National Geographic

National Geographic: Six Degrees Could Change the World

In a special broadcast event National Geographic explores the startling theory that Earths average temperature could rise six degrees Celsius by the year 2100. In this amazing and insightful documentary National Geographic illustrates one poignant degree at a time the consequences of rising temperatures on Earth. Also learn how existing technologies and remedies can help in the battle to dial back the global thermometer.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/NATURE & WILDLIFE UPC: 727994752837 Manufacturer No: 1000036970

In the 2004 eco-thriller The Day After Tomorrow, director Roland Emmerich dramatized the potential consequences of accelerated global warming. By combining stock footage with computer-generated imagery, the National Geographic special Six Degrees Could Change the World serves as a sort of nonfiction counterpoint. As NASA climate scientist James Hansen cautions, even two degrees Celsius represents a tipping point (from which there is no return). Based on Mark Lynas's Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet and narrated by Alec Baldwin, the program roams from the bushfire-ravaged suburbs of Southern Australia to the drought-stricken farmlands of Nebraska to the rapidly melting glaciers of Greenland. In the process, aerospace engineers, marine biologists, and ordinary citizens share their experiences and predictions. In the end, it's the actual events--rather than the speculative scenarios--that prove most alarming, like the 30,000 deaths that resulted from 2003's European heat wave. While a skeptic might dismiss that tragedy as a statistical anomaly, every continent bears the scars of climate change, like the deforestation of the Amazon and the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina. In order to inject some levity, Six Degrees detours to look at a British grape grower who has actually benefited from his country's drier environment and the carbon footprint involved in the creation of that all-American favorite, the cheeseburger (suffice to say, it's considerable). While some of the special effects are hokey--Hansen sitting at a floating desk, for example--the preponderance of compelling data helps to compensate for such lapses. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Also of Interest

Six Degrees Could Change the World on Blu-ray

More DVDs About Global Warming and Climate Change

More National Geographic DVDs

Stills from Six Degrees Could Change the World (click for larger image)

National Geographic - In the Womb

From the moment of conception every human embryo embarks on an incredible nine month journey of development. Now cutting-edge technology makes it possible for National Geographic's In the Womb to open a window into the hidden world of the fetus and explore each trimester in amazing new detail. Revolutionary imagery sheds light on the delicate dark world of a fetus as never before.Running Time: 89 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 727994751267 Manufacturer No: G75126

National Geographic: Human Footprint

In a National Geographic special event, The Human Footprint reveals the extraordinary impact that each of our lives has on the world around us. In a playful, surprising and thought-provoking portrait of our time on earth, National Geographic demonstrates, in a series of remarkable visuals, what makes up an average human life today and how everything we do has impact on the world around us. In this unique journey through life, it shows all the people you will ever know, how much waste you will produce, the amount of fuel youll consume and how much youve got to pack in during your 2,475,526,000 seconds on Earth.

National Geographic: Six Degrees Could Change the World (Amazon.com Exclusive) [Blu-ray]

In the 2004 eco-thriller The Day After Tomorrow, director Roland Emmerich dramatized the potential consequences of accelerated global warming. By combining stock footage with computer-generated imagery, the National Geographic special Six Degrees Could Change the World serves as a sort of nonfiction counterpoint. As NASA climate scientist James Hansen cautions, even two degrees Celsius represents a tipping point (from which there is no return). Based on Mark Lynas's Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet and narrated by Alec Baldwin, the program roams from the bushfire-ravaged suburbs of Southern Australia to the drought-stricken farmlands of Nebraska to the rapidly melting glaciers of Greenland. In the process, aerospace engineers, marine biologists, and ordinary citizens share their experiences and predictions. In the end, it's the actual events--rather than the speculative scenarios--that prove most alarming, like the 30,000 deaths that resulted from 2003's European heat wave. While a skeptic might dismiss that tragedy as a statistical anomaly, every continent bears the scars of climate change, like the deforestation of the Amazon and the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina. In order to inject some levity, Six Degrees detours to look at a British grape grower who has actually benefited from his country's drier environment and the carbon footprint involved in the creation of that all-American favorite, the cheeseburger (suffice to say, it's considerable). While some of the special effects are hokey--Hansen sitting at a floating desk, for example--the preponderance of compelling data helps to compensate for such lapses. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Also of Interest

Six Degrees Could Change the World on DVD

More DVDs About Global Warming and Climate Change

More National Geographic DVDs

Stills from Six Degrees Could Change the World (click for larger image)

In a special broadcast event, National Geographic explores the startling theory that Earths average temperature could rise six degrees Celsius by the year 2100. In this amazing and insightful documentary, National Geographic illustrates, one poignant degree at a time, the consequences of rising temperatures on Earth. Also, learn how existing technologies and remedies can help in the battle to dial back the global thermometer.

National Geographic - Relentless Enemies [HD DVD]

Warner Brothers Relentless Enemies - HD-DVD
It is a spectacle few have seen firsthand. Two foes trapped on an island in a remote part of Africa - and a battle to survive captured in high-definition over two years by award-winning filmmakers. Now, National Geographic takes viewers onto a unique battlefield in theOkavango Delta to witness the grueling fight for survival of highly specialized lions that prey almost exclusively on buffalo in Relentless Enemies.

National Geographic - Inside the Living Body

National Geographic provides a whole new perspective on the extraordinary processes involved in human life with this primarily internal look at the human life cycle from conception through old age. Thanks to amazing technological advances like camera pills and high-definition endoscopes, physicians and scientists can now obtain actual camera footage and images of body processes as well as create elaborate computer simulations to aid in the research and understanding of how the human body works. This 95-minute exploration of the human body and its processes follows human life from fetal development through the amazing changes demanded of virtually every organ in the hours after birth, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. It explores the senses and how they work, brain development, digestion, blood circulation, cell division, the hardening and replenishing of bone, puberty, sexuality, childbirth, changes inherent in the aging process, the virtual shutting down of the body at death, and much more. The fascinating camera footage includes everything from the digestive process of food from the mouth through the esophagus, stomach, small intestines, large intestines, and then to excretion; to blood flow through the heart, veins, and capillaries; and the accumulation of fat in the abdomen and intestines. While the squeamish might proclaim the graphic footage gross, it is incredible, fascinating, and educational. Significant time is also devoted to detailing life choices like exercise, drinking, smoking, listening to loud music, and stress and how those choices can directly affect our bodily functions and overall health. This 2002 presentation is an informative, graphic look at the amazing human body and how it works. --Tami