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1. In the remote American Southwest, Anasazi ruins tell of a people who,
for 1,000 years, maintained vast cities and irrigation systems in the
scorching heat. Survivors in the Sand looks for the reasons why these pueblos
were abruptly abandoned. |
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2. Over 20 percent of the Earth's land surface is classified as arid or
semi-arid. Match that with a global population expected to double within only
40 years, and the threat to our planet's remaining open spaces comes into focus.
These arid lands comprise the earth's most common land bank -- a reserve for the
future. Survivors in the Sand examines the dangers of depleting this reserve.
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3. In the American Southwest, the rugged spaces speak to something in
the American soul -- a certain restlessness, a spirit of self-reliance. And
while many still cherish the legends of the Old West, it is increasingly being
replaced by something very different. Visit the New West in Survivors in the
Sands.
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4. Survivors in the Sand finds an unlikely hero in the fight to save
endangered species in remote American borderlands. Meet Matt Magoffin, rancher
and savior of the Chihuahuan Leopard Frog, who says, "If we don't do something
soon, all the open spaces will disappear. Then everything will be endangered,
including people." |
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5. Israel was born in the desert, with its back to the wall, politically,
geographically and environmentally. Its many scientific solutions to surviving in a land many called barren stand as a testimony to what can be accomplished
with a strong national will and heavy investments. Survivors in the Sand
explores these dramatic results and probes whether these costly techniques
can be transplanted to other desert regions.
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6. Travel to the vast Australian Outback with
Survivors in the Sand, where scientists have taken to the sky to get a perspective
on the changes
wrought by Europeans in the past 170 years. Using satellite pictures, infrared
computer images and ground data, they hope that what they learn will help repair
the damage done by past mistakes.
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7. To many, "arid" means simply "barren", a wasteland, endless sand with
perhaps a few cacti. But once you become accustomed to it, you can find
incredible beauty and diversity in arid and semi-arid landscapes. But are we now
losing, have we already lost, something irreplaceable from these wild,
unpredictable places? Survivors in the Sand explores the beauty and dangers of
these regions. |
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8. As land becomes increasingly precious in Israel,
the reclamation efforts
have shifted towards the arid southern regions in the Negev Desert, an area
which gets less than two inches of rainfall a year. Lush forests are not a
realistic goal here. Survivors in the Sand explores Israel's new approach to
creating sustainable environments in these dry, harsh conditions. |
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9. Survivors in the Sand explores Soussiya, a Hebrew city being reclaimed
from the deserts of Israel. An intricate underground city, providing piped water to every home, and refuge
from the hot sun and invaders, it was abandoned some 1200 years ago. Today it
stands as silent testimony to the fact that here,
in the desert, life has narrow margins. Subsistence is hard won. |
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10. Survivors in the Sand visits three of the earth's foremost semi-arid
regions -- Australia, Israel, and the American Southwest -- where scientists are
working to halt desertification and unlock the secrets of this land before it is
too late. |
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11. In Israel, Survivors in the Sand finds that a massive effort has gone
into a campaign to restore some of the green that was lost from the landscape
over the centuries. In just 50 years, startling changes have been taken place. Can other desert nations adapt these techniques? |
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12. Within fragile desert ecosystems, the line between life and death is
easily crossed. The rules are different here, in ways we don't entirely understand.
Like the sea, the desert hides more than it reveals. Survivors in the Sand
explores these secrets. |
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13. If life in the desert is life on the edge, then it is water which defines
that edge. Survivors in the Sand probes the minds of the world's leading experts
about how this crucial resource should be managed in the next century. |
