Return to the Amazon With Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures and the Next
Generations of the Cousteau Family Airing on PBS, April 2 & 9
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The Amazon: The most powerful of
the world's rivers, its rapid transformation will alter the global climate.
Emptying into the great Atlantic Ocean, it flows through the world's largest
tropical rainforest, the vast, natural theater where evolution has gone wild,
creating the greatest biodiversity of any area on the planet. Twenty-five
years ago, Jean-Michel Cousteau explored this fabled region with his father,
the legendary Jacques Cousteau. Since then, an area the size of Texas has
been deforested. With an intimate look at recent changes, Jean-Michel returns
with a new expedition for the signature PBS environmental series, Jean-Michel
Cousteau: Ocean Adventures. Combining science and discovery with expert
story-telling and astonishing footage, the new season premieres nationally
with Return to the Amazon, airing in two parts on April 2 at 8pm, and April 9
at 8pm (both 60 minutes), and is narrated by the acclaimed actor, Delroy
Lindo.
Traveling down the Amazon River basin with Jean-Michel are his children
Fabien and Celine and his crew of adventurous oceanauts. Over the course of
ten months, through wet and dry seasons, in the water and on land, the team
encounters debilitating challenges and uplifting discoveries throughout the
multiple expeditions and forays into both wild and developed regions. All
experienced ocean divers, they now have the unique experience of investigating
the murky waters of the Amazon basin, where there are more species of fish
than there are in the entire Atlantic Ocean! The team encounters many
unusual, rare species and surprises, including swimming with an anaconda, the
world's largest -- and perhaps most dangerous -- snake; going nose-to-nose
with the jacare, the Amazon version of the crocodile; and playfully swimming
with beautiful pink river dolphins.
Over 4,000 miles long, and without a single bridge crossing it, this is
the world's longest and widest river. Negotiating it is not easy. Covering
an area larger than the continental United States, the team travels together
on long river passages and also breaks into small, mobile groups, sending
Fabien and Celine on trips to investigate more leads. From the Brazilian city
of Manaus -- a hub of commerce on the main Amazon tributary, the Rio Negro --
to protected areas in the Amazon like Xixuau and Mamiraua Sustainable
Development Reserve, they investigate projects and places that are finding
solutions to the destruction of the land and river. From the mouth of the
Amazon at the Atlantic Ocean to a glacier in the Peruvian Andes, they explore
incredible natural phenomena and the catastrophic consequences of climate
change and deforestation.
Issues, challenges and problems that exist in the Amazon have a direct
connection to the rest of the world, especially through global commerce.
Expansive soy farms, lumber companies, commercial fishing, illegal animal
trafficking, and more come under close scrutiny, but the Cousteau family and
Ocean Adventures team uncover both inspiring and shocking stories throughout
Brazil and Peru. They investigate the crucial role of native people in
sustaining the natural rainforest and river system, and visit indigenous
peoples in small, remote villages, as well as in large, protected reserves.
New business models such as ecotourism, fish farms, organized fish monitoring
by markets and fishermen, and developing and exporting sustainable rainforest
products and medicines are all examples of potential solutions to global
issues, as clear progress is made in the Amazon.
From this region of urgency and conflict, where human enterprise and
expansion not only compromise the health and ecology of the river and
rainforest basin, but truly inflict consequences on a global scale, come new
beacons of hope and sustainability. The fight for the future of the Amazon
and its people is underway, and Return to the Amazon presents solutions
already in motion for keeping the forest alive and thriving.
Return to the Amazon is shot in high-definition and is narrated by Delroy
Lindo, the Tony award-nominated actor whose films include "Malcolm X,"
"Crooklyn," "Get Shorty," "Romeo Must Die" and "The Cider House Rules." He
most recently starred in the 2007 holiday hit, "This Christmas."
Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures is produced by KQED and Ocean
Futures Society. The exclusive corporate sponsor is The Dow Chemical Company.
About KQED
KQED (http://www.kqed.org) is a service of Northern California Public
Broadcasting, Inc. (NCPB). KQED Public Television 9, one of the nation's
most-watched public television stations during primetime, is the producer of
local and national series such as QUEST; Check, Please! Bay Area; Jacques
Pepin: Fast Food My Way; and Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures. KQED's
digital television channels include KQED HD, KQED Life-Encore, KQED World,
KQED Kids and KQED V-me, and are available 24/7 on Comcast. KQED Public
Radio, home of Forum with Michael Krasny and The California Report, is the
most-listened-to public radio station in the nation with an award-winning news
and public affairs program service (88.5 FM in San Francisco and 89.3 FM in
Sacramento). KQED Education Network brings the impact of KQED to thousands of
teachers, students, parents and the general public through workshops,
community screenings and multimedia resources. KQED Interactive offers video
and audio podcasts and live radio stream at http://www.kqed.org, featuring
unique content on one of the most-visited station sites in public
broadcasting.
About Ocean Futures Society
Ocean Futures Society (OFS) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. With
the motto, "Protect the ocean and you protect yourself," the mission of OFS is
to explore our global ocean, inspiring and educating people throughout the
world to act responsibly for its protection, documenting the critical
connection between humanity and nature, and celebrating the ocean's vital
importance to the survival of all life on our planet. OFS is based in Santa
Barbara, California, with offices in Paris, Lucca, Italy, and Sao Paolo,
Brazil. For more information, visit http://www.oceanfutures.org.
About PBS
PBS is a media enterprise that serves 355 public noncommercial television
stations and reaches nearly 73 million people each week through on-air and
online content. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet,
PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, and
consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions. PBS is a
leading provider of digital learning content for pre-K-12 educators and offers
a broad array of other educational services. PBS' premier kids' TV programming
and Web site, PBS KIDS Online (http://www.pbskids.org), continue to be
parents' and teachers' most trusted learning environments for children. More
information about PBS is available at http://www.pbs.org, one of the leading
dot-org Web sites on the Internet.
About Dow
Dow is a diversified chemical company that harnesses the power of
innovation, science and technology to constantly improve what is essential to
human progress. The Company offers a broad range of products and services to
customers in more than 175 countries, helping them to provide everything from
fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care
products. Built on a commitment to its principles of sustainability, Dow has
annual sales of $49 billion and employs 43,000 people worldwide. References to
"Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated
subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can
be found at http://www.dow.com.
SOURCE KQED
Yoon Lee of KQED, +1-415-553-3338, ylee@kqed.org; or Eileen Campion,
+1-212-966-4600, eileen@DRCpublicrelations.com, for KQED
