Archeologists recently unearthed a burial site in Turkey containing the bodies of 60 Roman gladiators. Tests to their remains led researchers to conclude that the gladiators all ate an exclusively-plant-based diet. In fact, they used the word "vegan" to describe the gladiators.

In the following video John McDougall MD describes the new find on gladiators and we learn the entire Roman army went on a vegan diet whenever they went into battle.

This is a short excerpt from Dr. McDougall's talk entitled "The Starch Solution". Dr. McDougall shows how every major successful culture throughout history has relied on a largely starch-based diet to be successful. www.drmcdougall.com

In this CNN documentary chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta, MD reveals the findings of a year's research in which he evaluated the preventive role of diet in avoiding and reversing heart disease. The documentary also features interviews with medical experts and former US President Bill Clinton.

This is the last 14 minutes - to see the whole 40 min doc (worthwhile) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-Unn7LjFkI

Space Debris - A new report warns the amount of debris in space is endangering satellites and space missions. For over 50 years now we have been launching satellites into space to explore our planet and the rest of the universe. But satellites are very expensive so in order to save money after they are dead we just leave them to orbit forever, becoming space debris and polluting low earth orbit. This pollution is dangerous to current and future satellites because these objects are moving so fast, that if they collide the results are devastating. Such was the case of the Iridium-Cosmos collision in 2009 that turned 2 objects into 1500 much smaller objects.

The amount of orbital debris (10 centimeters in diameter and larger) tracked by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network jumped from 9,949 cataloged objects in December 2006 to 16,094 in July 2011.

The uncontrolled fall of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite back to earth early morning September 24, 2011 appears to have not hurt anyone but  - NASA put the chances that somebody somewhere on Earth could get hurt at 1-in-3,200. But any 'one' person's odds of being struck were estimated at 1-in-22 trillion, given there are 7 billion people on the planet.

"This is not an uncommon event; space debris is re-entering out atmosphere all the time," said William Ailor, director of the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies at The Aerospace Corporation in California. "We are trying to learn everything that we can about orbital and re-entry debris so that we can protect space missions and human interests on the ground."

More: BBC news video on space debris here: www.youtube.com
Report "Limiting Future Collision Risk to Spacecraft: An Assessment of NASA's Meteoroid and Orbital Debris Programs" www.nap.edu

Félix Pharand video based on map experiments showing several features of our global civilization: cities, built environment, transmission lines, pipelines, main paved and unpaved roads and railways. Pharand sets to illustrate the Anthropocene (from Ancient Greek: anthropos—human being and kainos—new, current) used frequently in the scientific literature and best defined as the new human-dominated period of the Earth's history. www.globaia.org/en/anthropocene
 

More maps can be found here, including some with airline routes, shipping lanes and submarine cables: globaia.org/​en/​anthropocene/​

How do you make healthy choices at the supermarket? Food journalist Michael Pollan helps us navigate the grocery store to find fresh, whole foods. nourishlife.org

Have you ever wondered why a bunch of carrots costs more than a package of Twinkies? Food journalist Michael Pollan connects the dots between food policy, high-fructose corn syrup, and our health. www.nourishlife.org

In the eastern reaches of India, just north  of Bangladesh, lies one of the wettest places on earth. Each year brings 15 meters of rainfall. If a traditional wooden bridge were to be built in Cherrapunji over a waterway, it would quickly rot or be taken away by the rapid swells of water. So, instead of building bridges with dead wood, the locals have been building living bridges here for over 500 years. A latticelike network of roots and vines is trained by generation after generation to create living bridges that span lengths of over one hundred feet. The native Ficus Elastica (rubber tree) is guided from one side of the river across to the other, where it roots on the opposite shore as well.  It can take ten to fifteen years to nudge a bridge into functionality and no one person can maintain a bridge over its lifetime. This is a multigeneration collaboration. PermacultureForest -- See another video here: www.snotr.com

Urban runoff is a main source of pollution at beaches across the United States. But solutions, known collectively as "green infrastructure" can reduce the amount of polluted water flowing into our oceans, rivers and lakes. These techniques, which are available today, range from green roofs to permeable pavement and roadside plantings. It's a green wave of urban planning that's making for cleaner blue waters. To find if your beaches are clean, see  www.nrdc.org/beaches to explore NRDC's 20th Testing the Waters beachwater quality guide.

An orangutan cools himself off with a wash cloth at Tama Zoological Park, outside of Tokyo, Japan. Orangutans ('man of the forest' in Malay) are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools. They also make sleeping nests each night from branches and leaves (often with covers to protect from rain). Orangutans are currently found only in rainforests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, though they once roamed Java, Thailand, Vietnam and Mainland China. Although populations used to be in the millions, today they are gravely threatened with extinction due to habitat destruction from logging, farming, gold mining, fires (forest fires are intentionally set to clear land for oil palm plantations) and poaching for the pet and entertainment industry.

More info: www.orangutanrepublik.org & www.orangutan.org

Orangutans originated some 12 million to 16 million years ago. See: news.sciencemag.org

Orangutans and other animals sensed recent earthquake: www.washingtonpost.com

Orangutan orphan movie Born to Be Wild 3D see trailer here.

2010 AIBs People's Choice Short List entry - "Ross Kemp: Battle for the Amazon" Ross Kemp looks at how the production of two highly-valued commodities, cocaine and gold, is destroying and polluting the countryside in Peru, with farmers and workers struggling for existence, middlemen making vast profits and neither group caring about the long-term consequences. Part 2: www.youtube.com

Cordyceps - Journeyman Pictures does not allow their videos to be embedded. Please watch on youtube here: www.youtube.com 

Up in the mountains of Bhutan a mysterious grub-turned-mushroom is fueling a high-altitude rush for richness. Worth up to $80,000 per kilo, scientists believe it may be the miracle cure to change medicine.

Called cordyceps, "it's a fungus that kills insects in a horrible way", explains biologist Dr Hywel-Jones. Although not a friend to insects, many scientists are convinced that for humans it is a super antioxidant, a powerful antibiotic, energy booster, heart-helper, lung-improver and sex sustainer. Across Bhutan, thousands are making the arduous journey to the mountains in a quest to strike it rich.The scramble for the fungus has also spawned a fierce illegal trade and violent clashes in Tibet; something Bhutan is desperate to avoid."There's no reason why a small country like Bhutan cannot be a high-tech pharmaceutical industry...who knows what it could be giving to mankind in the future."

A Film By ABC Australia
Distirbuted By Journeyman Pictures
August 2011  28 minutes

Eagleowl
Photron Full HD High Speed Camera SA2

The mid-20th century discovery of oil and gas fields in central Texas changed the trajectory of several small towns in decline. But the boom bypassed the town of Roscoe.

From his nearby cotton farm, Cliff Etheredge watched the other towns grow. "To me, the hungriest man is the one who has to sit and watch somebody else eat," he said. "That's what we did here."

Then, in 2004, Etheredge saw a chance to cash in on the emerging west Texas wind boom. As chairman of Wind Works, a wind farm development company, he introduced wind energy to Roscoe. Landowners earn income for each turbine placed on their property and a percentage of the profits from the energy each turbine produces.

This content was created as part of PoweringANation.org, a News21 project through the School of Journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Nothing tells a story like the eyewitnesses who were there. Old-timers in New England's commercial cod fishery don't want us to forget how we arrived where we are today. These "old salts" remember vastly different conditions in the fishing industry just a few decades ago. In the words of one of them, "it was the most fantastic fishery I ever saw." Since then, overfishing—catching fish faster than they can reproduce—continues to deplete 10 of our dinner-time favorites, including Atlantic cod. For more information visit www.NewEnglandFishing.org

The broiler industry has changed drastically over the last 50 years and now produces more than 8 billion birds -- an increase of more than 1400% -- despite the loss of 98% of broiler operations over the last 50 years. The typical broiler chicken comes from a facility that produces more than 605,000 birds a year. The majority of these massive operations -- millions of chickens and the billions of pounds of waste they produce -- are concentrated in a handful of states that comprise the American Broiler Belt. For more information, visit www.pewenvironment.org/BigChicken

Ken Cook, President of the Environmental Working Group, discusses the Farm Bill, the massive subsides paid to industrial farmers and how we can all act to help advocate and improve this important legislation. Ken Cook calls on us to advocate for a Farm Bill that's also a Healthy Food bill. Some surprising stats about who's receiving federal farm subsidies.

South Africa's annual Sardine Run has been dubbed 'The Greatest Shoal on Earth'. This piscine spectacle occurs annually when millions of southern African pilchards follow a cold current northwards along the coast. An array of predators, including dolphins, sharks and gannets, take advantage of the abundant food supply and show up in their droves to feast on the silvery shoals.

Dolphins will typically split the shoals into smaller tightly packed clusters (known as baitballs) before the other predators move in to feed. Filming under these conditions can be very challenging, and camera operators are often bumped or knocked as they try to capture that perfect shot in the thick of the fast-moving action. www.earth-touch.com

A short documentary following British farmer Michael Hart as he investigates the reality of farming genetically modified crops in the USA 10 years after their introduction. Must watch video on issues with Round-Up Ready and GM seeds.

In 2007, orphaned baby elephant Chhouk was found wandering alone in the forests of Mondulkiri Province, Cambodia. Badly emaciated and separated from his mother, this endangered Asian elephant had lost his left front foot due to injuries sustained from a poacher's snare.

Now his lifestyle has improved with the help of a prosthetic foot. Today, Chhouk is a healthy bull elephant, able to take long walks in the forest, frolic in the pool, and play with his adopted big sister Lucky.

To learn more about Chhouk, Wildlife Alliance, and to make a donation to Chhouk's care, as Chhouk needs a new prosthetic each year, please visit www.wildlifealliance.org

San Diego Zoo's 5-month-old hippo calf, Adhama, is becoming increasingly playful and has developed quite a skill for water ballet. The name Adhama means "honor" or "glory" in Swahili.