This is John’s presentation on the ongoing recovery of the Loess Plateau and the hope it embodies for land conservation and an end to poverty in our time. The Loess project’s multifaceted effort remains an inspiration for sustaining life and land worldwide.

John in Tällberg

Patrick Video Library

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch our film Beating the Drum Loudly.  It’s in three parts below, and before the clips is a short description of the piece written by John:

Beating the Drum Loudly is a film that EEMP made in Uganda in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin Global Health Center and other collaborating partners. The film shows how a community can come together and serve everyone and how this collective support can help heal the sick and also heal the spirit of both those who need care and the care givers. It was a great privilege to make this film and shows the power of resolve because it was made only from small personal donations.

Beating the Drum Loudly Part 1

Beating the Drum Loudly Part 2

Beating the Drum Loudly Part 3

Michael Collins Africa, Video Library

Many of us spend a large portion of our time indoors.  The air we breathe at home or in the office is often short on oxygen and full of toxins that make us susceptible to colds.

I just came across this very interesting TED talk from Kamal Meattle, who tells us how to grow our own fresh air with three types of plants.  Be happy, healthy and productive with fresh air.

Michael Collins Video Library TED

Just wanted to share the video.  Traveling for two days.  Will discuss it this weekend when I’m back online.

Update: Willie Smits is working on the same problems as Earth’s Hope.  In this video he walks us through the path of destroying the ecosystem, and identifies the lost functionality.  He links this destruction with poverty.  He smartly understands that complete support and participation from the local population is absolutely necessary in order to rehabilitate the ecosystem.

Let’s learn from Willie Smits and try to figure out how we can help to create the change that he and you and I want to see in the world.

Michael Collins Video Library

Please take a few minutes to go through the three parts of A Line in the Sand, produced in 2001 by our Environmental Education Media Project in conjunction with TVE International and BBC World’s EARTH REPORT.  It tells the Earth’s Hope story of human actions destroying an ecosystem, creating poverty and desertification and then rehabilitating the damaged area.  You’ll find many of the Lessons of the Loess Plateau themes throughout the video.

Remember the hierarchy of ecosystem functionality.

A Line in the Sand Part 1

A Line in the Sand Part 2

A Line in the Sand Part 3

Michael Collins Ecosystem Rehabilitation, Lessons of the Loess Plateau, Video Library A Line in the Sand

Please take a few moments to enjoy David Attenborough and The Tree of Life.  A wonderful video on the evolution of life on the planet, it comes from the BBC One program, “Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life.”

Michael Collins Video Library BBC One, David Attenborough, Tree of Life

I wanted to reblog the Vivaldi Ants video from a week or so ago, because Kosima updated the editing on it.

I also wanted to draw your attention to the leafcutter ants.  They are fascinating.  Did you know they’re actually farmers?  After cutting pieces of the leaves, the ants transport them back to the colony where the leaves are chewed up, mixed with saliva and various chemicals and then used as fertilizer/food for the colony’s fungus garden.  The fungus produces small structures that the ants harvest for food.

In addition to the Wikipedia link above, try Britannica for more reading and National Geographic for a cool video.

Update: Credits for the the Vivaldi Ants

John D. Liu filmed and Kosima Weber Liu edited the piece.  Music in the background is by Antonio Vivaldi - Cello Concerto in C Minor, RV 401, Third Movement: Allegro ma non Molto, recorded by the Toronto Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Ofra Harnoy and Paul Robinson.

The stars of the piece are the red leafcutter ants who live by the Keio Waterfall int he Guyanna Rain Forest.

Canopy Capital commissioned John and Earth’s Hope/EEMP to put the film together.

Michael Collins Video Library Leafcutter ant

Check out a media project that Earth’s Hope and the EEMP put together with the Shanghai Philharmonic.  Live music set against a backdrop of natural images.

Michael Collins Video Library A Green Call, Video

Joachim just uploaded Lessons of the Loess Plateau to Google Video.  This has allowed us to keep it all in one file, as opposed to chopping it up in to 10 minute clips as it seems we have to do for YouTube upload.

What do you think of the quality?  Is this a better viewing experience?  We have a lot of content to put up, and we want to make sure it’s as easy for you to view as possible.

Michael Collins Lessons of the Loess Plateau, Video Library China, Loess Plateau, Video

John Liu just sent me a short video of leaf cutter ants in Guyana.  I’ve embedded it below, and you can follow it to our YouTube Channel: EarthsHopeChannel.

Remember, John’s in San Francisco for the next four days.  Feel free to connect with him: JohnLiu[at]eemp.org

Michael Collins Video Library Guyana, Rainforest, Video