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Global warming, pollution, the melting of the polar ice caps and the vanishing rainforest are all contributing to making the earth sick, and all have an effect on the environment. It's going to take everyone's contributions to make our planet better. Eco=Kids is designed to help students take steps in the right direction toward making the Earth a better, an environmentally friendlier place to live. Each divided into three parts, these series report on the state of our planet today as seen through the eyes of their peers. Join our hosts as they demonstrate ways to help the Earth become healthy again.
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ECO KIDS EXPLORE features the 5 different types of "Green Power" which are becoming increasingly popular: Solar Power, Wind Power, Geothermal energy, Ethanol and Hybrid Cars. This series investigates these energy sources in an understandable way, which will help young viewers learn how to help solve the problems facing our earth today. As our world grows, so does the demand for energy. As pollution increases and our fossil fuels deplete there is a need for more reliable affordable and eco-friendly source of energy - Green Power.
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With today's high fuel costs, it is time to start looking beyond petroleum and into renewable resources to power our vehicles. Ethanol is a clean-burning fuel derived from plants, primarily corn. The corn is ground, cooked, fermented, distilled and dehydrated, then ready for use. Ethanol is combined with gasoline to produce a cleaner fuel that doesn't emit as many greenhouse gases as pure gasoline. Pure ethanol has not yet been approved to fuel our vehicles, but it is the fuel of choice for racecars. Indy cars operate on 100% ethanol fuel. By mixing gasoline with ethanol, we can extend our fuel supply. Join us as the Eco Kids explore the production of ethanol and highlight the importance it holds in the Green Power movement.
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Simply put, geothermal energy derived from heat produced by the core of the earth. Geothermal energy is one of the oldest renewable resources used by humans. It has been used since the Ancient Roman times as a heat source. Recently, we have begun to harness that energy as a source of power. Geothermal power plants take the heat from the earth and bring it to the surface to create steam that spins a turbine. We have a constant supply of heat from the earth. The challenge is finding where it is strongest and bringing it to the surface. The Eco Kids will guide us through this process and explain a few different ways that geothermal power plants operate. Find out how experts are working to fine tune the process and make geothermal power plants more affordable and useful across the country.
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The first hybrid car was introduced in 1905. It had two distinct power sources working together to make it run; gas and electric power. However, using only gasoline back then was cheap and easy to power, and the hybrid car was forgotten; until recently. Since the fuel widely used now is a non-renewable resource and becoming increasingly less affordable, the hybrid car is making a comeback. Hybrid cars are operated by a computer system called the Digital Drive Line. When you step on the gas pedal, you are telling the system how fast you need to go and the car decides whether to use gas, electric power or both. The benefit of the hybrid is that instead of running on gas for an entire trip, it uses non-polluting electric power when possible. The hybrid car is ideal for city driving and traffic. By using less gas, hybrid cars help cut pollution and helps save drivers money at the gas pump.
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Solar power is defined as the energy we produce by converting sunlight into heat or electricity. It is one of the most abundant and affordable sources of energy available. However, it is difficult to harness and impractical in some parts of the world. So, it is important to explore in-depth, the process of converting sunlight to power. The three primary ways to produce solar power on a large scale are solar power generating plants, photovoltaic cells and solar thermal heaters. The Eco Kids will take us through each process of energy conversion to help us better understand this clean energy technology.
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Wind is a natural resource that is readily available and virtually everywhere. Wind power is defined as the process of turning the kinetic energy of the wind into electrical energy. Humans have been harnessing the power of the wind for around 2,000 years. The Dutch made the windmill famous. Find out how the large wind turbines are built using a simplistic design and modern technology. They operate completely autonomously by rotating with the force of the wind. The blades turn on a rotor that is connected by a shaft to a generator that creates electricity. With the Eco Kids, we'll explore how the use of wind power is growing and becoming widely used throughout the world. It is an efficient way to use a clean renewable resource.
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From ancient civilizations to current day metropolitan cities, all societies have been shaped by the struggle to control water. The future of humankind will be shaped by the element of water and this struggle for control will establish the balance between peace and war, profoundly influencing relations between countries and continents. Climate change will also greatly affect water resources in the future. In the next decades huge water projects will radically change the face of the Earth. The future of water is a highly important global issue, which threatens the security of the entire planet.
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The ice on the Arctic Ocean continues to melt at an alarming rate. On Thin Ice focuses on the life of the ice-dependent seals, one of the key species in the Arctic and one of the first to suffer as the icy platforms for which they rely, melts away beneath them.
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Plastic floats. The World’s biggest plastic dumps are at sea. Millions of tons enter the ocean every year, pouring out from rivers and shores, ships and platforms. The world’s scientists have studied the phenomenon with alarming results.
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There will be a very large-scale super volcanic eruption from Yellowstone National Park. The question is not if it will happen, but when. For over a century, tens of millions of visitors have marveled at the natural beauty of Yellowstone National Park, home to the largest concentration of geysers in the world, including the iconic Old Faithful. However, beneath all this beauty lurks a beast.
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Potential conflicts are brewing between the nations that share the Nile River Basin. The days of the Nile only nourishing Egypt's great demand for water might be rapidly coming to an end. Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda are geographically located in the larger Nile basin and control the sources of the river. In recent years they have been demanding a greater share of the Nile's precious resource as demand comes closer to overtaking this finite supply. All 13 countries with access will have to come to agreements on how to share the Nile. Will this be the cause of the next war?
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