｜Length : 20min. ｜Year : 1995 ｜

What is the only gem that does not require cutting, grinding or polishing? The pearl, of course, and of the some 100,000 kinds of shellfish, only six can be used to produce these lustrous natural jewels. One of the best known pearl oysters is the Akoya variety which produces smaller pearls of superb shape, color, and luster. This program explains how pearls are produced, why Japanese pearls have that distinctive luster, and why cultivated pearls are superior to natural ones.

｜Length : 49min. ｜Year : 2001 ｜

New York is among the many cities battling mountains of waste. Numerous attempts have been made to recover resources, and New York's own efforts to recycle began decades ago. But garbage is a tough opponent. The situation has become especially serious since supermarkets and refrigerators spawned the universal wrapping of products and the use of cheap plastics became ubiquitous. It is no longer an easy task to find anywhere to dump household garbage or toxic waste.

｜Length : 49min. ｜Year : 2001 ｜

The massive amount of carbon dioxide released as a result of human activities is increasing each year, and is already expected to add two degrees Celsius to the average temperature of the planet before the end of the 21st century. We are bequeathing our children an unknown terror and the obligation to fight it. The key factors include our consumption of oil, which began to increase rapidly after the Second World War. Oil fuelled the industry of the advanced nations, lubricated economic expansion, sparked economic miracles, and ignited consumer booms.

｜Length : 49min. ｜Year : 2001 ｜

The mighty Amazon flows through a jungle that accounts for one third of all the rain forest on the planet. But the forest is disappearing fast and there are fears that the scale of destruction is even changing the weather. Brazil and the United States were the first to profit from the jungle's riches. Brazilian rubber supported the US auto industry and was essential to the war effort in the 1940s. Later, Brazil began to fell the forest to extract such mineral treasures as iron, manganese, and gold. The program looks into development and destruction of Amazon in the 20th century.

｜Length : 59min. ｜Year : 2001 ｜

The mustard gas used in the First World War was the starting point of a chemical weapons race whose consequences included industrial production of chlorine and a vast range of other chemicals that fuelled economic growth in the 20th century. DDT was sensationally effective in the fight against malaria and the protection of crops. PCBs were the lifeblood of countless items of electrical equipment. But the enthusiasm for such chemicals was tempered by anxiety that they might also cause cancer, disrupt ecosystems, and even function as environmental hormones threatening life itself.