Dogs, surfers, and astronomers have long been fascinated by Earth's moon. In the 20th century, we went from admiring and conjecturing about the moon, to setting foot upon its rocky surface. This amazing journey has debunked numerous old myths...but has it validated others?

After the avalanche took the life of Blake Morstad, it also left Sam Kavanagh hanging on by a thread in very dangerous circumstances. Still deep in the backcountry, Sam was hemorrhaging blood from his mangled leg. With weather conditions remaining unfavorable for rescue, the odds were mounting against his survival. In Part Two, Sam retells the story as it unfolded around him. Also, Doug Chabot of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, first on the scene after the avalanche hit, walks us through the chain of events leading up to the accident. What natural forces triggered the avalanche? What exactly is "buried surface hoar" ? Most importantly, what is "the human element - the stoke of the day," as Sam calls it, and how can we be aware of it?

Last year, Arctic explorer Dennis Schmitt discovered that the world as-we-know-it is changing fast. In a remote coastal region of Greenland, "Warming Island" was created when the ice connecting it to the mainland melted away. The Greenland ice sheet - nearly three miles thick in places - is now melting at speeds once thought impossible. If the ice melts completely, sea level will rise twenty-three feet around the world. Karl Marx once famously said about modern life: "all that is solid melts into air." Though Marx was no environmentalist, he was very aware of the swift changes brought on by rapid exploitation of natural resources. These changes have begun to stretch the natural contours of our planet. But all is not lost, yet. "Warming Island" could also have been called "WARNING Island" because it is a harbinger of things to come. Now that the map has been erased, how will we choose to re-write it? Hopefully, with a trained eye and a skillful touch, we can create a collective picture of a long-term sustainable future. The world as-we-know-it may be disappearing, but as any explorer will tell you, a new world may also be on the horizon.

The Florida coast line is constantly shifting. Natural processes move the sand back and forth, north and south and occasionally a big storm removes it altogether. Of course unnatural processes are also affecting the beaches of the area. Huge sky scrapers, miles of beach front condos and the constant pressure of holiday makers on the beach. All these factors are playing their part on the ecosystem and the animals within it. Watch "Higher Ground" to find out where we're going wrong and what we can do about it.

Just in time for the spring runoff, Bill Cummings, renegade canoeist from Montpelier, Vermont, arrives to usher in the next greatest trend in river sports . . . canoe-poling. Cummings stands in his canoe. He uses only an inch-thick pole to brave the whitewater. And he goes upstream.

The Water Carriers' is the story of Callie Blackwood, an American engineering student, and Nina Omwereme Oyamo, a 23-year old woman from the Shirali region of southwestern Kenya. The lives of these two women, from altogether different circumstances, intersect as Callie travels to Kenya along with an organization known as Engineers Without Borders. Their mission: to install an aquifer-driven well in the hopes of delivering clean drinking water to the Shirali area. This is the first episode in the three-part series. Stay tuned as the relationship between Callie and Nina continues to strengthen . . . and experience a day-in-the-life of a Kenyan water carrier.

What do politics, drugs, farming, South America, biodiversity and the African hippopotami all have in common? They are the ingredients that make up the amazing story of "Pablo's Hippos". Not long ago, after the assassination of famous drug baron, Pablo Escobar, two hippos were left alone in the ruins of his private zoo. Now they have multiplied and there is a whole herd of new, uniquely South American hippos running free! Be amazed as we join filmmakers Monica Pinzon and Jefferson Beck on their journey to Colombia to find out how these animals got to where they are and what will happen to them now that they are thriving there.

'The work is about something and it's not casual. It's not just an image. It's not a horse. It's not just a landscape . . . I actually think of the wilderness as being the soul. Our soul that we have cast aside. And in reclaiming it, re-integrating it, through honoring other species and not obliterating them and their habitat, we are revaluing ourselves and the wholeness that we can become." Growing up in Montana, Jacqueline Riedel Hud didn't want to be the cowboy or the indian - she wanted to play the part of the horse. Riedel's paintings reflect her lifelong struggle to distill an understanding of the intutive connections between the human and the natural world. In her work, one sees swirling vibrations, drumming hoofbeats and, above all, a multifaceted reflection of the long journey - towards a full appreciation for wild, hidden, and untamed places and far away from the ordinary constraints of the modern world.

In 1997, noted Harvard ecologist E.O. Wilson wrote to a small community in the remote cloud forest region of Ecuador, urging them to continue their fight against the scourge of copper mining in perhaps the most biodiverse hotspot on Earth. Ten years later, the fight continues amid allegations of bribery, threats and coercion by the mining company. In conjunction with Earth Day, we celebrate this community-led resistance as an example of how even the smallest village can stand up against the most powerful global forces of industrial exploitation.

There's a new model of ranching emerging that emphasizes a holistic view of the ranch as a multi-dimensional resource and not just a home for cattle. Duke Phillips of Colorado is a pioneer in this approach, which provides him with a viable living, but also aligns his mission with tourists, environmentalists, and much of the general public. His ranch is proving that the maximization of profits with disregard to all other concerns is not a requirement for a rewarding vocation and lifestyle. Check out this episode of TERRA to see how Duke is "Ranching the New West"!

There are many stereotypes when it comes to environmentalists. Most people think of long-haired tree huggers who get around in torn jeans and Birkenstocks. But in the Big Hole Valley in Montana, the "greenies" look quite different. They are most often found on tractors tending to cattle or saddling up their horse in a barn. That's because the main push to conserve this beautiful valley comes from its ranching community. Conservation and ranching have often been thought of as mutually exclusive activities, but the farmers of the Big Hole are proving this wrong. So get your cowboy boots on and join us to see how conservation and traditional farming combine, in part one of "Fish and Cow."

Part two of "A Cat Called Elvis" sees the Dye family hitting the road in their ongoing search for the rarely seen snow leopard. But traveling in Mongolia isn't as easy as jumping into your SUV and motoring down the I-90! Charles, Ann and baby Colm are joining the Kazakhi winter migration - a three day journey by horse and camel over high, rocky trails and across expanding planes to fresh pastures. When they reach their destination they receive some interesting news - the week before, a snow leopard was spotted in the area and attacked some horses near by. Is this the chance Charles has been waiting for to use his remote sensor cameras and capture a snow leopard on film?

Ray Bandar is not your average museum curator. How could he be with nicknames like Dr. Bones and Reptile Ray? He spends his days dressed in tattered clothes, walking San Francisco's beaches in search of the ultimate specimens for his collection - and what is he collecting? Skulls! Not just any old skulls though - these skulls are for one of the most diverse and exotic museum collections in the world. Seals, sharks, lions, hyenas - Ray has collected them all! So put on your swim suit and grab a towel as we head to the beach with filmmaker Beth Cataldo for "A Life With Skulls".

What could a conservation organization, a group of Buddhist monks and a really big fish all have in common? They come together in a small part of Mongolia known as The Eg-Uur Watershed Area where some amazing things are happening. "The Tributary Fund" is an organization that protects ecosystems around the world by combining conservation and culture. In 2004 they started a project with the Eg-Uur Buddhist monks to both rebuild their monastery, which was destroyed over seventy years ago, and to help the community find ways of protecting their waterways and the endangered Taimen - the largest species of salmon in the world. All this is achieved by finding a common ground between the teachings of Buddhism and environmentally sound conservation practices. Join Filmmaker Ian Kellett as he tells us the story of "Buddha and the Big Fish".

"I'm asked all the time, 'Are chile-peppers a fad?' Well, if they are a fad, they've been a fad for ten-thousand years - which is about how long human beings have been eating them." (David Dewitt) Legend has it that the chile originally came from the anatomical unmentionables of the 'First Man' - who appeared at a festival sometime long ago in our mythical past. Understandably, many of the other people gathered at that same festival were, at first, very hesitant to sample the chile. But the 'First Man' persuaded them: 'It will add much spice to your life!' In short order, the people tried, and grew to love, the chile pepper. This marvelous anecdote may or may not account for the chile's current wave of mainstream popularity (it is once again inspiring festivals). The myth does not, however, explain how the chile became a tool for fighting cancer, quelling insurrection, protecting wildlife, repelling microorganisms and bubbling up in countless other places where the story continues to develop, like a volatile recipe, getting spicier all the time.

The work is about something and it's not casual. It's not just an image. It's not a horse. It's not just a landscape . . . I actually think of the wilderness as being the soul. Our soul that we have cast aside. And in reclaiming it, re-integrating it, through honoring other species and not obliterating them and their habitat, we are revaluing ourselves and the wholeness that we can become." Growing up in Montana, Jacqueline Riedel Hud didn't want to be the cowboy or the indian - she wanted to play the part of the horse. Riedel's paintings reflect her lifelong struggle to distill an understanding of the intutive connections between the human and the natural world. In her work, one sees swirling vibrations, drumming hoofbeats and, above all, a multifaceted reflection of the long journey - towards a full appreciation for wild, hidden, and untamed places and far away from the ordinary constraints of the modern world.

Dr. Gary Strobel's signature red stocking cap lives in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Why? Strobel is one of only a handful of plant scientists scouring the planet the old-fashioned way for the next "super drugs" . . . the kind of medicines which may end up curing malaria, AIDS, tuberculosis, and other diseases. Strobel's red hat is a way of paying homage to the long tradition of herb and plant collectors before him - figures known in traditional cultures as "medicine-men." Dr. Strobel is a fascinating example of the unification of cutting-edge modern science with wisdom derived from the practices of centuries-old healing traditions around the world. Travel along with Dr. Strobel as he hops around the world, from the rainforest to the outback, on his latest round of collecting. Last time, Strobel discovered an organism that now helps supply the world with cancer drugs, what will he discover this time around?

When it comes to the art of making a yidaki (didgeridoo), Djalu Gurruwiwi of the Galpu clan in the Northern Territory of Australia is widely regarded as the best there is. Rising to International fame after making all the didgeridoos that the band "Yothu Yindi" recorded and toured with in the late 80's, Djalu has continued to design and shape his instruments and they are now sought after around the world. He has a passion to spread the music and message of the yidaki and that of the aboriginal people and does so, not only as a world famous musician and artist, but as a respected elder. Join TERRA and meet Djalu at his home in the Gove Peninsula where he shows us the amazing art of "Making a Yidaki."

Some of Keith Fraser's best friends are birds. Join him at the famous Loch Lomond bait shop in San Rafael CA as he distributes Christmas presents to some of his favorites: snowy egrets Wee Willie and Wee Willie Junior, great blue herons Nasty and Nasty Junior, and his closest buddy, an endearing Heermann's gull named Ahab. SPECIAL NOTE: Judy Irving will be answering your questions about this film, The Parrots of Telegraph Hill, and anything else you'd like to know in the lifeonterra.com forum! Judy's award-winning feature documentary, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, is in international distribution.

This is no ordinary biological field trip! Travel along with some of the world's foremost bird and nature artists to the incredible Chappari Reserve, among the last remaining high-altitude dry forests of South America. Previously undiscovered and majestical species come alive at the tip of a paintbrush in this rapid biological inventory of this incredibly rich and diverse part of the biosphere. This film reminds us of the age-old partnership of art and science and highlights observation, expression, and inspiration in a strategic effort to preserve one of the most fantastic places on Earth. The artist Paul Klee said ?the painter should not paint what he sees, but what will be seen." In this case, we hope such brilliant creatures remain in our sights forever.

We heard so much good feedback from the first part of this series, so it was a no-brainer dusting off the second half of the series for a rendezvous with the growing TERRA audience. This is no ordinary biological field trip! Travel along with some of the world's foremost bird and nature artists to the incredible Chappari Reserve, among the last remaining high-altitude dry forests of South America. Part Two features the incredible algorroba tree - a true wildlife magnet! And, what are the economics of conservation? How can communities come together to protect wildlife? At long last, the finished artwork goes on display before local dignitaries and young Ecuadorians and Peruvians . . . hoping to inspire the next generation of artists and friends of the environment.

As a kickoff to the Northern Rockies Bioneers Conference held in Bozeman, Montana this week, a TERRA crew spent an afternoon with musician and filmmaker Michael Franti of Spearhead. Franti's "consciousness-raising" resonates on both the political and environmental front and he combines improvisation and activism to spread his message across the globe. Later that same evening, Franti brought the house down when he played the Wilson Auditorium in Bozeman and reminded us that inclusion, not exclusion is the only way to bring about political change. The Northern Rockies Bioneers Conference is one of over twenty Bioneers groups nation wide, which meet every year to bring together progressive communities and provide resources, tools, and inspiration to build sustainable, culturally-rich, active, and well-networked communities

The Bioneers march on! Part Two and Three of this series showcases the drama, the magic, and the beautiful chaos of Bioneers weekend. Is this a conference, a festival, or a "happening?" The Bioneers bring new meaning to the phrase "all walks of life." Everyone is a participant. Kids pick pumpkins, legendary authors talk from the podium, politicians mingle with idealists and local activists. Meanwhile, the experience radiates via satellite from San Rafael, CA to over twenty disparate locations around the world. But the network as a whole is stronger than any single part. Some come for ideas, others for the music, and still more for the incredible local food. The Bioneers message is clear: the future begins today. Ride with us on the zero-gravity veggie-oil Zeppelin of imagination as we take you from today's drawing board to tomorrow's reality.

"Ironically, as we work to save the salmon, it may turn out that the salmon save us." (Paul Schell, Mayor of Seattle) Salmon are an indicator species - their health closely tracks the health of the watershed to which they return. Salmon are also a keystone species, forming a critical link between forests and distant oceans. But most importantly, salmon are a symbolic species that allows us to understand the interconnected nature of the web of life. In Northern California, salmon populations are at 10% of their levels of one hundred years ago due to overwhelming pressures from logging, hydropower, and overfishing. This film brings into focus the plight of the salmon on the Klamath river and the future of the Yurok tribe who depend on the fish. Through science, we now fully understand the life-cycle of salmon, but how do we apply what we've learned to the everyday?

Low-tech is the new high-tech. Take, for example, wildlife biologists who are swapping radio collars and GPS transceivers for a more sensitive instrument: a dog's nose. A dog's sense of smell is up to one thousand times more powerful than a human's. But this doesn't really explain what it means to "smell like a dog." When a human walks into a bakery, it smells generally very sweet. When a dog walks into a bakery, it smells every ingredient used in the baking process, e.g., eggs, butter, flour, sugar, and so on down to that last pinch of nutmeg. Dogs are able to differentiate smells even in incredibly minute concentrations. This innate ability, coupled with an obsessive "ball-drive," makes for an incredible partner in the fight to save endangered species. The trail is hot! Starring Finny, Carow, Peppin, Tsavo, Camas, Wicket, Alice, Megan, and Aimee of Working Dogs for Conservation.

Absinthe was banned in the U.S. and many other parts of the world in the early 20th century after a faulty scientific study determined it was likely to provoke hallucinations, seizures, and violence. Ninety years later, absinthe has re-emerged on the international marketplace because it has been determined, by all accounts, to be safe for consumption. Why was it banned in the first place? David Cook, a retired Neurosurgeon and occasional absinthe drinker, helps unlock the neurological mysteries of "the green fairy" and testifies about how science, ritual, and history often converge in unusual ways. The ultimate cause of the absinthe ban was political, due to the influence of winemakers and temperance advocates, not scientific. This case reveals yet another example of how "bad science" is oftentimes utilized to manipulate public opinion. Unfortunately, this is just as true today as it was 100 years ago. Though peer-reviewed sources consistently acknowledge the problems of climate change, strategic misinformation still often wins the day with the press, the public, and our legislators.

Every year less people choose to take up cigarette smoking and more people quit. That is, with one exception, America's college and university students. Every year, what is becoming an epidemic on college campuses is left unnoticed. Kari Harris, a researcher at the University of Montana, is working to discover the unique situation that starts and keeps college students smoking at abnormal levels. Find out what Dr. Harris has to say and listen to college smokers fire back, as DRAG explores what might be our nation's least known public health problem: college smoking.

Brooklyn is indeed home to many noxious smells, but perhaps the most intriguing one in recent history occurred during the peak blooming hours of the Amorphophallus titanum in the early morning of August 11th at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The "Corpse Flower," native to the equatorial forests of Sumatra, emits a "revolting" smell of putrefaction to attract its pollinators - carrion beetles and sweat bees - and is said to have made the first botanist who tried to paint it very ill. Nonetheless, visitors came out in droves to experience a rare natural show as mesmerizing as any modern art installation and perhaps even to get a glimpse (and share a whiff) of the timeless beauty of evolution.

When zoologists in the Lossi region of central Africa noticed that some of the gorillas they were studying were becoming sick and dying, they could not have known what was to come. Within a year of the initial discovery, the mysterious disease had spread to humans and was starting to claim the lives of nearby villagers. It became known to the world as Ebola - but what was causing the disease in the great apes and how was it spreading to humans? Join Congolese filmmakers as they find the source of this devastating disease by talking to survivors and endeavor to help people in the area prevent Ebola from reoccurring in the future.

Would it surprise you to know that Africans have no tradition of poaching elephants for their tusks? Modern ivory poaching, in fact is imposed by Western and Asian markets. So what motivates indigenous people to take up guns against this precious keystone species? What is the cost to them and the forests they rely on for their livelihoods? The first of four locally produced conservation documentaries, this film asks the question: what is the real price of ivory?

Over the last 100 years, the American Indian Holocaust and the boarding school era nearly snuffed out the native language of Montana's White Clay tribe. Today, less than five native speakers of the White Clay language remain. Nonetheless, kids, parents and teachers at the White Clay Language Immersion School in Harlem, Montana are fighting back to reclaim their native language. In doing so, they are blending traditional Indian ways and contemporary Euro-American culture and "two fractured worlds" are coming together to form a new whole.

Yellowstone National Park has one of the world's most stunning natural landscapes. Tourists flock from all over the world to view its incredible wildlife and geo-thermal features. But there is something amazing about Yellowstone that few people ever notice: its extreme plant life. Join environmental scientist Catherine Zabinski and plant biologist Ylva Lekberg as they explore the unique and unusual flora of the world's oldest national park. Could these incredible plants hold the key to dealing with the effects of global warming?

Three alter-egos converge as (1.) Bob Perkins "the researcher", (2.) Professor William Robert Perkins "the mad scientist", and (3.) Atlatl Bob "the hunter," give a humorous and multi-faceted account of mankind's ascendant path to the top of the food chain. Though seemingly primitive, the "Atlatl and Dart System," used by humans in pre-historic times, is remarkably complex in its design. With a minimum of effort, the atlatl hurtles darts at speeds close to 100 miles per hour. In turn, this behavior speaks volumes about the sustainable ingenuity o