killed to feed an insatiable demand for ivory. African elephants may be gone in as little as ten years. Behind the slaughter are the most dangerous groups in the world – organized crime syndicates, insurgents and terrorists. Ivory buys guns and ammunition for Uganda's Lord’s Resistance Army and Sudan's Janjaweed, both linked to mass atrocities and supports al Shabaab, the al Qaeda affiliate behind the attacks on Kenya’s Westgate Mall and Garissa University.

2017-09-05T13:30:00-07:00

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Restoring The Earth

Episode 53

(Earth Focus: Episode 53) It is possible to rehabilitate large-scale damaged ecosystems, to improve the lives of people trapped in poverty and to sequester carbon naturally. John Liu presents "Hope in a Changing Climate," which showcases approaches that have worked on the Loess Plateau in China, Ethiopia and Rwanda. Produced in collaboration with the Environmental Education Media Project (EEMP).

2017-09-11T00:30:00-07:00

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Unsafe: The Truth Behind Everyday Chemicals

Episode 59

There are tens of thousands of chemicals in our air, water, and in the everyday products we use. They are largely unregulated and few are adequately tested for safety. They contribute to disease and are linked to conditions such as asthma, autism, ADHD, diabetes, cancers, infertility, cognitive disorders, obesity, reproductive disorders and birth defects. "Earth Focus" looks at endocrine disruptors, ubiquitous chemicals that affect development, metabolism, fertility and intelligence at extremely low doses and at what measures could be taken to better ensure public safety.

2017-09-12T00:30:00-07:00

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Envisioning The Future

City of the future? A look at Hamburg Germany, Europe's Green Capital 2011. And a future model for business? Vestergaad Frandsen, a Swiss medical textile company pioneers a an innovative new business scheme -- carbon credits for water -- that shows how doing good can be good business.

2017-09-18T00:30:00-07:00

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Africa: Climate for Change

Africa, a continent facing frequent droughts, is especially vulnerable to climate change. But Africans are finding innovative solutions. Creating a Climate for Change, a new film by Jeff Barbee, takes us on a journey through Southern Africa exploring local people-driven projects that help communities adapt to climate change and restore ecological systems.

2017-09-19T00:30:00-07:00

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America’s Dirty Secret: Coal Ash

Episode 64

In Juliette, Georgia radioactive water flows from the tap. In Pennsylvania, three adjoining counties battle a rare form of cancer. One thing these communities have in common is their exposure coal ash. Coal combustion powers 40 percent of America’s electricity but generates 130 million tons of coal ash each year. Though it is known to contain carcinogens, coal ash is often dumped in unlined ponds where it leaches into groundwater. There is no federal coal ash regulation on the books—only a patchwork of state level standards.

2017-09-20T18:35:00-07:00

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Summer of the Environment

As part of our mission as public media for Southern California, we want to inspire our audiences to take action to make our community--and our planet-- a better, more environmentally sustainable place to live. We are proud to partner with Mayor Garcetti's office on his Adopt A Plan initiative to provide this opportunity in conjunction with our inaugural Earth Focus Environmental Film Festival.

The pLAn sets forth a path to transform Los Angeles by creating a cleaner environment and stronger economy, while ensuring equity for all Angelenos, and outlines actions within various categories ranging from local water and carbon and climate leadership to preparedness and resiliency and environmental justice. To reach the targets in the pLAn, the Mayor is calling upon organizations, universities, neighborhood councils, community groups, businesses, and individual Angelenos to commit to Adopt the pLAn into action. Since the release of the pLAn over 60 organizations, companies and individuals have made commitments to Adopt the pLAn into action.