The Promised Land

For the first half of his career, Wes Jackson was an academic. At 41, he was a tenured professor at California State University, establishing one of the first environmental studies programs in the country. And at 41, Wes Jackson decided to begin the other half of his career. He returned to his native Kansas and became a pioneer in the sustainable agriculture movement. Wes founded The Land Institute, which works to breed perennial grains that mimic the way grasses grow naturally – next to other species, and without tilling or replanting.

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Wes directs The Land Insitute

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Majora: You have one quote that, I swear, kind of left me a little cold: “Farming is humanities original sin.” What do you mean by that?

Wes: Well, let’s think what those ecosystems were like 10,000 years ago...

Pedro Sanchez

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Growing up in Cuba, young Pedro Sanchez's life was all planned out - he was going to follow his father's footsteps, by studying at Cornell and eventually taking over his father's business. But when his parents lost everything in the Cuban Revolution, Pedro had to throw out the plan. And it led him to a life dedicated to eradicating hunger, while restoring fertility and protecting the tropical environment.

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Pedro directs the Millenium Villages Project at the Earth Institute

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Pedro: I was a wimp when I was a little kid. I was short, I had all sorts of asthma. And then I grew a foot in a few months, and everything changed.

Majora: So puberty changed you? [laughs]

Carl Safina

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Carl Safina fell in love with birds first. As a child, he bred pigeons, and as a young ecologist, he worked to protect wild birds that he called "living jewels." But those birds led him to his most enduring love - the ocean. When studying seabirds, he realized that other ocean creatures - bluefin tuna, sharks, sea turtles - were declining.

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Carl's PBS television series shows success stories about marine conservationSaving the Ocean

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Want to know which seafood is environmentally sustainable?

Blue Ocean Institute's Guide

Baldemar Velásquez

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Growing up in a family of migrant farmworkers, Baldemar Velásquez spent his childhood in the fields, planting, weeding, and harvesting crops like sugar beets and berries.

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Walking the Walk with John Francis

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 19:47:33 +0000

John Francis spent decades of his life walking across continents, carrying a backpack, a banjo, and a message of respect for the earth. He takes host Majora Carter to his hometown of Cape May, New Jersey, and tells her how, through walking this country, he connected to people in surprising ways.

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Seeing Sweet Possibilities in Weeds

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 18:05:45 +0000

Brenda Palms Barber, the force behind a transitional jobs program that employs ex-offendors to make honey, shows Majora the view from her office window in Chicago. Where some might only see weeds, Brenda sees possibility.

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Conquering Fears in Yosemite

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 23:24:34 +0000

Leaders can emerge in surprising places, as host Majora Carter found out when she went to Yosemite National Park and crawled through a cave with teenagers.

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Climbing into the Canopy

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:00:35 +0000

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