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This week, Bob and the Focus Earth team bring you eco-reports from the city, the sea, and everywhere in between. Get the facts on the environmental legacy the 2008 Olympic Games will leave behind in Beijing, go deep into the world's oceans, see how alternative energy is reach across political party lines in the U.S., and learn how the future of farming may be in a city skyscraper.
From the campaign trail, we'll have the latest on what the Presidential hopefuls are saying about energy and the environment in the high-profile week before the Democratic National Convention. After visiting with the candidates, it's over to Washington, D.C. to check in with the current white house. Focus Earth has the story on how a new rule from the Bush administration, an attempt to consolidate environmental decision-making power by stopping state and local governments from placing local limits on industrial pollution stricter than those set at the federal level, was struck down in federal appeals court this week.
All across the U.S., we'll see how some big names in politics are taking steps towards alternative energy. In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is making plans to power the Big Apple with wind. In Las Vegas, President Bill Clinton delivered the opening remarks at the National Clean Energy Summit, an event bringing Democrats and Republicans together, to join forces for a greener energy future.
From Beijing, Stephanie Sy reports on the end of the 2008 games. Emergency measures have cleared the city's skies for now, but as the Olympics come to a close, we'll take a look at the environmental legacy the 2008 games will be leave behind for energy-hungry China when the athletes and the cameras depart.
We'll look at Florida's Tropical Storm Fay from a couple of angles, getting a birds eye view with NASA images of how the disaster battered the coast. Then, Jeffrey Koman will report on what stopped the storm from developing into a full-fledged hurricane that would have caused greater harm. Heading to the Grand Canyon, we'll see how heavy rainfall created an environmental tipping point, bursting a dam in a flash flood that left 400 people hurrying to evacuate.
In a special report on Oceans in Peril, we'll find out how we can fight the current crisis, and talk to some conservation royalty. Bill Blakemore has the facts on how carbon emissions are polluting the waters, and putting precious marine life in peril. He'll tell us what we can do to stop it, and how quickly we need to act. Then, Bob Woodruff sits down with Phillipe Cousteau, grandson of the legendary filmmaker and explorer, documentarian of the deep Capt. Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Phillipe will break down the challenges facing the world's seas, and share his quest to help people become good environmental stewards, protecting the oceans and the creatures who dwell there.
From the waters teeming with life, we move to the bustling urban landscape. Half the world's human population will move into cities by the end of this year, but with the average American meal traveling about 1500 miles to every dinner plate, finding a sustainable way to feed all those urban appetites may require some seriously creative thinking. Bob takes a look at some radical ideas to bring the farm closer to the city, including a new global solution that might house the future of food in a skyscraper.
