BBC has put on DVD one of the most stunning, exciting, educational series and it is all about our home planet. It is called Earth - The Biography. Dr. Ian Stewart presents the fabulous story of our planet, how it came to be, and how it works.
The Earth is a fascinating planet, a combination of forces that are continuously working to renew and regenerate. Dr. Iain Stewart takes us on an adventure that starts four billion years ago with the coalescing of space debris into a ball form with a very hot core.
This is how the forces that we know as volcanoes came to exist on our planet, and the creation and recreation of the molten stone is beautifully illustrated by observing a lake of lava in a remote area in Ethiopia.
From Ethiopia we travel to Iceland to see an example of the rift line, the boundary of the North Atlantic plate, and how volcanoes and earthquakes both work to build up mountains and land masses. In the episode “Atmosphere” Dr. Stewart takes to the skies in exploration of two of the four layers of the gases and moisture that surround and protect the Earth.
There is the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere, and each layer plays an important role in making earth habitable for all life. “Ice” is another great force that shapes and changes Earth’s surface. From the great ice ages of the distant past, to modern day glaciers the power of frozen water upon the landscape is displayed.
From frozen water Dr. Stewart takes us to the living oceans to discover their powerful influence on the Earth, carving the coastlines, capturing the energy of wind and gravity and carrying it all around the planet.
In the final episode “Rare Planet” we look at the series of fortunate events that made Earth the special place that it is, and some of the challenges it faces today. From the dangers of meteor hits to loss of atmospheric protection because of human interference, we see that our Earth is vulnerable in spite of its amazing capabilities.
Earth: The Biography is presented on two discs with all five episodes from the series. It is in widescreen format and has captions for the hearing impaired. The running time is over 230 minutes.
This is a beautifully produced series, and belongs in everyone’s DVD collection.
Earth - The Biography is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for this version of the DVD in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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