December 31, 1991

MANGBETU – Water Drumming

Mangbetu women are forbidden to use musical instruments, so they bend the rules by playing percussion on the river.

December 30, 1991

SHARKS

Now that the predator has become the prey, the decline of shark populations may endanger the natural balance of the ocean.

December 27, 1991

THE HUMAN NICHE

Saving the planet has become an important issue, but who are we saving it for?

December 26, 1991

INDONESIAN RAINFOREST

Sights and sounds of the rainforest’s twilight world.

December 25, 1991

NOISE POLLUTION – How Much is Too Much?

High intensity sound can cause permanent hearing damage.

December 24, 1991

NOISE POLLUTION

What’s the most common form of pollution in our cities?

December 23, 1991

YEKUANA – Center of the Universe

The Yekuana roundhouse is a living symbol of the cosmos.

December 20, 1991

YEKUANA 2 – The Shaman’s Feast

To the Yekuana people, the power of song is so great that it can symbolically transform men into animals.

December 19, 1991

YEKUANA

Amongst the Yekuana people of South America, every object is handmade and undergoes an artistic transformation.

December 18, 1991

GAIA – Diversity of Life

Why is there such an abundance and diversity of life forms on planet earth?

December 17, 1991

GAIA

The Gaia Hypothesis looks upon the earth as a living system.

December 16, 1991

FROGS, TOXIC – Taste Test

Field-testing poison dart frogs to check their potency is not for the faint of heart!

December 13, 1991

FROGS, TOXIC -Medicinal Uses

Scientists hope that the poison dart frogs of Central and South America will produce toxins useful for western medicine.

December 12, 1991

FROGS, TOXIC – Poison Dart Frogs

If you’re in the jungle of Central America, and should happen to see a tiny, jewel-like frog — better look but not touch!

December 11, 1991

ETHNOBOTANY – A Plea

With time running out in the Amazon, the Father of Ethnobotany urges more studies of primitive peoples and their use of plants.

December 10, 1991

ETHNOBOTANY – Food & Diversity

Of the hundreds of thousands of species of plants in the world, man depends on just a dozen species.

December 9, 1991

ETHNOBOTANY – Drugs from Plants

A wide range of exotic plants have yielded drugs valuable to western medicine.

December 6, 1991

ETHNOBOTANY -Pharmacopoeia to the World

Can indigenous people benefit when western scientists study traditional herbal medicines?

December 5, 1991

ETHNOBOTANY

Much of the traditional knowledge of plants and herbs in the Amazon is rapidly being lost as the rainforest is cut down and indigenous people are exposed to outside civilizations.

December 4, 1991

BEACHES AND BARRIERS

Natural changes in beaches and barrier islands are often affected by human activities and constructions.

December 3, 1991

RAINFOREST, VOICES OF THE – Sound and Environment

To an outsider entering the rainforest for the first time, the cacophony of sound can be bewildering. To the people who live there, sound is a vital link to their environment.

December 2, 1991

RAINFOREST, VOICES OF THE – Songs

To the Bosavi people of Papua New Guinea, songs are like maps that take you on a journey through the surrounding landscape.