Journey to Planet Earth: The State of the Ocean's Animals

Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley College, Mt. Carmel, IL -- School Library Journal, 8/30/2007

Journey to Planet Earth: The State of the Ocean's Animals. video or DVD. 55 min./25 min. edited version. Prod. by Screenscope in assn. with South Carolina Educational Television. Dist. by Screenscope. 2007. $149.

Gr 7 Up–Ocean species are rapidly disappearing. Cod fishing off the coast of Massachusetts is in trouble, developing nations in Africa that depend upon fish as a food source can not compete with "killing machines"(40 foot trawlers that clear-cut the deep sea), Japanese fishers kill sharks for their fins—and these are only a few examples cited in this documentary. Extraordinary film footage, sometimes bloody and graphic, is complemented with scientists' narratives explaining how climate change, over-fishing, and habitat destruction are destroying ocean animals. Narrator Matt Damon offers case studies to demonstrate the problems and possible solutions. The Emperor Penguin of Antarctica depends upon sea ice to reproduce and raise its young, but rising sea levels due to global warming are destroying its habitat. Loggerhead turtles in Florida face a similar fate. Another case study is the Klamath River in Oregon which has its water diverted to irrigation projects, thus destroying salmon habitat. These examples and the exceptional visuals and narration help viewers understand the problems of the oceans and what needs to be done. The longer version of this program contains more details and examples and will appeal to more advanced students in science and environmental studies classes. The edited version can be utilized with younger viewers and in short format classes. A significant addition to environmental studies collections.