Wildlife Alliance

CNN's: Planet in Peril

Originally Published by CNN

In a sweeping four-hour documentary about the threats to the world's environment, CNN Presents: Planet in Peril takes viewers to places where environmental change is not a theory or just a future forecast, but a crisis happening in real time. 

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. Planet in Peril, filmed across four continents and 13 countries, airs over two nights on Tuesday, Oct. 23, and Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. (ET/PT).

 "Some documentaries convey alarming statistics and others utilize stunning cinematography, but Planet in Peril brings it all together," said Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. "This is a comprehensive and thorough evaluation of the state of our planet. We bring viewers right to the heart of the issue with CNN's global perspective."        

"The environment is more than just a niche news story; it is an issue that affects every living being and warrants greater attention in the press," Cooper said. "Our goal was to report not only on individual issues but to examine the interconnectivity of environmental changes.  Instead of simply delving into academic theories, we set out to document the actual changes taking place that affect the way we live our lives and the choices we make."           

Offering first-hand accounts of environmental strife, Cooper, Corwin and Gupta traveled across the globe to explore these changes and reveal what they mean for each region and the world at large.

Cooper and Corwin traveled 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 traveled 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. 

The debut of Planet in Peril, shot and produced using state-of-the-art high-definition equipment, comes on the heels of the Fall 2007 launch of CNN-HD, the network's high-definition news channel. 

CNN Productions, CNN's long-form programming unit, and the crews of Anderson Cooper 360°, an in-depth, comprehensive news program that takes a full 360-degree look at the world's events, worked jointly on Planet in Peril.