Month: December 1991
Pulse of the Planet Daily Audio
MANGBETU – Water Drumming
Mangbetu women are forbidden to use musical instruments, so they bend the rules by playing percussion on the river.
December 30, 1991SHARKS
Now that the predator has become the prey, the decline of shark populations may endanger the natural balance of the ocean.
December 27, 1991THE HUMAN NICHE
Saving the planet has become an important issue, but who are we saving it for?
December 26, 1991INDONESIAN RAINFOREST
Sights and sounds of the rainforest’s twilight world.
December 25, 1991NOISE POLLUTION – How Much is Too Much?
High intensity sound can cause permanent hearing damage.
December 24, 1991NOISE POLLUTION
What’s the most common form of pollution in our cities?
December 23, 1991YEKUANA – Center of the Universe
The Yekuana roundhouse is a living symbol of the cosmos.
December 20, 1991YEKUANA 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, 1991YEKUANA
Amongst the Yekuana people of South America, every object is handmade and undergoes an artistic transformation.
December 18, 1991GAIA – Diversity of Life
Why is there such an abundance and diversity of life forms on planet earth?
December 17, 1991GAIA
The Gaia Hypothesis looks upon the earth as a living system.
December 16, 1991FROGS, TOXIC – Taste Test
Field-testing poison dart frogs to check their potency is not for the faint of heart!
December 13, 1991FROGS, TOXIC -Medicinal Uses
Scientists hope that the poison dart frogs of Central and South America will produce toxins useful for western medicine.
December 12, 1991FROGS, 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, 1991ETHNOBOTANY – 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, 1991ETHNOBOTANY – Food & Diversity
Of the hundreds of thousands of species of plants in the world, man depends on just a dozen species.
December 9, 1991ETHNOBOTANY – Drugs from Plants
A wide range of exotic plants have yielded drugs valuable to western medicine.
December 6, 1991ETHNOBOTANY -Pharmacopoeia to the World
Can indigenous people benefit when western scientists study traditional herbal medicines?
December 5, 1991ETHNOBOTANY
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, 1991BEACHES AND BARRIERS
Natural changes in beaches and barrier islands are often affected by human activities and constructions.
December 3, 1991RAINFOREST, 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, 1991RAINFOREST, 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.