Hotspots, a new PBS movie

Starting this month, a new PBS documentary-three years in the making-will change the way Americans see life on Earth. Scientists the world over now agree that Earth is experiencing runaway mass extinction of life across virtually all ecosystems.
The bottom line? Life on Earth is dying off, fast. The good news? People everywhere are waking up and doing something about it.
Far from being just another nature film with awe-inspiring aerials (although it sports some), HOTSPOTS takes American television audiences to the front lines of some of the most far-flung places on Earth. Viewers are given a first-hand look at a global movement of local initiatives to stop Earth’s 6th mass extinction dead in its tracks and bring our biosphere back from the brink an ecological bankruptcy that would know no bailout.
Dr. Tobias, the film’s producer and director, nails it when he says that “mass extinction is the mother of all issues” and that “there is a direct connection between our dual economic and ecological crises.” Far from pessimistic, HOTSPOTS profiles pioneers of a new kind, unsung heroes around the world who are working to save Earth’s last life banks from complete collapse.
Dr. Russell Mittermeier, president of Conservation International and the film’s host, is available by phone, often from the frontlines of a biodiversity hotspot. Dr. Michael Tobias, president of Dancing Star Foundation, a global ecologist with over 100 films and 35 books to his credit, is available in Los Angeles. Both are ready to share the latest news on biodiversity loss and protection, and each has an epic eye-witness perspective to share on mass extinction-why we need to act now and the unprecedented opportunity that this challenge gives us to get it right for generations to come.
HOTSPOTS will air on PBS affiliates throughout December and run well into 2009. A companion DVD is also available from the PBS online store and DancingStarFoundation.org. Thank you for considering coverage or passing this along to someone who might. I’ve included our new release below for your reference.
In the mean time, I invite you to watch the trailer.