*** Notice: For the protection of property rights, this catalog is available for online browsing only. Please drop us a line if you would like to receive a copiable version of this catalog. Thank You!

Content

Environmental Issue & Men

Environmental Issue & Men


BIOPHILIC DESIGN: THE ARCHITECTURE OF LIFE

By Stephen R. Kellert and Bill Finnegan

A design revolution that connects buildings to the natural world, buildings where people feel and perform better.

Biophilic Design is an innovative way of designing the places where we live, work, and learn. We need nature in a deep and fundamental fashion, but we have often designed our cities and suburbs in ways that both degrade the environment and alienate us from nature.

The recent trend in green architecture has decreased the environmental impact of the built environment, but it has accomplished little in the way of reconnecting us to the natural world, the missing piece in the puzzle of sustainable development.

Come on a journey from our evolutionary past and the origins of architecture to the world's most celebrated buildings in a search for the architecture of life. Together, we will encounter buildings that connect people and nature--hospitals where patients heal faster, schools where children's test scores are higher, offices where workers are more productive, and communities where people know more of their neighbors and families thrive.

Featured are communities and buildings from Scandinavia, Germany, France and Britain to the Canadian and American northwest, American southwest, and New England. They include: California Academy of Sciences, Doernbecher Children's Hospital, Fallingwater, Viaduc des Arts, Google/YouTube Headquarters, Sahlgrenska Hospital (Psychiatric Department), High Point (Seattle Housing Authority), Johnson Wax Building, Sidwell Friends Middle School, Oxford Museum of Natural History, Village Homes (Davis, CA), and Kroon Hall (Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies).

Amongst those interviewed are: Edward O. Wilson, Bill McDonough, Judi Heerwagen, Jason McLennan, Tim Beatley, Bill Browning, Bert Gregory, Kent Bloomer, Claire Cooper Marcus, Michael Taylor, David Orr, Gus Speth, and Richard Louv.

Biophilic Design points the way toward creating healthy and productive habitats for modern humans.

Reviews
  • "Essential viewing for policy makers, planners, designers and anyone engaged in re-designing the future." - Bryony Schwan, Executive Director, The Biomimicry 3.8 Institute
  • "Natural environments are not amenities, and they are not mere 'resources' or quaint luxuries. They are essential to human mental, physical and social well-being, most urgently for our children. Stephen Kellert has yoked health and environment in a new and powerful way for all who view Biophilic Design." - Dr. Richard Jackson, Pediatrician, Professor and Chair, Environmental Health Sciences, University of California-Los Angeles

    Item no.: KR01110816
    Format: DVD
    Audience:
    Duration: 62 minutes
    Copyright: 2011
    StdBkNo.: 1937772101
    Price: USD 250.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart


    CITY DARK, THE: A SEARCH FOR NIGHT ON A PLANET THAT NEVER SLEEPS

    Directed by Ian Cheney

    The definitive story of light pollution and the disappearing stars.

    THE CITY DARK chronicles the disappearance of darkness. The film follows filmmaker (and amateur astronomer) Ian Cheney (KING CORN, BIG RIVER,TRUCK FARM), who moves to New York City from Maine and discovers an urban sky almost completely devoid of stars. He poses a deceptively simple question, "What do we lose, when we lose the night?".

    Exploring the threat of killer asteroids in Hawai'i, tracking disoriented hatching turtles along the Florida coast, and rescuing birds on Chicago streets injured by collisions with buildings, Cheney unravels the myriad implications of a globe glittering with lights--including increased breast cancer rates from exposure to light at night, and a generation of kids without a glimpse of the universe above. In six chapters weaving together cutting-edge science with personal, meditative sequences reflecting on the human relationship to the sky, THE CITY DARK shines new light on the meaning of the dark.

    The film features stunning astrophotography and a cast of eclectic scientists, philosophers, historians, and lighting designers including Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, astronaut Don Pettit, neurologist Dr. George Brainard, Harvard Medical School scientist Dr. Steven Lockley, cosmologist Chris Impey, and lighting designer HerveDescottes.

    Reviews
  • "The most comprehensive and intelligent documentary on light pollution." - Bob Parks, Executive Director, International Dark-Sky Association

  • "A City Dark really makes you think about what kind of alternatives are both sustainable and feasible." - Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist

  • "Entertaining and thought-provoking...Mr. Cheney's film is a personal lament for the star-filled night sky he experienced growing up in Maine, but it is neither sorrowful nor a rant; he somehow manages to give this engaging work a sense of humor. He also manages to make it smart...This film makes you want to go find a starry sky to camp under quickly, before it's all gone." - Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times

    Awards
  • Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature, Environmental Film Festival at Yale
  • Jury Prize for Best Score/Music, SXSW Film Festival
  • New York Times Critics' Pick

    Item no.: YM01110813
    Format: DVD
    Audience:
    Duration: 83 minutes
    Copyright: 2011
    StdBkNo.: 1937772071
    Price: USD 295.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart


    LIGHT BULB CONSPIRACY, THE

    By Cosima Dannoritzer

    The Light Bulb Conspiracy uncovers how planned obsolescence has shaped our lives and economy since the 1920's, when manufacturers deliberately started shortening the life of consumer products to increase demand. The film also profiles a new generation of consumers, designers and business people who have started challenging planned obsolescence as an unsustainable economic driver.

    The documentary begins by visiting the longest running light bulb in the world, which has burned continuously for over 110 years in Livermore, California. Initially, light bulbs were built to last. But the film finds historical evidence revealing how a cartel in the 1920's decided to produce bulbs limited to a maximum life of 1000 hours, making the humble light bulb one of the first examples of planned obsolescence and a model for increasing profits on other products.

    Shot over three years in Europe, the U.S. and Ghana, The Light Bulb Conspiracy investigates the evolution and impact of planned obsolescence through interviews with historians, economists, designers and manufacturers, along with archival footage and internal company documents. The film profiles several well-known historical advocates -- Bernard London, who famously proposed ending the Great Depression by mandating planned obsolescence, and Brook Stevens, whose post-war ideas became the gospel of the 1950's and helped shape the throwaway consumer society of today.

    The Light Bulb Conspiracy also looks at modern examples of planned obsolescence, including computer printers and the controversy over the inability to replace iPod batteries. Environmental consequences are seen most dramatically in the massive amounts of electronic waste that end up in uncontrolled dump sites in Third World countries such as Ghana. The film concludes with examples of consumers and businesses moving towards more sustainable practices and products, including Warner Philips, great grandson of the founder of Philips Electronics, who is producing an LED bulb designed to last 25 years.

    Reviews
  • "The film explores the issue of planned obsolescence, and argues that the light bulb is the first case of a product being designed to have a deliberately short lifespan." - Consumer Reports

  • "The Light Bulb Conspiracy combines strong stories with rare archival footage, tracing a century of planned obsolescence. The film investigates whether the modern consumer economy can sustain itself without planned obsolescence, and how a new business generation is trying to make planned obsolescence itself obsolete, to save the economy - and the planet.". - Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capitol

  • "The Light Bulb Conspiracy...led to vivid discussions about resource efficiency, economic growth, ecodesign, and other issues of interest to the WRF. The film was considered a 'must see' by many of our participants." - Xaver Edelmann, President World Resources Forum, Switzerland

    Awards
  • Best Documentary, Spanish Television Academy Awards
  • Best Feature Documentary, FILMAMBIENTE, Brazil
  • Best Film, SCINEMA, Australia
  • Maeda Special Prize / Japan Prize
  • Ondas Internacional Award, Spain
  • 1st Prize, Science, Technology and Education, GZDOC, China Special Jury Mention - FICMA, Spain

    Item no.: ET01920175
    Format: DVD (Closed Captioned)
    Audience: Grades 9 - Adult
    Duration: 75 minutes
    Copyright: 2011
    StdBkNo.:
    Price: USD 250.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart


    SUSTAINABLE FUTURES: DEFORESTATION ISSUES

    Thanks to sustainable rainforest management projects and government regulations, the deforestation rates in the Brazilian rainforest have declined over the past 10 years. However, 20% of the world's CO2 emissions are still caused by deforestation in Indonesia, Brazil and Congo. Kenya and Ivory coast are rapidly destroying thousand year-old jungles, affecting much more than just the local ecosystem. Overgrazing and urbanization are causing the loss of fertile land to deserts in Mongolia and China.

    Item no.: TN00161529
    Format: DVD
    Audience: Senior High - College
    Duration: 24 minutes
    Copyright: 2011
    StdBkNo.:
    Price: USD 195.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart


    SUSTAINABLE FUTURES: LANDFILLS AND WASTE ISSUES

    Industrialized societies accumulate tons of waste, and the rising need for electronic devices only exacerbates the issue. The Sierra Club is pushing for standardization of electronic waste recycling, but so far it remains a limited market in the West. Recycling of electronics outsourced to India is done under terrible conditions, exposing workers to an array of toxic materials. Separation of organic and inorganic waste with subsequent recycling of everything from shoes to plastics into construction material is the base of an exemplary waste management program in the Philippines.

    Item no.: KU00161535
    Format: DVD
    Audience: Senior High - College
    Duration: 24 minutes
    Copyright: 2011
    StdBkNo.:
    Price: USD 195.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart


    SUSTAINABLE FUTURES: SUSTAINABLE LIVING

    Throughout the world, innovative thinkers and entrepreneurs are transforming their communities, making the dream of sustainable living a reality. The United Kingdom's push for sustainable housing developments raises awareness of energy efficiency and promotes eco-friendly home design. Cement alternatives developed in Australia reduce the carbon footprint for concrete production by 60%. Two industrial designers from Colombia are creating fashion items from recycled tires. In the Philippines, the inventor of coconut fiber nets shows how his company helps prevent devastating mudslides in the region and provides employment to locals.

    Item no.: PC00161537
    Format: DVD
    Audience: Senior High - College
    Duration: 24 minutes
    Copyright: 2011
    StdBkNo.:
    Price: USD 195.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart


    SUSTAINABLE FUTURES: TRANSPORT POLLUTION

    Pollutants from automotive transport are a major source of greenhouse gases. Government organizations, volunteer and business startups throughout the world are taking steps to reduce emissions of particulate and gas emissions from cars, scooters, buses and commercial aircrafts.

    Item no.: JH00161541
    Format: DVD
    Audience: Senior High - College
    Duration: 24 minutes
    Copyright: 2011
    StdBkNo.:
    Price: USD 195.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart


    SUSTAINABLE DESIGN: SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE

    Explore planning and design; basic building design; embodied energy and resource use in buildings; heating, cooling and ventilation; lighting; infrastructures; and a holistic, or complete, view of the whole building and design process. This program has interviews with Robert & Diane Gilman, Amory Lovins of Rocky Mountain Institute and Mike & Judy Corbett of Village Homes. You'll also hear from professors of Vernacular Architecture, Sustainable Design and Community Planning, an Indoor Environmental Quality Specialist, two Solar Architects, a General Building Contractor, a Landscape Architect and two other Architecture Professors.

    Item no.: NN08820315
    Format: DVD
    Audience:
    Duration: 38 minutes
    Copyright: 1994
    StdBkNo.:
    Price: USD 119.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart


    WAKING THE GREEN TIGER

    By Gary Marcuse and Betsy Carson

    Waking the Green Tiger tells the dramatic story of the rise of the first major grassroots environmental movement in China, a significant development that could reshape the country. Seen through the eyes of farmers, journalists, activists and a former government insider, the film traces the historical evolution of the movement and highlights an extraordinary campaign to stop a huge dam project slated for the Upper Yangtze River in southern China.

    Featuring archival footage never seen outside China, and interviews with insiders and witnesses, the documentary also portrays the earlier history of Chairman Mao's campaigns to conquer nature in the name of progress. Mao mobilized millions of people in campaigns that reshaped China's landscape, destroyed lakes, forests and grasslands, and unleashed dust storms. Despite the evident consequences, critics of this approach were silenced for decades.

    The green movement emerged when a new environmental impact law was passed in 2004. For the first time in China's history, ordinary citizens gained the right to speak out and take part in government decisions. Green activism grew into a larger movement as local villagers and urban activists joined forces to oppose a massive new dam at Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Upper Yangtze that would have displaced 100,000 people. Their extraordinary campaign is a primary focus of the film.

    Reviews
  • "Gary Marcuse's stirring documentary celebrates the brave souls at the forefront of China's new revolution." - Vancouver International Film Festival

  • "Stirring... this engaging documentary shakes up a lot of assumptions we may have about China and opens our eyes to a revolution that brings on public debate." - Toronto Star

  • "Waking the Green Tiger is wonderful, an amazing story that opens an unexpected window onto China." - Ronald Wright, author, A Short History of Progress

    Awards
  • Best Canadian Documentary, Planet in Focus Film Festival, Toronto
  • Winner, Top 10 Canadian Films, Vancouver International Film Festival

    Item no.: HZ01920179
    Format: DVD (English and Mandarin, Closed Captioned, With English Subtitles)
    Audience: Grades 9 - Adult
    Duration: 78 minutes
    Copyright: 2011
    StdBkNo.:
    Price: USD 250.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart


    I.M. PEI: BUILDING CHINA MODERN

    Directed by Anne Makepeace

    Architect I.M. Pei returns to his home city of Suzhou, China to build a modern museum that complements the architecture of the 2,500 year-old city and sets a course for modern Chinese architecture.

    I.M. Pei has been called the most important living modern architect, defining the landscapes of some of the world's greatest cities. A monumental figure in his field and a laureate of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize, Pei is the senior statesman of modernism and last surviving link to such great early architects as Le Corbusier, Gropius, and Mies van der Rohe.

    Entering into the twilight of his career and well into his eighties when the project began, Pei returns to his ancestral home of Suzhou, China to work on his most personal project to date. He is commissioned to build a modern museum in the city's oldest neighborhood which is populated by classical structures from the Ming and Qing dynasties. For the architect who placed the pyramid at the Louvre, the test to integrate the new with the old is familiar but still difficult. The enormous task is to help advance China architecturally without compromising its heritage. In the end, what began as his greatest challenge and a labor of sentiment, says Pei, ultimately becomes "my biography."

    Reviews
  • "A moving and intimate portrayal of I.M. Pei's lifelong quest to define modern architecture that is true to its cultural roots. Building China Modern follows I.M. Pei's eight year journey and his challenges to define Chinese modern architecture in the Suzhou Museum--to make it, in his Chinese words, 'Su he xin,' meaning 'Suzhou yet new.'" - Shirley Young, Governor and founding member, Committee of 100

  • "Striving to balance architectural advancement with respect for the grandeur of China's heritage, Pei works on his most challenging--and most personal--task yet...Highly recommended." - The Midwest Book Review

  • "Its real subject is the rapid change sweeping China and the tensions between modernity concomitant with change...The filmmakers could not have found a better subject than Pei through which to tell this story of how one reconciles such tensions...[The film is] a loving tribute to a second-generation modernist." - Sharon McHugh, World Architecture News

    Award
  • CINE Golden Eagle Award

    Item no.: NG02560718
    Format: DVD
    Audience: Grades 10-12, College, Adult
    Duration: 53 minutes
    Copyright: 2010
    StdBkNo.: 1594589666
    Price: USD 295.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart


    MEASURING THE EARTH'S TEMPERATURE

    Starting with temperature records collected over 100 years ago, Measuring the Earth's Temperature takes the viewer from the earliest weather stations and balloon launches, to a network of super weather stations constructed in the 21st century. Highlights include showing how weather balloon launches work, the anatomy of a weather station, and how weather data, using computers, is transformed into long and short term weather forecasts. This very same data is also used to graph yearly temperature changes across the planet.

    The over 100 year old temperature records reveal an ever increasing global temperature rise. A rise that is dramatically accelerating in the 21st century. A rise that shows regional differences. Temperatures in the Mid-Latitudes, and particularly in the Polar Regions, have increased even faster than the overall global temperature, producing the well-publicized effects of climate change. Measuring the Earth's Temperature simplifies the centuries of complex meteorological data, and answers the question "How do scientists know the temperature of the earth?"

    Item no.: PT05520078
    Format: DVD (Closed Captioned, With Spanish Subtitles)
    Audience: Grades 7 - Adult
    Duration: 29 minutes
    Copyright: 2010
    StdBkNo.:
    Price: USD 70.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart


    WHEN THE WATER TAP RUNS DRY

    The greatest impacts from climate change will not be warmer temperatures but water shortages. Learn how America's water infrastructure is incapable of handling these changes. There exist solutions that will make us rethink everything from how we use water, to where we live, to who owns water.

    Every drop of water that flows through America's rivers or is stored in our lakes and reservoirs is spoken for. Now, America is over-drafting its water supply. How did it come to this? The answers lie in America's outdated water infrastructure, an inflexible water storage system, greater demand from an increasing population and the impacts of global warming. In When the Water Tap Runs Dry, we will look at these issues and provide essential solutions based on a new vision of America's water infrastructure, and customized water rights agreements. If the water crisis is not addressed, the water tap will run dry for many Americans.

    Chapters:
  • Water Shortages
  • Water Supplies
  • Water Infrastructure
  • Global Warming and Water Shortages
  • Water Shortage Solutions

    Item no.: HT05520048
    Format: DVD (Closed Captioned, With Spanish Subtitles)
    Audience: Grades 7 - Adult
    Duration: 40 minutes
    Copyright: 2009
    StdBkNo.:
    Price: USD 70.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart


    GREENING OF SOUTHIE, THE

    The story of Boston's first LEED-certified residential green building, and the people who made it possible.

    Directed by Ian Cheney

    In the traditionally Irish-American working-class neighborhood of South Boston, MA, a new kind of building has taken shape. From wheatboard cabinetry to recycled steel, bamboo flooring to dual-flush toilets, the Macallen building is something different: a leader in the emerging field of environmentally friendly design.

    But Boston's steel-toed union workers aren't sure they like it. And when things on the building start to go wrong, the young developer has to keep the project from unraveling.

    Building Boston's first LEED Gold-certified building turns out to be harder than anyone thought. Yet among the I-beams and brickwork emerges a small cadre of unlikely environmentalists who come to connect their work with the future of their children

    Reviews
  • "I cannot recommend this film enough to anyone who is or wants to be a part of green building." - Joel Bittle, GreenBuildingElements.com

  • "This inspiring film...argues for widespread adoption of green building practices, while still presenting the contradictions and quandaries...and revels in the greening of southern Boston's construction workers, born skeptics who rise to the occasion." - True/False Film Fest Program

  • "A balanced but incisive look at a complex issue that affects us all." - Bostonist

  • "An engaging documentary that offers an exciting glimpse into the future of Earth-friendly construction...Literally a globetrotting affair that forcuses on the materials and personnel involved in the design and construction of the Macallen building...Recommended." - Video Librarian

  • "Recommended for those interested in the environmental aspects of city planning." - Library Journal

    Item no.: WB02790598
    Format: DVD (Color, Closed Captioned)
    Audience: Grades 7-12, College, Adult
    Duration: 72 minutes
    Copyright: 2007
    StdBkNo.: 1594587663
    Price: USD 295.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart


    KILOWATT OURS

    By Jeff Barrie

    Did you know that by recycling a single aluminum can we conserve enough energy to power a regular TV for a whole hour? Did you know that if every home in America used just one energy efficient light bulb that we would instantly cut greenhouse gas emissions by 1 trillion pounds per year?

    Kilowatt Ours is an inspirational and enlivening film that demonstrates how easy it is to conserve energy that is produced from traditional sources as well as the many ways the average consumer can easily become part of the renewable energy revolution. The film reveals the connection between personal choices and energy use and introduces us to individuals, businesses, schools and universities who have cut their energy use in half by taking simple steps that benefit the consumer, the environment and the economy. We are given tours of super-efficient homes, office buildings and entire schools that have changed the future of America by employing the concepts of day-lighting, geothermal heating and cooling, solar and wind power, and the purchase of blocks of green energy from local utilities.

    Reviews
  • "Offers an optimistic message that details what changes can be made now to avoid continued reliance on coal and nuclear power. . . an appealingly quirky and moving film. . . will generate discussion. - School Library Journal

  • "Critic's Pick" - Nashville Scene Magazine

  • "One of the most important yet under-reported stories of our generation." - Dave Pelton, Clean Cities Director

    Award
  • Best Films - Energy, Environment, Natural Resources Category - Science Books and Films (AAAS)

    Item no.: BG01920015
    Format: DVD
    Audience: Grades 9-Adult
    Duration: 35 minutes
    Copyright: 2004
    StdBkNo.:
    Price: USD 95.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart


    BUILDING SUSTAINABILITY WITH THE NATURAL STEP

    By Margaret Zambrano, Patsy Northcutt

    The World Commission on Environment and Development has defined sustainability as "meeting the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

    Guided by the scientific principles of the Natural Step, the University of Houston Health Science Center is designing one of the most ecologically-friendly large scale buildings ever constructed. In order to achieve this, great care is being put into planning and collaboration between the faculty, students, architects, and engineers. Experts in lighting, renewable resources, life cycles, climate control, recycling, composting, and energy conservation are also involved.

    Review
  • "Lip service is cheap; action has real value. Here is an organization that is letting its actions do the talking." - Ray Anderson, CEO Interface, Inc. and Co-Chair, President's Council for Sustainable Development

    Awards
  • Honorable Mention, Earthvision Film & Video Festival
  • Bronze Award, 2000 Worldfest-Houston Festival

    Item no.: CG01920069
    Format: DVD
    Audience: Grades 10-Adult
    Duration: 22 minutes
    Copyright: 1999
    StdBkNo.:
    Price: USD 80.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart


    WILDERNESS: THE LAST STAND

    By Miranda Smith
    Narrated by Susan Sarandon

    Wilderness: The Last Stand is a powerful, investigative look at the status of America's last remaining virgin forests. It examines the impact of U.S. Forest Service (USFS) policies, vividly documenting the continuing harm caused by clearcutting. Compelling and beautifully shot, the video presents a wide range of opinions through interviews with conservationists, loggers, Vice-President Al Gore, USFS, and former agency employees who are organizing to change USFS logging policies.

    Reviews
  • "Four stars. Highly recommended for junior high through adult. This fine video serves to educate us all about this complex issue." - Video Rating Guide for Libraries

  • "Engaging...A scathing look at the timber cutting mindset that dominates the U.S. Forest Service." - Telluride Times-Journal

    Awards
  • Best of the Best in Broadcast Journalism
  • Best Documentary, Colorado Society of Professional Journalists
  • Chris Award, Columbus International Film Festival
  • Gold Medal, New York Festivals

    Item no.: VL01920169
    Format: DVD
    Audience: Grades 7-Adult
    Duration: 53 minutes
    Copyright: 1993
    StdBkNo.:
    Price: USD 95.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart


    HYDROLOGIC CYCLE, THE

    This program examines one of the most important processes that affect life on earth. The water cycle is covered from transpiration through evaporation to condensation, precipitation and run-off. This is an excellent introduction to a fast moving process that students see on a daily basis.

    Item no.: MJ08820392
    Format: DVD
    Audience:
    Duration: 21 minutes
    Copyright:
    StdBkNo.:
    Price: USD 155.00

    [Go top]

    Add to cart

    ***Price on web-site may not be current and is subject to modification by quotation***


    Email :
    inquiry@learningemall.com

    Websites :
    http://www.learningemall.com [ English ]
    http://www.learningemall.com.hk [ Chinese ]