for every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction it's one of the
fundamental laws of physics of nature
nothing occurs in a vacuum in the
natural world there are ripple effects
and that is putting our planet in peril
this journey around the globe is an
investigation into the reasons our
planet is changing it's about the front
lines the places where threats aren't
just forecasts of the future but are
happening now where forests are lost
we're destroying nature's natural
regulator
where islands are discovered this island
exists because of global warming where
water is poisoned a lot of people live
around here and are dependent on this
water where endangered animals are
bought and sold and killed there's a lot
of animals right here that range the
gamut of critical status where people
are dying we're hearing that people are
getting cancer from drinking water
this is a planet under assault this is a
planet in peril
this documentary is the results of a
year-long investigation dr. Sanjay Gupta
wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin and I
traveled to some 13 countries on four
continents to examine climate change
overpopulation deforestation and species
loss problems which as you'll see
tonight are all interconnected the UN
now estimates we are losing species at
1,000 times the natural rate of
extinction that is a staggering figure
species are disappearing in part because
of the black market trade of wildlife
and that's where our investigation
begins tonight behind a closed door in a
cramped and sweltering room in a police
station
an informant maps out the secret she's
seen in Bangkok's infamous JJ market
there was a glass tank up small for her
own safety we can't show her face this
is a dangerous and tricky job the police
hope to catch dealers selling rare and
endangered animals but first they need a
plan on how to enter the market without
anyone suspecting them
JJ market officially called Jo jock is a
sprawling weekend market that attracts
buyers from around the world
[Music]
at first glance it's not much different
from many time markets but behind the
bustle there are dark secrets
this is one of the main hubs for illegal
wildlife trafficking in Southeast Asia
some of the animals are taken from
Thailand's forests and waters but many
are stolen from places as far away as
Africa and South America
wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin is
helping us investigate this illegal
trade our team puts on undercover
cameras posing as tourists checking out
the market on a typical Saturday
afternoon
the stalls are packed not only with
people but with animals for sale many of
the animals look as though they're dead
or close to it due to the stifling heat
it's inhumane perhaps but selling all
these animals is perfectly legal but as
we move deeper into the market we begin
to find endangered animals these are
endangered tortoises from madagascar
selling for about 500 US dollars each
the dealer proudly tells us it's because
they're rare there aren't many left in
the world he says they're also illegal
to sell
the cameras are not welcome in the
animal market everywhere we find signs
like this one no photo dealers here no
they have to be careful because there's
an international treaty called sight
'yes that's supposed to protect
endangered species like the two small
primates called slow lorises we discover
just left of the sign in the front
window
but as will soon find out in Thailand
there are real problems enforcing
international treaties inside this door
we find even more threatened species to
South American marmosets going for
almost twenty seven hundred US dollars
each the shop owners are suspicious
making it difficult for our cameras to
get close to the other animals not
wanting to cause a stir our team leaves
the Thai police planning to raid these
stores or from the natural environmental
Crimes Division hose the middleman
0they're working with conservationist
Steve gall starts in the park
gall stirrer is the co-founder of
wildlife Alliance conservation
organization that helps train local law
enforcement to recognize and protect
their native species goal stirs worked
as a conservationist for more than 20
years it is risky work he's gone
undercover in Russia Afghanistan and
throughout Africa in each place he
stopped wildlife trading rackets this
undercover video he shot helped convict
this Russian police officer who was
illegally selling tiger skins
the United Nations environmental program
says we are now losing anywhere between
eighteen and fifty thousand species of
plants and animals every year as we said
earlier that's up to 1,000 times the
natural rate of extinction dangered
animals like tigers are killed and sold
for meat medicine and trophies bear paws
are cut off dried and sold as ashtrays
sharks are pulled from the ocean their
fins cut off for soup where do all these
animals and their parts end up Gul ster
says the top two importers of illegal
wildlife are China and America
and it's big business the trade is
estimated at between 10 and 20 billion
dollars a year bolster believes up to 1
million animals are shipped through
Thailand every year many of them make
their way through Bangkok so Jack market
back inside the police station the mood
is tense the police believe the wildlife
traders have their own Scouts looking
for any signs of a coming raid if they
find they finally agree on a plan
informant will take an unmarked car to
the market
and through a series of signals guide
the police to the illegal sellers
officers received their final orders and
break into teams it's about four miles
to the JJ market and with the informant
already there there's no way to tell if
the illegal traders have already been
tipped off
it's rush hour in Bangkok
we're riding with heavily-armed Thai
police and wildlife alliances Steve gold
market we've split into two teams
wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin is just
ahead of us
an informant and her team took these
pictures just yesterday with an
undercover camera endangered animals
being bought and sold the informants now
at the market hoping to guide police to
the illegal dealers obviously these
dealers are very sensitive to anyone
coming very sensitive this is why you
just saw the police takes so much
preparation it just takes one leak or
one person sensitive there's an
undercover cop routed word goes all
around the market and they pad lock
their doors close down and they can't
get anything we drive into the market
and the police start their work on foot
JJ's like a labyrinth we weave through
the small aisles it's clear word of our
arrival is spreading animal dealers are
closing their shops they know there's a
provision in Thai law that makes it all
but impossible for police to enter a
closed store this door right here was
just opened so is this one it's most
curious that as we enter this market
with these police officers door start to
closed
the police keep moving toward the back
of the market where they make a
discovery this is illegal warehouse
right now where some of the people who
are selling birds in this market they'll
store them here over the weekend
authorities shut this warehouse down
less than a month ago already
it's reopened stocked with birds plucked
from Thailand's forests it's illegal to
sell native species that's right so you
see the conditions they're kept in here
if you walk in here you're gonna burn up
really fast and see how hot I am
standing outside upstairs here they got
an attic - there's no cooling system and
I'm keeping them fed he's a dead already
and that is all too common
US Customs estimates 90% of the animals
smuggled into America died before
reaching their final destination most of
the animals smuggled it to the US or
birds and reptiles sold as exotic pets
the police keep moving
and find the store that just yesterday
was selling these animals including the
endangered slow lorises now it's locked
the police will break into the store
only if they can confirm the two slow
lorises are still h
they're native to Thailand and only that
fact makes their sale illegal the lights
on even if police identify animals
protected under an international treaty
call sight ease Thai law stipulates that
only protected animals native to
Thailand are illegal to sell we've got
that little marmosets in the back No so
there's definitely threatened animals
perhaps a dangerous right here that
range the gamut of critical status
but the officers hands are tied by their
own law so only if they can identify a
species that is from Thailand and being
illegally traded can they actually break
in that's right and with regard to
species from other countries they
actually have to prove that that person
smuggled it in otherwise the traders
here that's why Jetta check market was
so rife with the illegal walnut trade so
for now there's gonna walk away they
have to
the Thai government does recognize it
has a problem
[Music]
aligned with wildlife Alliance they
launched a campaign aimed at educating
people about the need to preserve rare
and endangered species they've also
enforcement network with neighboring
countries they've got the regulations
there's signatures to all the major
international treaties but in some ways
it's it's like a paper tiger because
it's hard for them to actually engage
the necessary enforcement enforcement of
international laws protecting wildlife
is a problem around the world
contradictory local laws corruption and
the low priority most governments give
to protecting endangered species means
the global trade of wildlife continues
to thrive
hi how are you before leaving the market
we make another stop at one of the
stalls where we saw the endangered
radiated tortoises from Madagascar he's
at Madagascar by now no surprise they're
gone
the rare tortoises replaced with a far
more common variety to endangered
turtles from Madagascar now hidden
somewhere behind these walls two
endangered turtles pulled from their
wild habitat thousands of miles away
why does that matter what's the world
without two more turtles from Madagascar
the fact is for some endangered species
every animal counts and in a place like
Madagascar every species lost can have a
major impact on the ecosystem Madagascar
is an island off the southeast coast of
Africa it's incredibly rich in terms of
biodiversity and there's a real battle
going on there right now to protect the
the species on that island it's so
important we we've asked Jeff to go
there to the frontline
this is a place where 90% of the
wildlife can be found nowhere else on
earth there it goes
this is a place where only 10% of the
natural habitat remains this is
Madagascar
it is one of the world's largest islands
isolated from mainland Africa for more
than a hundred and sixty million years
[Music]
the small pockets of remaining forests
explode with life but you have to look
closely if you let your eyes just sort
of drift down the trunk of this tree
you'll see spots of lichen and moss and
little bumps along the bark what's so
amazing is that there is a lizard here
it's hard to see the camouflage is that
good
it is a Europe lattice gecko it just
moved
isn't that amazing it also perfectly
illustrates how many of the animals here
survived they survived by being
specialists this creature is so specific
to this tree to this habitat it cannot
survive anywhere else okay
and that is why conservation
internationals Russ Mehta Myers here we
really want to protect his group is
working to protect what are called
biodiversity hotspots regions that are
both unique and threatened you're going
to try to avert an extinction crisis
which we're facing right now we've got
to focus a lot of attention on hotspots
like Madagascar of all the animals here
the most well known is the islands
primate the lemur where did you see them
when we come back our journey to eastern
Madagascar to come face-to-face with an
animal on the brink of extinction the
world's largest lemur the indriya Bob
and to track down one of Madagascar's
most mysterious animals one that's
eluded cameras for decades
I stand see there's the envy right here there
[Music]
out of the 100 plus species of lemurs
living in Madagascar the injury is the
largest and can weigh as much as 20 pounds
[Music]
very it's very eerie very melancholy and
when they start in the morning you can
hear them calling all over the forest
[Music]
but it is only here in these remote
rainforests in eastern Madagascar that
the injury exists they will not breed in
captivity there's no backup there's no
safety valve in terms of a captive
colony you got to protect them in the
wild and if they disappear they are
there Glosser ever
lost forever due to hunting and massive
habitat destruction forests are not only
essential to the survival of wildlife
they also provide stability for the
landscape without them the soil
literally collapses so the threat to
Madagascar's animals doesn't just come
from illegal wildlife traffickers like
the ones we saw in Bangkok it's also
from the loss of habitat conservation
International says every year roughly
350 square miles of forest are destroyed
[Music]
one of the poorest countries in the world
the World Bank estimates 70% of the
people here live on less than one dollar
a day so people will do anything to make
money and it's usually the forest that
pays the price grazing rice paddies
every time one of our rapid assessment
program expeditions goes out we find
literally everything from insects all
the way up to new species affirming a
rap or rapid assessment program is a
novel way scientists are trying to save
what force remain here if you discover
new species the thinking goes the
government will protect the land where
it was discovered previous wraps have
discovered over 550 new species and that
led to the protection of more than eight
point six million acres of land we
wanted to go on a raft so we traveled
north to the odd row Femina forest so
this is your fuel station over here yep
the camp is over here and the forest is
over there Russ minim I was one of their
early adopters of raps as a field
biologist with the PhD Mitte Meyer has
spent more than 30 years in the field in
the past ten years alone he has
discovered two species of primates here
in Madagascar both of which have been
named after him
trekking through this dense jungle gives
you just a quick sense of the challenges
these biologists face every day as they
enter this force they can come out here
and discover new species where they
could spend 15 hours in this jungle and
get absolutely skunked it's like finding
a needle in a haystack
but let me tell you when you make that
discovery it's worth the effort and this
my friends is the payoff a glimpse had a
very unusual very mysterious and rare
species of lemur the black sifaka
[Music]
you are looking at one of the first
videos ever taken of the blocks of acha
[Music]
one of the rarest lemurs in the world
[Music]
and this is the this is very very
exciting
[Music]
on the forest floor we sit and watch as
the mysterious creatures leap from tree
to tree
just five or six years ago we didn't
even know for sure whether there were
black sea in this forest and it's
not a protected forest doing the rap
expedition and many other efforts that
are underway will hopefully get this set
aside as a protected area in the next
few years only then will the critically
endangered black sifaka have a chance of
surviving as night falls in the forest
and Madagascar's nocturnal creatures
come to life we begin to make our way
back to care our encounter with the
black sifaka one of the most endangered
primates in the world is a reminder of
just how extraordinary Madagascar's
dwindling forests really are it's
entirely possible that when we go out
tomorrow we may even discover a new
species i had a me slip right through my
fingers
this creature is quite the mystery isn't
it we don't know who this is
[Music]
you
it is early morning and one the
outskirts of the odd Rafi Amina forests
in northern Madagascar conservation
internationals Russ met amar and his
team of scientists gear up for what they
hope is a day of discovery
this was the scene from yesterday video
of the black sifaka one of the first
times this critically endangered animal
has ever been cotton tape the scientists
here are conducting what they call a
rapid assessment program or rap it is a
fast-paced inventory of threatened
habitat and it's not uncommon to
discover new animal species on wraps we
team up with patron a herpetologist as
he heads out to inventory the forest
wildlife the whole point of a rap is to
move efficiently and quickly and that
can be tough in this dense forest but
sometimes it does pay off this is why
truly the day gecko an incredibly
beautiful but previously identified
species part of the wrath is to catch
the animals you find for study but
that's easier said than done when it
comes to lizards I've got a lot of
pressure riding on me here I want to
catch him without hurting him I don't
want to let him get away
I'm being outsmarted by a vertebrate
with a a brain about his big is a
hangnail there we go look at this
gorgeous gorgeous lizard I mean he is as
emerald and as green as the foliage
which basically swallows him up but
while I'm tracking down the day gecko
but Ron finds two others and one of them
doesn't look familiar this may be a new
animal species go in the bag we rush
back to camp where research on this
mystery lizard starts quickly
it's not large and it's actually tiny
it's an adult animal only an inch in
length its coloration is rather drab it's not
nearly as brilliant in color as that day
gecko but this creature is quite the
mystery isn't it we don't know who this
is it to be so gentle don't you because his
head is so fragile to take a measurement
like that my goodness
the yelling is cool about it is that
this adult lizard as a spine a three
chambered heart a set of lungs but
almost microscopic in design
[Music]
if it is indeed new the discovery would
stand in stark contrast to current
trends of species loss
scientists think we are right now in
what they call the sixth great spasm of
extinction in Earth's history in the
past ice ages comets natural events led
to the extinction of species this time
though man is solely to blame Russ
minimizer says that's dangerous
territory
we have to be careful not to think that
we can dominate everything and control
everything and fix everything by
technology because we can't the
environmental underpinnings have to be
solid we have to protect the nature upon
which we ultimately depend for our own
survival it will take months of
intensive lab research to learn if this
gecko is indeed a new discovery but the
chances are very good
more new species of animals are found in
this dwindling habitat than just about
any other place in the planet and those
discoveries might be the only thing that
can save Madagascar's animals from
disappearing forever
[Music]
there's no disputing it today our planet
is losing species at an unprecedented
rate the great question is what is the
value of a species loss one way to look
at this is to actually turn this
situation upside down instead of looking
at species loss look at species recovery
and to better understand this anderson
has made his way to Yellowstone National
Park where he's exploring the recovery
of one of North America's most
charismatic and controversial carnivores
[Music]
Yellowstone National Park
[Music]
crown jewel of America's Park System its
beauty is otherworldly a fully intact
ecosystem scientists say this is the
natural world as it should be but it
hasn't always been this way sometimes
it's hard to see the impact the loss of
one species can have on an entire
ecosystem in order to demonstrate it you
sometimes have to look at the reverse
what happens when one species is
reintroduced to an ecosystem we've come
here to Yellowstone Park because in 1995
gray wolves were brought back to this
park a total of 41 wolves were brought
back here over two years and since then
their numbers have increased steadily
and they've had a major impact on this
entire area to get a sense of that
impact we wanted to see the animal for
ourselves this late afternoon in the
park and the light is fading fast
it's not easy to find the wolves they're
elusive and very sensitive to the
presence of humans there's a lot of
running ducking and hiding there's a
bison which died several hundred yards
from here along a little river at night
the wolves are gonna come and feed on it
they were out here last night it's a
good chance they'll be back tonight so
we're trying to get as close as possible
we don't want to scare the wolves off by
getting too close
there's a wolf right there he's standing
on a rock yeah
there see
we're losing light in Yellowstone
National Park trying to get into
position to see an animal that has
captured people's imaginations and
changed nearly the entire ecosystem of
the park
there's a bison which died several
hundred yards from here along a Little
River at night the wolves are gonna come
and feed on it did they always feed
around this time yep this is about the
time that come out Doug Smith is the
wildlife biologist in charge of the wolf
reintroduction project
we hunker down in the sagebrush for
about 30 more minutes then spot movement
in the distance yeah yeah okay great
you're officially a wolf watcher now and
is that your first wolf yeah okay great
that we're actually seeing wolves here
is something that just 15 years ago
seemed impossible viewed as both pests
and vicious predators wolves were the
target of a government-sponsored
extermination campaign at the beginning
of the 20th century
along the way they were completely
eliminated from the park but public
perception and biological appreciation
for the wolf began to change in the
1980s bison and elk populations exploded
because there were no natural predator
like the wolf to keep their numbers down
in 1995 after a pitch battle with the
nearby ranching community who were
afraid wolves would kill their livestock
Doug Smith transplanted the first wolves
back into Yellowstone the reintroduction
is now considered one of the greatest
conservation success stories in the past
few decades we think is about wolves the
surprise people surprised everyone here
just how adaptive they are yeah I think
so you know they just fell right back
into their old role even though they had
been missing for 70 years and that role
the role of just one single species has
profoundly altered Yellowstone's entire
ecosystem it's what scientists call a
trophic cascade when one animal usually
33:42
a top predator has a cascading top-down
effect on different levels of the food
chain
it's almost a paint-by-numbers
illustration of how a healthy ecosystem
should work it starts with the wolf's
favorite prey L and I was circling for
wolves from his observation plane
earlier in the week
Doug saw wolves surround and kill a bull
elk he takes us into the shallow draw
where he thinks we'll find the carcass
there is there's virtually nothing left
and so he probably died right here so
these bones all around here there's leg
34:20
bones here there's leg bones up there
34:22
we're done by wolves bears coyotes what
34:26
we call the scavenger community I have
34:29
not seen that beetle but it doesn't stop
34:31
for the big animals a single wolf kill
34:33
means even the little ones eat to even
34:36
things like these little beetles these
34:38
little bugs here yep we've actually
34:40
documented a team of researchers and
34:43
that work with us hundreds of different
34:45
species appeals that use wolf kilts we
34:48
estimate just a ballpark figure you know
34:51
two thousand elk are hitting the ground
34:53
a year in this part of Yellowstone due
34:56
to about seven wolf packs so you add all
34:58
that up for the vertebrate scavengers
35:00
the invertebrates scavengers these bugs
35:03
that becomes a real direct effect of
35:06
killing in terms of the big picture of
35:08
ecosystems that wasn't taking place
35:11
before wolves got here that trophic
35:16
cascade because of the wolf's presence
35:17
here doesn't stop with what it kills
35:20
there's also a ripple effect through the
35:23
plant life this is Stan of willows yeah
35:26
it is and this stand has grown up in the
35:31
last ten years since wolves were
35:33
reintroduced so before when there were
35:36
no wolves here what would this look like
35:38 six beavers in this part of the park
this stand was much shorter I can't 36:53
35:41 there are now more than ninety what
remember exactly but it certainly wasn't 36:55
35:44 impact of beavers have what other
over my head like this so before there 36:57
35:46 species do they imp it well beavers are
were wolves here the elk had no one 37:00
35:48 great creators of watery habitat so
attacking them no one hunting them so 37:03
35:50 anything that uses water is gonna
they had a lot of time to just chew on 37:05
35:51 benefit
willow bushes that's true and there were 37:06
35:54 this is really good habitat for fish
a lot more elk so the combination of 37:09
35:57 birds amphibians small mammals moose
behavioral changes in the elk getting 37:14
35:59 mink otter this was just a metal and now
inside their head worrying about wolves 37:17
36:01 it's a pond and that creates a lot of
and fewer elk we think has conspired to 37:20
36:06 opportunity for life
produce a flush and growth on these 37:28
36:08 we came here really because we've been
willows and that flush in Willow growth 37:30
36:11 traveling around the world looking at
is now providing a rare and critical 37:32
36:13 how the removal of one species can have
habitat for songbirds cover for birds 37:34
36:18 an impact this is sort of the reverse of
and food for beavers remember all of 37:37
36:21 how the insertion of species can have a
this is because of just one animal 37:41
36:23 ripple effect absolutely this is an
houses affected the the beaver 37:44
36:25 important kind of lesson for the rest of
population 37:46
36:26 the world because carnivores across the
well they've taken advantage of it too 37:48
36:28 globe have been targets of human
willows a key food for them they build 37:51
36:31 persecution and so we're trying to study
dams and lodges with it so they've 37:53
36:33 and understand these are carnivore
responded as well I'm gonna try to find 37:56
36:36 effects on how they structure ecosystems
something yeah we can look 38:01
36:38 back to the wolf kill as the Sun is
[Music] 38:04
36:41 setting
so that's a Beiber life yeah the beavers 38:04
36:45 more the Lamar Valley pack comes in to
put that Lodge in here a few years ago 38:06
36:46 eat then there's a report of a fight in
and they dam the creek to create this 38:11
36:48 the distance between a bear and a wolf
pond before the Wolves there were around 38:13
36:51 and this is exactly what you had hope
38:16 natural world we're hearing that people
for along with the reintroduction feed 40:01
38:18 are getting cancer from drinking water
this kind of active natural cycle yep 40:03
38:23 what are we doing to ourselves let me
absolutely wolves fighting with black 40:06
38:26 just ask you if you ever had anyone pass
bears is natural and eating bison 40:07
38:29 out from you giving so much blood
carcasses is natural and it restores 40:13
38:33 [Music]
Yellowstone to what it used to be 40:18
38:36 [Applause]
[Music] 40:20
38:38 Cambodia's bokor national park a
Doug mentioned how predator species 40:24
38:40 protected forest under threat it's green
around the world are under threat 40:29
38:42 mountains surrounded by miles of
there's no better example of that than 40:31
38:43 clear-cut countryside the park has an
what's happening right now in Cambodia 40:37
38:45 eerie quality its highest point is
Jeff Corwin and I are headed there next 40:39
38:47 dominated by the shell of a 1 /
in order to go on patrol with some 40:41
38:49 british-run resort we've come to see how
Rangers tried to save the last of 40:47
38:51 poachers capture wild animals and in
Cambodia's endangered tigers they've 40:51
39:10 these forests there's one predator both
just getting the Hansen also to get down 40:53
39:12 poachers and protectors are searching
they've seen several people in the 40:55
39:14 for you think the tiger is still alive
forest they're not sure if they're 41:12
39:15 concerned this park was unprotected
poachers or if they're people just 41:15
39:16 conservationist Steve gall stur came
drinking the forest 41:17
39:21 here in 2001 with wildlife Alliance it
you 41:22
39:28 was then using cameras hidden in the
the back alleys of Thailand's animal 41:23
39:31 forest they caught a glimpse of the
black market 41:25
39:35 parks most elusive inhabitant what might
we're endangered species stolen from 41:28
39:38 be the last wild tiger in all of bokor
Madagascar's dwindling forests are sold 41:32
39:45 every wild tiger in the world is
a place where new species are still 41:34
39:48 critically important like the wolf in
discovered but top predators are still 41:37
39:55 Yellowstone its presence alters the
under threat the question is where are 41:39
39:57 behavior of an entire ecosystem the
they going what are we doing to our 41:41
39:59 World Wildlife Fund says there are only
41:43 wait for the ok signal and push further
about 5,000 wild tigers left in the 43:09
41:46 into the thick brush
world bokors tiger appears to be injured 43:15
41:50 the jungler you really get a sense of
its front right paw 43:17
41:51 just how difficult the job is for the
wounded most likely from a poacher snare 43:18
41:54 Rangers it's very hard to move around
Tigers are hunted for trophies as well 43:22
41:57 very progress is very slow the jungle is
as for their body parts prized in 43:26
41:59 very dense they follow these trails
traditional medicine 43:29
42:03 which are essentially trails that would
[Music] 43:32
42:12 a poacher would follow the Rangers are
folk or National Park is about 800 43:36
42:14 constantly searching for clues picking
square miles it's a lot of territory for 43:38
42:16 up cigarette boxes belt straps anything
these Rangers to cover there's only 43:41
42:17 to help track the poachers what's that
about 55 of them they work in teams 43:43
42:19 chief can you see it very nicely
there's usually at least three teams out 43:47
42:21 disguised that's a--that's a trap since
of Patrol at any one time and they can 43:50
42:22 2001 they've rescued 31,000 wild animals
be gone for as long as five days at a 43:53
42:24 and confiscated more than four tons of
time the Rangers are paid only $30 a 43:56
42:30 slaughtered animals called bush meat
month by Cambodia's government wildlife 44:00
42:32 couple miles more into the forest we
Alliance supplements that and has armed 44:03
42:34 find what we're looking for
them with guns and GPS systems they are 44:08
42:37 this is a whole camp they would sleep
all that stand between the poachers and 44:10
42:39 here they would eat here and they you
the parks wildlife I just couldn hansung 44:12
42:47 see they've gone along the water here
else to get down they've seen several 44:14
42:49 that's so that they can bathe wash their
people in the forest they're not sure if 44:16
42:51 dishes and drink
they're poachers or if their people just 44:17
42:52 no sign of people but it's obvious the
drinking the forest crouched down in the 44:20
42:56 camp has been occupied recently
field we wait as the Rangers surveyed 44:21
42:58 scattered around Rangers find garbage
the situation but the forest is dense 44:24
43:01 snares even primitive religious
and it's difficult for them to see which 44:26
43:02 artifacts in their camp that poachers
direction the potential poachers fled we 44:29
43:07 make religious offerings trying to
44:31 here it's gonna pull it snag it it's not
ensure that they have a good hunt they 45:49
44:33 gonna kill it and could sit there for a
use this coconut to put some incense 45:51
44:35 day could sit there for a week snares
sticks in there's also this sort of a 45:54
44:38 are easy to make and hard for the
mini spear with two pieces what it looks 45:56
44:43 untrained eye to see in this one area of
like dolls clothing it's a mixture of 45:58
44:45 force the Rangers have so far found
animist and Buddhist beliefs the Rangers 46:00
44:50 seven snares there's one actually right
have destroyed this very same camp 46:02
44:51 behind me but you probably can't see it
before but the poachers keep coming back 46:04
44:55 because it's so well camouflaged here it
where does this fit into the big picture 46:05
44:56 is
this is a tiny little camp that it 46:06
44:58 it's attached to this rather thick
doesn't really make any kind of 46:08
44:59 branch here you can see the Rope goes
difference if you eliminate this camp 46:10
45:02 down this is where the trap is gonna
well this camp which may be sustained 46:14
45:05 brush away it's said it's very well
four to eight poachers has had an 46:16
45:08 camouflaged this is where the trigger
incredibly negative impact in this 46:18
45:09 magnet mechanism is you can see the rope
ecosystem there's no species of animal 46:26
45:13 and I'll show you how it works
that these individuals would not hunt 46:36
45:14 [Music]
the poachers preferred tool is the snare 46:38
45:17 on the hunt for snares with a team of
the Rangers confiscate roughly 7,000 of 46:41
45:20 Rangers deep inside the jungle of
them every year since they've been out 46:43
45:23 Cambodia's bokor national park
patrolling the animals have come back 46:45
45:25 we're told that probably all around us
and we've been monitoring it and taking 46:47
45:27 but finding them isn't easy you have to
camera trap photos in the forest so we 46:49
45:29 know what to look for
can see and hear the animals returning 46:51
45:33 it's very well camouflaged this is where
however they're not seeing the number of 46:55
45:36 the trigger magnet mechanism is and I'll
poacher snares decline 46:59
45:38 show you how it works it's very simple
this is a freshly laid snare it's right 47:03
45:42 but it's very effective we never find
there this is it it's tied up to this 47:06
45:44 this last Tiger of bokor injured by a
thing there so if an animal comes in 47:09
45:46 poacher snare the Rangers can't even be
47:11 once the sedatives take hold the
sure if it's still alive if it is from 48:42
47:15 veterinarians quickly get to work so is
what we've seen it had better watch it 48:48
47:17 he in pain I mean most yes he was when
step in the roughly one hour we spend in 48:50
47:20 we started
this patch of jungle we find more than a 48:51
47:22 he was a great pain or he was worrying
dozen snares despite the power and 48:54
47:27 about his foot you sees rubbing it the
strength of a tiger even a young 48:55
47:29 whole time for her there were maggots in
elephant the more it pulls the more it 48:57
47:31 her in the wound
resists more strength it uses the 48:59
47:34 we just recently now started integrating
tighter the nut gets so they'll actually 49:01
47:36 one nickim Oryx runs the rescue center
tug at it enough they will work and tug 49:03
47:38 for wildlife Alliance then he learned to
in some cases actually chew on their 49:07
47:41 walk with three if the skin doesn't
wrist to try to free themselves 49:09
47:43 thick and he can't walk properly and we
thousands and thousands of animals every 49:11
47:47 maybe try and form a like an artificial
year in this forest and other habitats 49:13
47:50 foot too easy is walking to enable him
throughout Cambodia in Southeast Asia 49:17
47:52 to walk on that foot it's been done
fall prey to this terrible terrible fate 49:18
47:59 before but he couldn't be released into
some of the victims of that terrible 49:20
48:02 the wild
fate can be found here at the pnom Tamil 49:20
48:04 Shino
wildlife rescue center in central 49:28
48:06 Wildlife Alliance says there are only
Cambodia this is chuh a one-and-a-half 49:30
48:11 two to 300 Asian elephants left in the
year old Asian elephant fighting for his 49:33
48:14 wild and Cambodia scientists call them a
life after a snare like the ones we saw 49:38
48:17 keystone species because their behavior
in bokor ripped off part of his front 49:40
48:19 like the tigers and wolves impacts an
foot in order to treat this young 49:43
48:21 entire ecosystem holes they dig for
elephant veterinarians have to be able 49:46
48:23 drinking water become watering holes for
to sedate it they use this blowgun to 49:48
48:26 hundreds of animals paths elephant herds
shoot a dart into the elephant they do 49:50
48:28 make through forests become corridors
this once a week it's the only way they 49:53
48:30 for other species
can safely treat the elephants wound 49:59
48:40 [Music]
50:06 fine city face how was he punished um
how's this for x-ray so we do is just 51:49
50:10 often guys don't get punished some guys
grab some water and throw it up and just 51:53
50:11 do get fined it's a very serious crime
rub it on these animals are playful and 51:56
50:15 they will end up in prison if they can't
powerful watch what happens to Jeff's 51:59
50:23 buy their way out but not everyone gets
left arm 52:01
50:44 punished I'm afraid we're trying to
so anyways where were we 52:02
50:47 ensure that penalties are served
so sometimes Edison there is conflict 52:05
50:49 traffickers know in Cambodia they can
between human beings and elephants aside 52:07
50:53 often bribe authorities to ignore their
from some serious bruising Jeff is 52:09
50:54 crimes this is an illegal animal trader
unharmed for that conflict between human 52:14
50:58 we've agreed not to show his face or
beings in every animal at penomet Mao is 52:16
51:00 reveal his name he shows us his snares
a theme that plays out over and over 52:20
51:02 they're similar to the ones we've seen
again here all of the roughly 800 52:22
51:06 in the forest he says he can sell a
animals here were rescued from the black 52:24
51:08 tiger for roughly 150 US dollars per
market trade from Burmese pythons its 52:26
51:11 kilogram with the average male tiger
hunted for its flesh people love to eat 52:29
51:13 weighing 170 kilos that's more than
snake in this part of the world and also 52:32
51:15 $25,000 he's not concerned about
for this beautiful hide to Asian son 52:35
51:18 plundering the forest unlike remember
bears the face of surprise isn't that an 52:39
51:20 one thing he tells us the less the
amazing face they're hunted for their 52:41
51:23 supply the higher the demand
organs 52:43
51:24 he sends most of the wildlife he kills
these creatures are are killed for their 52:46
51:26 her captures through Thailand to China
gallbladders do no come on boy these 52:48
51:32 the Chinese he tells us eat everything
Tigers were Cubs when they were caught 52:53
51:34 the Chinese eat everything that's
by a trafficker who tried to sell them 52:56
51:36 probably an overstatement but we do know
on the black market 52:58
51:38 this much according to the Wildlife
with regard to enforcement the guy the 52:59
51:42 Alliance China is the number one
poacher the the wildlife dealer was 53:01
51:44 destination in the world for legal
peddling these tiger cubs what sort of 53:03
51:47 wildlife exactly why is going there is
53:05 you're caught selling endangered species
rooted in centuries of tradition 54:53
53:06 but that doesn't stop it from happening
something dr. Sanjay Gupta went to 54:57
53:09 this is a storefront key and I just want
investigate 54:59
53:20 to show you something this is actually
it's one of the oldest civilizations in 55:01
53:22 deer antler inside that box and over
the world 55:04
53:23 here is deer bone these are both been
[Music] 55:06
53:27 sold and over here is actually deer
traditions cultivated over thousands of 55:08
53:30 penis all of that insult care and it's
years some out in the open 55:11
53:41 important to emphasize that none of that
others hidden from view 55:13
53:50 is actually illegal it's a concern
the Chinese like their exotic wildlife 55:15
53:58 though is what else might be getting
it's used in traditional medicine and it 55:17
54:03 sold to places like this this is
served as a delicacy 55:19
54:08 actually a restaurant called strength
some of the animals are extremely rare 55:20
54:10 and a pot we're going side and take a
and endangered others are more common in 55:22
54:13 look at the menu there's no public
either case the appetite is enormous a 55:25
54:17 seating area inside it's all private
population of 1.3 billion people has 55:29
54:20 dining rooms
made China a vacuum for the world's 55:30
54:23 we're shown two one in the back I'm
wildlife 55:33
54:25 sitting here with mr. Chen who's not
really wanted to get a sense of just 55:35
54:27 only the manager but also nutritionist
what the demand was here just how much 55:37
54:28 and he has suggested that we get one of
consumption take a look we're in this 55:39
54:31 the most popular dishes on the menu so
one back store here and these are all 55:41
54:33 we're gonna give it a try after we order
Turtles you're just looking at thousands 55:43
54:36 a toast with mr. Chen
of turtles and this is again just one 55:47
54:38 the drink is a specialty here deer
small store it gives you a sense of the 55:50
54:40 antler and blood wine yeah that's okay
demand for this type of Wildlife here in 55:57
54:42 it's a little bitter it's okay mr. Chen
China the turtles are legal and so is 56:00
54:46 leaves to check on the food when we
most of the wildlife we found in this 56:03
54:48 notice a second menu the first page
market punishment is stiff in China if 56:06
54:51 actually has a platter of dishes that
56:09 tiger but we do know it's happening
cost about $1500 we saw in here was a 57:33
56:11 throughout China according to Wildlife
Canadian seal they have Australian 57:37
56:13 Alliance China is the number-one
lobster but they also have tiger paw and 57:39
56:16 destination for tiger and other
Tiger penis this is something we're 57:41
56:19 endangered species finds are stiff
definitely an ass mr. Chen about when he 57:44
56:20 around $14,000 if you're caught
gets back 57:46
56:25 trafficking so the practice has gone
[Music] 57:49
56:31 underground
in the back room of a Beijing restaurant 57:52
56:34 it's 5:30 in the morning in the southern
I'm getting a taste of China's well 57:55
56:37 city of Guangzhou and business is
let's call it eclectic culinary cuisine 57:57
56:41 booming at this illegal trading spot
mr. Chen just told me that this is dead 58:01
56:43 we're trying to stay out of sight but
bull penis this is deer penis 58:03
56:46 our cameras pick up images of vendors
these are lamb testicles this Russian 58:05
56:48 selling from the back of their vans I'm
dog penis and this is just deer meat 58:11
56:51 with Craig Kirkpatrick of the wildlife
venison - exotic maybe but perfectly 58:13
56:55 trade monitoring network with traffic we
legal so far now mr. Chen if I wanted to 58:16
56:59 decide to get out of a van for a closer
order some tiger paw tiger paw or Tiger 58:18
57:03 look
penis can i order that here he tells me 58:21
57:06 our arrival isn't well-received dealers
they do not have it because the tiger is 58:25
57:08 quickly disperse
a protected species doesn't this a tiger 58:28
57:11 wait over here hey Craig but we are able
paw here and tell your penis they use 58:33
57:14 to catch a glimpse of some of the
the name mr. Chen says only to impress 58:34
57:17 illegal activity the sale of ferret
their clients I mean we see tiger paw 58:37
57:19 badgers and civet cats the consumption
and Tiger penis on the menu mr. Chen 58:43
57:21 of these animals is believed to be the
though is adamant but they don't have it 58:44
57:23 source of the SARS outbreak in 2002
here and that's just a name they won't 58:47
57:24 which killed at least 700 people around
let us back in the kitchen to actually 58:49
57:26 the world despite a crackdown by the
see for ourselves there's no way of 58:52
57:29 Chinese government in 2003 the illegal
knowing if indeed this restaurant serves 58:55
57:31 consumption is growing again so they're
58:58 practiced for thousands of years
buying it because they want to eat the 60:10
59:00 traditional Chinese medicine draws on at
meat exactly they're buying it from 60:12
59:01 least five hundred species of plants and
medicine purposes as well yes it's it's 60:14
59:04 animals I was brought up with Chinese
more of a generalized health tonic 60:17
59:06 medicine dr. Paul but is a professor at
rather than a specific Medicus medicine 60:20
59:08 a Chinese University in Hong Kong he's
prescribed in particular male 60:22
59:11 been studying the use of wildlife in
walking the legal markets in Guangzhou 60:24
59:14 traditional Chinese medicine for over
it's easy to see why over-exploitation 60:26
59:16 thirty years this is bear byah byah byah
is the number one threat to China's 60:29
59:19 from bear farmers
animals thousands of turtles poisonous 60:32
59:22 with it they got it direct from the life
scorpions and snakes fill the stalls 60:36
59:24 bears in China over 7500 Bears are kept
dried bags of seahorse shark fin and 60:41
59:27 in cages while their biles extract it
deer tails pile up along the streets 60:44
59:30 several times a day through steel
there's even pillaging from other 60:46
59:31 catheter it's a process that critics
countries to satisfy the almost endless 60:48
59:34 call barbaric but traditional Chinese
demand it truly is a global trade coming 60:51
59:37 medicine uses it to treat everything
in from Southeast Asia or from the 60:53
59:39 from heart disease to impotence in
United States in this stall 60:56
59:41 Chinese medicine the bear bio has been
endangered turtles from Madagascar for 60:58
59:44 useful over thousand years and still is
sale here illegally this is illegal or 61:04
59:47 medicine dr. butts not alone in his
the police gonna come here and shut a 61:07
59:49 beliefs 95 percent of hospitals in China
place like this down there's so many 61:10
59:50 offer traditional remedies that coupled
other priorities that they've got going 61:13
59:53 with a growing Chinese population causes
in this very large country that's 61:16
59:55 concern that traditional Chinese
expanding at a tremendous rate wildlife 61:18
59:58 medicine is driving species to
trade just doesn't really register very 61:21
59:59 extinction this is really a dilemma
high on their priority list these 61:23
60:02 because we too wish to protect those
animals aren't just delicacies many of 61:26
60:04 endangered species but at the same time
them are consumed as a form of medicine 61:29
60:08 it would be difficult for us to decide
61:31 there simply aren't enough natural
whether we should simply save them or in 62:48
61:35 resources on this planet to support
emergency occasions ignore our Thai or 62:50
61:38 everyone
beloved ones buying sickbed you're 62:53
61:41 already scientists say we're consuming
saying sometimes it's worth it well we 62:55
61:43 30% more each year than the natural
have to find out as a doctor I can't say 62:57
61:46 world can regenerate 30% and that's at
if these treatments work or not most are 63:02
61:49 current population and consumption
so obscure they haven't been tested by 63:04
61:51 levels now consider China as its economy
Western science but whether or not the 63:09
61:53 as exploded by 1000% over the past 30
Western world thinks they work isn't 63:12
61:55 years so has its consumption of nearly
going to stop the practice in fact it's 63:15
61:58 everything China now consumes more meat
only growing the market for exotic and 63:20
62:01 grained steel and cement than any other
endangered species is simply a matter of 63:22
62:03 country it extracts more call from the
supply and demand but it's a problem 63:25
62:05 ground than anywhere else it builds
made worse when the number of animal 63:29
62:07 roughly 2 coal-fired power plants each
species continues to decline and our own 63:31
62:10 week scientists have long thought it
species mankind continues to grow at 63:33
62:12 would take decades for China to surpass
such a staggering pace in fact our 63:35
62:14 the United States as the world's biggest
population has grown at more than 400 63:37
62:17 emitter of carbon dioxide though
percent over the last hundred years and 63:40
62:19 scientists were wrong a new report just
that translates into a breathtaking 63:43
62:22 showed China is already right now the
consumption of just about every man 63:46
62:24 world's largest co2 emitter but that
resource this planet has to offer 63:50
62:28 kind of growth comes with the cost 16 of
and there are no signs of slowing down 63:54
62:31 the 20 most polluted cities in the world
according to a United Nations report by 63:55
62:34 are in China but the pollutions not just
the year 2050 there will be 9 point 1 64:00
62:37 in the air
billion human beings on earth 64:03
62:39 more than half of all the rivers here
it's nearly 50% more than today 64:05
62:43 are severely polluted
it's not that there isn't enough 64:09
62:44 according to Chinese media 300 million
physical space for that many people 64:12
62:46 people that's roughly the population of
64:14 ditches near the river we learned
the United States do not have access to 65:21
64:17 quickly that pollution is a touchy
clean drinking water the central 65:23
64:20 subject in China as we left the river
government does recognize it has a 65:28
64:22 word of our presence started to get
problem with pollution and is looking to 65:30
64:24 around so it didn't take long for the
better balance its economic growth with 65:34
64:26 police to find us
environmental protection but that's 65:37
64:28 you
easier said than done 65:46
64:32 [Music]
we're told see some of the worst 65:51
64:34 many of China's polluted rivers are
pollution it's actually outside the big 65:53
64:36 outside of the big cities in the
cities and some of the smaller villages 65:56
64:37 countryside it's there where crops are
which is where we're travelling in fact 65:58
64:39 irrigated by these rivers and people are
there's a river called the Dooley Ojin 66:01
64:40 getting sick when we stop to talk to
it's a very polluted river and we're 66:06
64:42 farmers just beyond the banks of the
told the water actually affects people's 66:08
64:45 deullyeo gene River we got a quick
health there after a couple of hours in 66:10
64:47 introduction into how touchy the topic
the car into the countryside of China we 66:13
64:50 of pollution is around here
arrived at the river well this is it and 66:15
64:53 we were almost immediately stopped by
the first thing that struck me was just 66:18
64:55 the police they wanted to see our
how awful this smells this is a deullyeo 66:21
64:57 passports and to find out what we were
Jian River and just take a look at it I 66:22
64:59 doing
mean it's covered with this layer of 66:29
65:00 after 10 minutes of tense questioning
black muck it just looks dead to me 66:32
65:02 they let us go
problem is a lot of people live around 66:35
65:04 we're not too far away from where we
here and why in fairness you may find 66:37
65:06 just got stopped by the police and had
rivers like this the United States they 66:38
65:08 to show our passports we finally made
actually use this water here to irrigate 66:40
65:10 our way into the field trying to ask
crops outside the industrial city of 66:42
65:13 some people about their concerns
Tianjin Browns stinking water from local 66:43
65:16 regarding the dirty water and the
chemical factories was flowing into 66:45
65:18 irrigation of crops what we're hearing
66:47 those are the statistics this is what
is pretty much the same thing 68:16
66:48 they look like in a small village in the
not much we're finding out it's really 68:20
66:51 southern Chinese province of Guangdong
tough to get answers we finally made our 68:22
66:54 zou chun-yin doesn't have a husband
way into the fields and asked this man 68:25
66:57 anymore her daughter
about the water here the water here is 68:26
66:59 12 year old Shushan doesn't have a
so dirty I mean how do you irrigate all 68:29
67:01 father
the crops and go to Sweden but before he 68:29
67:10 he died of colon cancer do you have any
could answer he got a phone call from a 68:34
67:13 idea how he got it or why he got colon
passenger in a car that had been 68:37
67:14 cancer he got it because of the brown
following us there are some foreigners 68:42
67:19 and red water she says
here asking about the water he says how 68:45
67:22 the brown and red water from the haengju
should I answer it didn't take us long 68:48
67:24 river so because of the water because of
to find out but we've been doing a lot 68:53
67:28 the food that was irrigated by the water
of things to improve the environment 68:54
67:30 and because of the drinking of the water
here he says so while the water might 68:56
67:32 you think your husband got cancer the
look scary is actually okay 69:00
67:36 doctor in the hospital told us not to
[Music] 69:02
67:38 live here
but in fact the deullyeo gin has tested 69:03
67:42 he said don't eat the rice and don't
as one of the most polluted rivers in 69:05
67:43 drink the water she says if the water so
this region and it's that kind of toxic 69:10
67:47 dirty so polluted why do you drink it
water that's dangerous to people's 69:13
67:49 why do you use it to irrigate crops
health the World Bank and China's own 69:15
67:53 choosing meat wanna have no choice I
environmental agency SEPA estimate that 69:18
67:56 have no other options while Jews husband
polluted water causes roughly 60,000 69:22
67:58 was able to get medical treatment many
premature deaths every year and is 69:25
68:01 people living with cancer in rural China
linked to rise in cancer rates 69:27
68:04 have little access to health care and
the Ministry of Health reports that 69:29
68:06 virtually no screening for the disease
increased pollution has made cancer 69:34
68:09 you have some pictures can you show me
China's leading cause of death 69:36
68:12 the pictures can you describe your
69:42 that we even have able to get into this
husband what kind of person was he 71:01
69:44 particular area haven't had much luck in
wandering undeclared entrances 71:03
69:47 other places we're gonna go to the mind
he liked driving but after he got cancer 71:05
69:49 we're gonna actually walk right up to
he couldn't do many things he couldn't 71:07
69:51 the mind knock on the front door
work he didn't want to talk to me she 71:08
69:53 and see what we find ask people about
says 71:11
69:54 the pollution ask people why it's
[Music] 71:12
69:57 happening
was he a good father I mean he was a 71:18
70:02 [Music]
good father for sure 71:20
70:04 you
she says he didn't want to go to the 71:25
70:06 why did 30 year old who Xiao ping died
hospital because he worried we didn't 71:30
70:08 why have 28 people out of 400 in the
have enough money to bring up our 71:33
70:09 past ten years died in this place now
daughter 71:35
70:10 known as a cancer village
[Music] 71:38
70:16 [Music]
who shall ping was only 30 years old 71:39
70:19 why is the water from the mountain
when he died 71:41
70:21 running red everyone points us up toward
[Music] 71:48
70:26 the davao mine
the Jews husband wasn't the first person 71:52
70:29 we're gonna go to the mind we're gonna
here to succumb to cancer Leon Chow you 71:53
70:35 actually walk right up to the mind knock
see is known as a cancer village village 71:55
70:38 on the front door and see what we find
leaders say out of 400 people 28 have 71:57
70:41 ask people about the pollution and ask
died here in the past 10 years that's 72:00
70:44 people why it's happening
more than 50 times the average cancer 72:03
70:47 the roads on the way to the headquarters
rate in China we've been investigating 72:05
70:50 gave us a view of the sprawling
trying to figure out where all this 72:07
70:51 operation devotion is a state-run iron
pollution is coming from people keep 72:12
70:53 ore mine that goes on for miles mountain
pointing us to the Davos on mind we've 72:17
70:56 tops are ripped apart the water color
actually just entered the ground of this 72:20
70:57 alternates only between dark red and
particular mind we're kind of surprised 72:23
70:59 brown
72:26 Beijing has oversight over issues like
after about 30 minutes we arrived at the 73:46
72:29 this but they declined to comment that's
mine office we locate the mine 73:51
72:32 not good enough for Jing Jing Jong
director's office hello Amy huh 73:53
72:35 you're talking about suing the
Hey when we tell you to fujian woman 73:55
72:37 government of China yeah can even do
we're with CNN well we should see an 73:57
72:39 that yeah we can we have a
invitation with there's one so I wonder 73:59
72:43 administration in education law and give
if even ask you a couple of questions 74:02
72:46 us the rights to the governmental agency
[Music] 74:06
72:48 Jing Jing an environmental attorney is
the director of the mine invited us into 74:09
72:51 suing the government on behalf of the
his office but at first refused to 74:12
72:54 villagers in the young child this their
answer our questions but we continued to 74:16
72:56 home it's very simple Jin Jing grew up
ask about the pollution we're very 74:20
72:59 near a chemical factory where her
concerned about what we've seen here 74:21
73:01 parents worked and next to a heavily
with the water and with the cancer 74:23
73:02 polluted river like the hing Shu this is
deaths and that's why we're here sitting 74:27
73:04 a reason I want to do this work and they
here talking to you we want to get your 74:30
73:06 knew I'm a lawyer I always have our
point of view it's a complicated issue 74:31
73:10 dream to live in a place which there's a
he says the government leaders do 74:35
73:13 clean River I can swing this is my dream
realize it's a problem and there have 74:40
73:15 you know this dream it seems very
been some environmental issues now why 74:43
73:19 difficult to achieve in China now she
is it still happening if they've known 74:47
73:20 tells me that the double Shan mine has
about it for so long it's not something 74:49
73:24 been polluting the haengju river for
you can solve overnight he also said 74:51
73:26 decades if you said to them look if you
smaller privately owned mines share some 74:53
73:29 just build a water treatment plant you
of the blame when we asked him if he 74:56
73:32 could potentially save lives what would
would eat the food irrigated by the 74:58
73:34 they say to that
water or even drink it he said of course 75:00
73:37 we already take measure - coming up the
not 75:03
73:41 water this is what they told the
the state environmental agency in 75:05
73:44 villagers mayority emits all this you
75:08 fifty cents per person
know I'm to standard but it seems 76:27
75:10 jingjing continues to build her case
they're not mining for iron ore exposes 76:29
75:14 trying to win compensation for medical
heavy metals like lead and cadmium past 76:32
75:17 testing health care and damage to the
studies from who and on Agricultural 76:34
75:19 villages rice crops she hopes to go to
University concluded that the high 76:37
75:21 trial next year as for zoo she never saw
levels of lead cadmium and other heavy 76:41
75:23 any of those 200 dollars paid to the
metals polluting the haengju River have 76:44
75:26 village she tells me she doesn't have
made the water too toxic for human use 76:46
75:28 time to be sad all she worries about is
and recent tests of the soil from 76:49
75:31 caring for her small plot of land and
scientists jingjing hired revealed high 76:51
75:34 for her daughter who has lost a father
levels of lead much higher than chinese 76:55
75:37 [Music]
environmental standards high levels of 76:58
75:39 problems like this one here may seem so
lead have been linked to some forms of 77:00
75:42 far away from our lives back in the
cancer while the people of Leon Chow are 77:02
75:45 United States but they're not chemical
getting sick the mine is profiting the 77:05
75:48 contaminants are showing up in people at
company's own website says they made six 77:06
75:51 alarming rates all across the United
million dollars in the first half of 77:08
75:52 States and as Anderson found out no one
2006 alone the mine has given the 77:11
75:55 is sure exactly why but they're pretty
village some compensation 77:13
75:57 sure the situation is getting worse all
guess how much is a pay the whole 77:21
76:00 of us are products of our environment
village how much is a word for a camp 77:24
76:02 what we eat what we drink the air we
for a village develop cancer so the the 77:28
76:04 breathe all of it shows up inside us and
pay the compensation is per year is a 77:32
76:07 doctors don't like what they're finding
long forint Cemal hundreds are and be 77:34
76:11 in adults and especially in kids he's 18
for whole village how many dollars is 77:38
76:14 months old he's been on the planet for
that about two hundred twelve hundred 77:39
76:17 18 months and he's loaded with a
dollars for an entire village 77:42
76:18 chemical
yeah for a year yeah that's compensation 77:42
76:20 I even never even heard of discovering
that's the conversation that's just 77:45
76:23 the chemicals inside you and me we have
77:48 was the youngest child in America to
about a gallon so when we come back 79:32
77:54 ever be tested for chemical exposure
I don't like going to the doctor so this 79:34
78:04 Michaela was just five years old I
is no fun it's not a big fan of needles 79:37
78:07 thought that would be really interesting
I'm here for what's called a body burden 79:39
78:09 to see you know if mom and dad are
test it's not the most pleasant 79:43
78:11 hiding something with kids behind it -
procedures 79:46
78:12 their chemical exposure levels were high
it'll take 120 cc's of blood almost a 79:48
78:15 but then they got the kids results and
pint for scientists to look at traces of 79:50
78:17 they were shocked Rowan and Mikayla's
250 industrial chemicals in my body 79:53
78:26 levels of chemical exposure were two
let's get you some orange juice just 79:55
78:32 three and four times that of their
public health experts are only beginning 79:57
78:34 parents for phthalates also called
to understand what harm if any low-level 80:00
78:37 plasticizers found in plastic bottles
chemical exposure can cause dr. Liotta 80:02
78:40 personal care products and medical
Sande worries most about children 80:04
78:45 devices for PCBs they were
disease among American children rates of 80:07
78:47 used in electrical insulators in
asthma childhood cancers birth defects 80:08
78:51 refrigerators and microwave ovens and
and developmental disabilities are all 80:10
78:54 banned in the late 1970s but one number
on the rise and increasingly they're 80:13
78:56 stood out
being attributed to chemicals that we're 80:14
78:59 Rowan's level of PBDEs a class of flame
all exposed to really consider I do 80:17
79:03 retardants found in everything from foam
consider an epidemic Rowan and Mikaela 80:19
79:09 cushions to rugs to mattresses to
Holland are some of the first children 80:21
79:11 casings of electronics they were nearly
to sound the alarm in the beginning I 80:24
79:14 seven times the levels of his mom and
wasn't worried at all I was fascinated 80:26
79:19 dad he has two to three are at the time
three years ago when this video was 80:29
79:21 of testing at two to three times the
taken the entire Holland family decided 80:32
79:23 level of flame retardant in his body
to get body burden testing for a story 80:34
79:25 that's been found to cause thyroid
in the Oakland Tribune their son Rowan 80:36
79:29 dysfunction in lab rats PBDEs or
was just 18 months old at the time he 80:39
79:31 neurotoxins they throw off normal brain
80:41 Sinai Medical Center it's taken two
function in lab animals so could they be 81:52
80:45 months but I'm finally about to learn
doing the same to children or adults the 81:54
80:47 the results of my body burden test from
answer is we don't know the federal 81:56
80:50 dr. Leo trow Sande so how are the
government had never even received any 81:59
80:54 results well as you call a couple months
studies looking at the effects of this 82:01
80:56 back we drew quite a lot of blood and
chemical on human health 82:03
80:58 nerve reserve we tested you for two
because the federal government does not 82:10
81:00 hundred and forty six synthetic
require chemical manufacturers to submit 82:12
81:03 chemicals and you tested positive for
this type of data before bringing the 82:14
81:05 more than 100 even a chemical way back
chemical to market you heard right the 82:18
81:07 to the 1970s DDT
Environmental Protection Agency which is 82:21
81:09 which we detected in your body so I have
responsible for chemical regulation 82:23
81:11 DDT mo you have DDT in your body
doesn't require manufacturers to test 82:25
81:13 PCBs another chemical that was banned in
for the effects of new chemicals on 82:28
81:15 the 1970s I got it
human health 82:31
81:16 you've got it as well doctors think I
before getting approved what's more the 82:34
81:18 probably got the DDT from a trip to
approval process can take as little as 82:35
81:20 Africa some countries there still use it
90 days compare that to the years it can 82:38
81:23 to kill mosquitoes as far as the PCBs it
take for pharmaceutical companies to get 82:41
81:25 has something to do with where I grew up
new drugs approved the EPA declined to 82:43
81:29 New York City growing up on the street
do an interview with us but told us in 82:45
81:31 eating fish those fish probably came
an email quote if during the new 82:48
81:32 from the Hudson River right
chemical review process EPA determines 82:50
81:35 back in the 1970s there was a major dump
that it may have concerns regarding risk 82:54
81:37 of PCBs into the Hudson River the PCBs
or exposure the EPA has the authority to 82:58
81:39 were eaten up by fish which were then of
require additional testing but oh the 83:01
81:42 course eaten by me next my results for
1500 new chemicals submitted each year 83:04
81:44 mono beautify lights stuff found in
their records show that only happens 10% 83:06
81:47 cosmetics like the makeup I put on
of the time back at New York's Mount 83:08
81:50 before going in front of the cameras
83:10 dangerous the bottom line seems to be no
I tested above the 95th percentile so 84:22
83:13 one really knows the question is is that
what does that mean the most alarming 84:25
83:16 good enough is that good enough that's a
one is the potential for infertility we 84:30
83:19 question each of us will have to answer
asked Jack Gerard the president of the 84:32
83:21 for ourselves it took us eight months to
American Chemistry Council 84:34
83:22 record what you've seen tonight I wanna
if phthalates could cause infertility 84:36
83:24 update you on some of the stories shook
there's no risk to the human health just 84:40
83:27 the Asian baby elephant with the wounded
because we find chemicals in the body 84:42
83:29 foot has survived he's eating a full
doesn't mean that it causes disease but 84:45
83:32 elephant diet and is learning slowly to
some scientists disagree and they point 84:47
83:34 walk on three feet scientists are still
to this these slides may look like 84:51
83:36 studying the lizard Jeff found in
comets but they're actually sperm the 84:53
83:39 Madagascar to determine if it's a new
sperm on the right was exposed to higher 84:55
83:41 species and expect to know in about a
levels of phthalates and has a longer 84:57
83:43 month since we shot the body burden
comet-like tail which indicates more 85:00
83:45 story the state of California has banned
general DNA damage I suspect that the 85:02
83:48 phthalates in toys for children under
reason that you've got a very high level 85:04
83:50 three because of health concerns other
of phthalates is you probably put a lot 85:07
83:53 states are considering similar measures
of makeup on a lot of the time so this 85:11
83:56 tomorrow night our journey continues
is a potential lawsuit against CNN right 85:13
83:58 we'll take you to places no one has gone
here you can't say for certain what the 85:15
84:01 before
effects are of these chemicals in 85:17
84:02 no one's ever been here really now we're
somebody's system what little we know is 85:19
84:05 the first ever walk here we'll start on
just the tip of the iceberg and 85:22
84:06 Greenland's massive and melting ice
unfortunately I think that is enough to 85:24
84:10 sheets go through deserts and dive
to begin to act and proactively 85:26
84:12 underwater showing you how all these
intercede and prevent chemical exposure 85:28
84:15 places are connected how in the end it
are the chemicals running through my 85:31
84:17 affects us all I hope you join us
bloodstream through your bloodstream 85:34
84:19 tomorrow for the conclusion a planet in
85:35
Paris
85:43
you

IN ORDER FOR OUR PLANET TO BE

BETTER AGAIN, WE MUST NOT
RELY ON CHANCE BUT BY
CHANGE.