CNN's Planet in Peril goes to the front lines of environmental change

Media News

Mumbai, October 16, 2007

Nearly a year in the making, PLANET IN PERIL takes viewers to four continents and 13 countries where environmental change is not a theory, or possibility, but a crisis happening in real time. Filmed in high-definition, this four-hour documentary tackles the threats to the world’s environment and airs on CNN International on October 24th & 25th (Part I) and Oct 27th & 28th (Part II).

Bringing viewers the stories behind the statistics, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Animal Planet host and wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin will focus on four main issues that threaten the planet and its inhabitants: climate change, deforestation, species loss and overpopulation.

Broadcast to a combined audience of more than 300 hundred million households on CNN International and CNN/US with an in-depth companion site on www.cnn.com/planetinperil, the documentary brings first-hand accounts of environmental strife as Cooper, Corwin and Gupta travel across the globe to explore these changes and reveal what they mean for each region and the world at large.

Cooper and Corwin travelled to Brazil to examine connections between the rapid deforestation of the Amazon River Basin and changes in the world’s climate, embedding with “poacher police” amid raids of illegal logging camps. In Thailand and Cambodia, they walk the markets where endangered animals are bought and sold to find out how their removal can affect entire ecosystems. Additionally, they travelled to Greenland to report on its melting ice sheet, where Cooper witnessed one of the world’s newest islands, discovered when the ice receded.

Taking viewers beyond the broad headlines, Corwin visits Alaska to help viewers understand how North America’s largest carnivore, the polar bear, is quickly losing its habitat and exists at the edge of extinction. Cooper and Corwin report from Yellowstone Park to show how park officials reintroduce species to their native environment.

With his extensive medical expertise, Gupta brings a deep understanding of the environmental pressures on the human population. In China, Gupta examines how the world’s most populous nation consumes its natural resources and the toll it takes on its people and the entire world. He also reports from Central Africa to show how climate change is drying up one of the world’s largest lakes and the impact that is having on a region already in crisis.

Airtimes: Indian Standard Times

Part One

Wednesday, October 24 at 0630-0830; 1830-2030

Thursday, October 25 at 0630- 0830; 1830-2030

Part Two

Saturday, October 27 at 1430-1630

Sunday, October 28 at 1530-1730

AIRTIMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

For further information, please contact:

Tanu Chawla

IPAN

Tel: 011 4249 2159 / 9212415772

Email: tanu.chawla@ipan.com