Planet In Peril

Leaders to focus on climate change at summit

World leaders converge Tuesday in New York to focus on climate change, with the clock ticking down toward a summit this year in Denmark, where a global climate change pact is to be signed.

'Climate change' forces Eskimos to abandon village

The indigenous people of Alaska have stood firm against some of the most extreme weather conditions on Earth for thousands of years. But now, flooding blamed on climate change is forcing at least one Eskimo village to move to safer ground.

'Earth' takes viewers on 'breathtaking' global journey

A polar bear falls through thin Arctic ice while searching for food for his family. A humpback whale guides her calf on a perilous 4,000-mile journey. A herd of African elephants in search of water battles a sandstorm in the Kalahari Desert.

Rainforest clash in Panama signals larger debate

Hunched over a campfire in eastern Panama, Embera tribesman Raul Mezua chanted a song his grandfather taught him when he was a boy.

Ancient microbes discovered alive beneath Antarctic glacier

Beneath an Antarctic glacier in a cold, airless pool that never sees the sun seems like an unusual place to search for life.

'Waterman's' weapon against pollution: Oysters

It's daybreak on Sara Creek, a sleepy backwater that sits near Yorktown, Virginia, and empties into the Chesapeake. The early morning fog slowly lifts to reveal the ripples of water, the boats swaying, and a picturesque harbor.

Kids draw on imagination in bid to clean up lead-tainted dirt

The students in Alita Richard's art class at Mcdonough Elementary School #42 work diligently, quietly with a laser-like focus.

'Farm fresh' movement a growing food trend

Michelle Obama is not the only one looking to feed her family freshly picked produce.

Endangered turtles race to save their future

With the exception of that come-from-behind win over an overconfident hare, turtles and racing have never really been a very good match.

Report lists America's 10 most endangered rivers

Rivers are the arteries of our infrastructure. Flowing from highlands to the sea, they breathe life into ecosystems and communities.

Large ice shelf expected to break from Antarctica

A large ice shelf is "imminently" close to breaking away from part of the Antarctic Peninsula, scientists said Friday.

Endangered right whales appear to be on the rebound

North Atlantic right whales, sort of the homely underdogs of the whale world, birthed a record number calves this year off the coast of the southeast United States, giving some scientists hope that the uber-rare and often overlooked species can recover.

Ninety years of birdwatchers' notes going online

More than 100 years ago, J.A. Loring had his eyes on the California sky and his hand on a pen.

Turning toxic coal ash into bridges, buildings

Despite the destruction it caused in a massive spill near a Tennessee power plant in December, coal ash has found many uses that benefit industry and even the environment.

Many bird populations in trouble, report says

Bird populations native to several areas of the globe are in decline, with some teetering on the brink of extinction, according to a multi-agency report, the first of its kind, released Thursday.

Recession squeezes recycling programs

When Lynn Heinisch and her neighbors in Atlanta's Lake Claire neighborhood take their recycling to the curb for pickup each Thursday, they cross their fingers and hope for the best.

Recession squeezes recycling programs

When Lynn Heinisch and her neighbors in Atlanta, Georgia's Lake Claire neighborhood take their recycling to the curb for pickup each Thursday, they cross their fingers and hope for the best.

Recession squeezes recycling programs

When Lynn Heinisch and her neighbors in Atlanta, Georgia's Lake Claire neighborhood take their recycling to the curb for pickup each Thursday, they cross their fingers and hope for the best.

Team battles Arctic winter to measure melting ice caps

It could be the ultimate test of human endurance: Three British explorers are risking their lives in subzero temperatures to measure the melting Arctic ice cap.

Stimulus may get small wind turbines spinning

The gale force of President Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus package could breathe new life into an emerging industry: small wind turbines.

Volunteers, scientists guard endangered whales

Glenn Wood and several other retirees lean on a wood rail on the second story balcony of the Golden Lion Café -- a beachside pub and restaurant in northern Florida.

Spotting endangered whales from the skies

Here's the setup of Jessica Taylor's office:

Should hunters switch to 'green' bullets?

Three years ago, Phillip Loughlin made a choice he knew would brand him as an outsider with many of his fellow hunters:

Growing excitement, expectations for green jobs corps

When Rita Bryer sees 300-foot-tall wind turbines sprouting up from the prairie near her home in western Oklahoma, she can't help but wonder about the view from the top, where blades the size of semi-trucks spin.

Undersea bombs threaten marine life

Beyond the golden beaches and beneath the blue waters of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques is a site that resembles more of a munitions graveyard than a Caribbean paradise.

Ice melting across globe at accelerating rate, NASA says

Between 1.5 trillion and 2 trillion tons of ice in Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska have melted at an accelerating rate since 2003, according to NASA scientists, in the latest signs of what they say is global warming.

Drought parches much of the U.S., may get worse

Marjorye Heeney knew something was wrong when she saw a bulging cloud of black dust darken the sky.

Fish migrating to cooler waters, study says

Climate-driven environmental changes could drastically affect the distribution of more than 1,000 species of commercial fish and shellfish around the world, scientists say.

Water cutbacks on tap for Mexico City

Five million residents in Mexico City and its metro area could soon start feeling the effects of water cutbacks imposed Friday due to drought conditions.

110-year-old 'living fossil' becomes a dad

It took about 110 years and some delicate surgery on his most private parts, but Henry -- a lizard-like creature from New Zealand -- is now a dad.

Global warming threatens forests, study says

Forests in the Pacific Northwest are dying twice as fast as they were 17 years ago, and scientists blame warming temperatures for the trend, according to a new study.

Countries in tug-of-war over Arctic resources

One of the planet's most fragile and pristine ecosystems sits atop a bounty of untapped fossil fuels.

Commentary: It's still the right time to combat global warming

Global warming data is released constantly these days -- and all of it shows that our planet is in peril.

Mekong a 'treasure trove' of 1,000 newly discovered species

A rat believed to be extinct for 11 million years, a spider with a foot-long legspan, and a hot pink cyanide-producing "dragon millipede" are among the thousand newly discovered species in the largely unexplored Mekong Delta region.

Commentary: What unites James Bond and dead monkeys

I am watching a 10-year-old boy carefully burn the fur off a dead monkey. And I'm learning again why nature is the ultimate safety net for the world's rural poor, about one sixth of the world's population.

Tracking deadly viruses' spread from animals to humans

The animals are gone.

History of environmental movement full of twists, turns

It was one of the most surreal images in American history: A river, so fouled with industrial waste that it caught fire and burned. In June 1969, Cleveland's Cuyahoga River become the poster child for the birth of the modern American environmental movement.

Commentary: Only China can save our sharks

At certain times in history, great nations find themselves shaping the future of the world. For many of our most endangered wildlife species, China finds itself in that role today.

Shark fin soup alters an ecosystem

There is no animal on earth more vilified than the shark. Pop culture references and annual, over-hyped reports of attacks on swimmers or surfers have put sharks on the top of the list of the world's most feared living things.

Commentary: Good planets are hard to find

Nature can be amazingly resilient, capable of adapting to constantly changing ecological conditions. And yet, this resiliency is limited and rapidly reaching the breaking point.

World's most valuable resource, a curse for most Nigerians

Trash litters its cities. Electricity is sporadic at best. There is no clean water. Medical and educational services are limited. Basic infrastructure is severely lacking.

Anderson Cooper free dives with great white sharks in South Africa

"Planet in Peril: Battle Lines" traveled to a place off the coast of South Africa known as "shark alley," one of the best places in the world to see great white sharks.

Battle lines around the world

'Planet in Peril: Battle Lines' Discussion Questions

Watch "Planet in Peril: Battle Lines" on Thursday, December 11, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CNN, hosted by Anderson Cooper, chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and "The Oprah Winfrey Show" correspondent and National Geographic host Lisa Ling. CNN's award-winning series examines the environmental conflicts between growing populations and natural resources. After watching "Planet in Peril," use these questions to focus students' attention on the concepts explored in the program.

Caring for the planet

Planet in Peril: Battle Lines

Polar bears resort to cannibalism as Arctic ice shrinks

Summer is over in the northern hemisphere, but it's been another chilling season for researchers who study Arctic sea ice.

CNN's 'Planet in Peril: Battle Lines' Pre-viewing Questions

"Planet in Peril: Battle Lines" airs on Thursday, December 11, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CNN, hosted by Anderson Cooper, chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and "The Oprah Winfrey Show" correspondent and National Geographic host Lisa Ling. CNN's award-winning series examines the environmental conflicts between growing populations and natural resources.

CNN Student News Learning Activity: Wildlife Defenders

Students will learn about the challenges that wildlife preservationists face in protecting wildlife from the adverse effects of human actions.

Legal battle over forest is victory for Paraguayan Indians

A small tribe of Indians in Paraguay who have had virtually no contact with the outside world won a legal battle this week when rights groups stopped a Brazilian company from continuing to bulldoze the forest to clear land for cattle ranches.

International air dates and times for 'Planet in Peril: Battle Lines'

"Planet in Peril: Battle Lines" returns this December on CNN International, hosted by Anderson Cooper, chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and "The Oprah Winfrey Show" correspondent and National Geographic host Lisa Ling.

The price of our oil addiction

Addiction exposes the deepest forms of physical and psychological dependency. It is typically considered a personal affliction or an individual failing. But the deadly solicitations of any addictive substance -- cocaine, alcohol, nicotine -- rely upon a social, economic, and political infrastructure.

Antarctic flights could help reveal what drives climate change

A team of scientists will use a World War II-era plane to explore one of the last uncharted regions of Earth, in hopes of learning more about climate change.

Economic miracle, environmental disaster

Decades of extraordinary growth have catapulted China to the top of the world's economic charts, earning the admiration of much of the rest of the world.

Meltdown: A global warming travelogue

For a long time -- the first 15 years that we knew about global warming and did nothing -- there were no pictures. That was one of the reasons for inaction.

Thirsty world: Desperate quest for water

Water is the key to life. It is fundamental to all human activities. Water grows the food we eat, generates the energy that supports our modern economies and maintains the ecological services on which we all depend. Yet billions of people worldwide still lack access to the most basic human right: safe, clean, adequate water.

Children of the black dust

As she cleans the carbon rods from exhausted D-cell batteries, Marjina holds her young child on her lap and gently lulls her to sleep.

Polar bear now listed as 'threatened' species

Polar bears will now be listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.

Ruthless drought in West Timor puts children in crisis

Maria's labored breath echoes within the walls of her family's mud hut. Her tiny, bony hands open and close in slow claw-like motions.

Global warming could increase terrorism, official says

Global warming could destabilize "struggling and poor" countries around the world, prompting mass migrations and creating breeding grounds for terrorists, the chairman of the National Intelligence Council told Congress on Wednesday.

Florida to buy 'missing link' of Everglades for $1.7 billion

The state of Florida has agreed to buy nearly 200,000 acres of land from a major sugar producer in a $1.7 billion deal to help restore the Everglades, Gov. Charlie Crist announced Tuesday.

Plan to save whales strangling in red tape

Whaling fleets nearly wiped out North Atlantic right whales last century. Now these huge mammals are threatened by other human behavior: big ships, fishing gear and entanglement in federal bureaucracy.