Focus Earth

Focus Earth is a weekly eco-newscast for Planet Green, Discovery Communications' 24/7 eco-lifestyle network. Each week, Woodruff covers a variety of subjects ranging from climate impact, environmental policy, political debate and world events. An ABC News production for Planet Green, the series includes studio-based round table discussions, feature stories, and lively debates, making it the one-stop destination for a deeper perspective on the environment. The program draws upon the global resources of ABC News and its reporting team around the world.

Main

Inside the Show

Episode Guide

The Issues

Quizzes

Forum

Focus Earth Episode: Climate Change and the Weather

This week, Focus Earth looks at the controversy over climate change and its impact on extreme weather events. Bob Woodruff will talk with Chris Field, a leading member of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change who recently testified + READ MORE

Focus Earth Episode: Copenhagen

This week, Focus Earth goes live to Copenhagen, Denmark, where leaders from 192 countries agreed to chart a course of action on climate change. WATCH VIDEO: Denmark is a Model of Sustainability. It has been 12 years since the U.S. + READ MORE

Focus Earth Episode: Environmental Injustice

Perry County, Alabama is a poor, rural part of central Alabama: a few quiet southern towns just trying to make ends meet.  In an effort to stimulate the local economy, Perry County officials made a deal with the Tennessee Valley + READ MORE

Focus Earth Episode: Man Vs. Nature

When the needs of man clash with the needs of nature, whose interests should come first? We look at debates raging across the country, where communities are struggling to find a balance between human and environmental concerns. First, Focus Earth + READ MORE

Focus Earth Episode: That's (Green) Entertainment!

First, Focus Earth looks at Hollywood studios going green. Sure, the folks in Hollywood talk the talk—and, yes, even drive the hybrid—but do they truly walk the walk? In 2006, UCLA released a study that concluded that special effects explosions, + READ MORE

Focus Earth Episode: The Dawn of New Disease

This week, Focus Earth looks at what the world infectious diseases look like today: H1N1, malaria, and the West Nile virus are just a few of the infectious diseases many epidemiologists say could become more prevalent—and more fatal—thanks to climate + READ MORE

Focus Earth Episode: Nuclear Power--America's Carbon Free Solution?

Americans have never fully embraced nuclear power as a viable alternative to carbon-emitting forms of energy like oil and coal. But is a nuclear renaissance waiting in the wings? As support for new nuclear projects grows (with 28 new reactors + READ MORE

Focus Earth Episode: Behind the Image

Energy and transportation are two of the dirtiest industries in the world. But in recent years, they've been making a concerted effort to clean up their businesse—or, as skeptics say, the image of their businesses. Is it a sign of + READ MORE

Focus Earth: Population Overload

This week's Focus Earth looks at the impact that the human population explosion is having on the planet. With almost an additional 80 million people every year, the world's population could reach 11 billion by 2050. The potential pollution, destruction + READ MORE

Focus Earth Episode: The Last Resort: Captive Breeding

As wildlife habitats are destroyed around the world and an increasing number of animals become endangered, conservationists are trying harder than ever to find new ways to save them. Captive breeding is among the more controversial of these efforts, as + READ MORE

Focus Earth Episode: Troubled Waters

This week, Focus Earth looks at the troubles facing our oceans?and rivers, lakes, and streams. All around the world, we are seeing dead zones, toxic runoff, and dying marine life. Fish supplies that once seemed inexhaustible are now in + READ MORE

Focus Earth: July 25, 2009: America's Food Wars

Focus Earth takes a look at a passionate battle being waged in America over food production and our eating habits. There are two sides that see things very differently. The lines are drawn between the two sides: some believe that + READ MORE

Focus Earth: July 11 2009, Mountain Minefield and Coal's Hard Truth

In this episode of Focus Earth, host Bob Woodruff explores the controversial issue of mountaintop mining. Clearly, communities and the environment suffer from mountaintop mining, since the practice blasts off mountain peaks, leaving only a barren, polluted wasteland. On the + READ MORE

Focus Earth: June 27, 2009: The Roots of Eco-Terrorism and Saving the Whales

This week, Focus Earth takes at look at what happens when environmental and animal rights concerns push some activists to the brink of violence to protect what they believe in. Get inside information from law enforcement and terrorism experts, as + READ MORE

Focus Earth: June 13, 2009: Everglades Nevermore and Snake Invaders

This week, Focus Earth takes a close look at one of the most unique ecosystems in the United States: the Everglades. Fire, drought, rising ocean levels, invasion species, human encroachment, pollution, and more are all combining to threaten this UNESCO + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Hurricane Forecast

The 2008 hurricane season was one of the most severe in recent history. Of the 16 named storms last year, eight escalated to hurricanes and five of those were considered severe. All-told, these storms caused more than $54 billion in + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: New Fuel Standards

On May 19, 2009, President Barack Obama announced a new plan to increase vehicle fuel-economy nationwide. The plan will require the corporate average fleet economy, or CAFE, standard to meet 39 mpg by 2016, four years earlier than previous proposals. + READ MORE

Focus Earth: May 23, 2009: New Fuel Standards and Hurricane Forecast

This week, Focus Earth reports from Washington, DC, where new fuel standards have been announced that will mandate increased auto-efficiency. Then, the team covers the latest eco-buses taking to the street in California and has a summary of this year's + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Melting Tundra

Formerly a land of ice and snow, the Arctic tundra is starting to get a bit more temperate. As the region warms, lakes that have been frozen for centuries have thawed and the permafrost, soil that formerly stayed frozen year-round, + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Coral Reefs in Trouble

Officials met at the World Oceans Conference on May 15, 2009, to discuss the rapidly worsening problem of disappearing coral reefs. Like so many ecosystems affected by climate change, coral reefs are in serious danger. Mary M. Glackin, U.S. deputy + READ MORE

Focus Earth: May 15, 2009: Coral Reefs in Trouble and Melting Tundra

This week, Focus Earth begins in London, where the World Wildlife Fund has issued a dire report on the state of the world's coral reefs. Then, the team has news from China, where communities in Sichuan are still struggling to + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: The Prince and the Rainforest

What do Prince Charles, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Harrison Ford, and Kermit the Frog have in common? A mission to help save the world's rainforests. The eclectic yet influential group has teamed up to deliver the latest sign-up campaign + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Ford Focus

Ford's Michigan Truck Plant was once responsible for manufacturing the Ford Expedition, a 300-horsepower behemoth, and the 14-mile-per-gallon Lincoln Navigator. During the heydays of the SUV boom, it was one of the most profitable manufacturing sites in the world. However, + READ MORE

Focus Earth: May 9, 2009: Ford Focus and The Prince and the Rainforest

This week, Focus Earth takes a look at a battle raging in Washington over a new climate change bill. Then, reports from the Midwest on the future of the Ford Motor Company, a fledgling biofuel industry, and Wisconsin's plan to + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: The First Hundred Days

Since Franklin Roosevelt's presidency, the first hundred days of a president's term have been seen as an opportunity to enact quick legislation, especially in times of distress. President Barack Obama came into office during the height of a global economic + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: DC Climate Talks

On April 27, 2008, the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate brought together representatives from 16 of the world's leading economies, and the largest producers of greenhouse gasses. Held in Washington, DC, and led by Secretary of State Hillary + READ MORE

Focus Earth: May 2, 2009: DC Climate Talks and the First Hundred Days

This week, Focus Earth has the latest updates on the swine flu pandemic and reports from the D.C. Climate talks. Then, a recap of President Barack Obama's first hundred days in office with a special analysis of his environmental accomplishments. + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: State of World Primates

Apes may be our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, but our effort to protect them has been, thus far, limited. In fact, we have done much to threaten apes, and primates in general, around the world. A recent study, + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Fifth Summit of the Americans

The fifth Summit of the Americas, to be held in Trinidad, brings the leaders of 34 nations in the western hemisphere together to discuss issues pertinent to the region. On the agenda this year are talks concerning the economic crisis + READ MORE

Focus Earth: April 18, 2009: Fifth Summit of the Americans and State of World Primates

This week, Focus Earth reports on new developments in Obama's energy policy and checks in on the status of economic stimulus. Then, the team reports on the endangered Bonobo ape before Bob Woodruff hosts a roundtable discussion on the state + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: A Bee Mystery

Apiculture, or the maintenance of honey bee hives and colonies by humans, is an ancient art and, over the course of its more than 3,000 year history, it has weathered pests and plagues, setbacks and disasters. Still, in centuries of + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: An Antarctic Collapse

An important ice bridge tethering a large ice sheet to Antarctica fissured and threatened collapse this week, sending scientists and the United Nations into a panic. The Wilkins ice sheet, which is roughly the size of Connecticut, is attached to + READ MORE

Focus Earth: April 11, 2009: A Bee Mystery & an Antarctic Collapse

This week, Focus Earth reports on the tragedy in Italy, the collapse of ice in Antarctica, and a potential threat to the national smart grid. Then, the team takes a look at a kibbutz in Israel that is harnessing solar + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: EPA and NOAA Interviews

Since taking office, Barack Obama has slowly worked to build a green cabinet. These advisers, it's hoped, will help shape a new green-collar economy, plan the United States' strategy to combat climate change, and lead the country to a more + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: G20

This week, leaders from around the world met in London to discuss the global economic crisis. This most recent G20 summit, named so because it gathers leaders from the world's 20 leading industrial and developing nations, was focused on finding + READ MORE

Focus Earth: April 4, 2009: G20 and EPA and NOAA Interviews

This week, Focus Earth travels to London to report on the G20 conference before returning to Washington to cover new global warming and energy legislation proposed by the Democrats. Then, Bill Blakemore interviews two of President Obama's green-team appointees and + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Green Tech Revolution

Part of Barack Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus bill is targeted at new "clean tech" industries, many now located in California. The idea behind clean tech is simple: improve the efficiency of information-based businesses, while at the same time reducing + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: California Drought

There is no arguing that California is in a drought and has been for years. What is up for debate, at least recently, is how severe this year's drought will be. The debate, it turns out, involves a lot more + READ MORE

Focus Earth: March 28, 2009: California Drought and Green Tech Revolution

This week in Washington, President Barack Obama argued that reviving the economy and developing green technology go hand-in-hand and the EPA announced it would begin reviewing mining permits. In North Dakota, what may be the worst flooding the region has + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: World Water Forum

In Istanbul, Turkey, on March 20, 2009, a meeting convened to discuss the world's worsening water situation. More than 100 leaders from around the world are in attendance at the event, dubbed the World Water Forum. The problem they hope + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: FLOTUS Garden

For the first time since Eleanor Roosevelt called it home, the White House will have a vegetable garden. However, unlike Mrs. Roosevelt's victory garden, which was designed to serve as a model for like plots across the country that would + READ MORE

Focus Earth: March 21, 2009: FLOTUS Garden and World Water Forum

This week, Focus Earth reports from Washington where the First Family has broken ground on a White House kitchen garden while debate rages over the extension of offshore drilling. Then, the World Water Forum convenes in Turkey and Bob Woodruff + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Running the Sahara

17 years ago, no one would have thought that Charlie Engle could be a world-class ultramarathoner. At that time, Engle was a drug addict, living in a cheap hotel, with only a single goal: getting high. Amazingly, he was also + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Oil on the Fall

For a time, it seemed like oil prices would keep falling and that an age of cheap oil would once again be upon us. This thought dismayed many environmentalists, who feared that cheaper oil would discourage investment in renewable + READ MORE

Focus Earth: March 14, 2009: Oil on the Fall and Running the Sahara

This week, Focus Earth reports from Washington, where new climate and energy policies are being developed, Denmark, where scientists have announced the effects of climate change may be more severe than once thought, and Wall Street, where the price of + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Geneva Autos

Auto shows used to be all about miles per hour and maximum horsepower, flashy design and super-performance. This year's Geneva Auto Show is proving that a lot in industry has changed. Instead of featuring their top speeds, many automakers are + READ MORE

Focus Earth: March 7, 2009: Solar Hopes Dimmed and Geneva Autos

This week, Focus Earth looks at Barack Obama's efforts to reinstate scientific data as the measure for evaluating development project's impact on wildlife, California's vote to cut solar power, Gordon Brown's plea to Congress, the newest green cars at the + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Solar Hopes Dimmed

The Los Angeles initiative, known as "Measure B," would have required the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, a public utilities provider, to install 400 megawatts worth of solar panels by 2014. The measure, however, did not receive the + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Green Industry Blues

President Barack Obama has made it clear that investing in renewable energy is central to his plans for economic recovery and securing energy independence. Still, companies around the country have announced that they are not immune to hard times and + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Economizing Energy

On February 24, 2009, President Barack Obama gave his first address to a joint session of Congress since taking office. While the speech has heavily focused on economic recovery, environmental and energy policy also received significant attention. Specifically, Obama's reintroduction + READ MORE

Focus Earth: February 28, 2009: Economizing Energy and Green Industry Blues

This week, Focus Earth covers the latest green news from Washington, including the suggestion of a cap and trade deal by President Barack Obama, the testimony of scientists to Congress, and Michelle Obama's latest visit to the EPA. Meanwhile, a + READ MORE

Focus Earth: February 21, 2009: China Climate Talks and Obama in Canada

This week, Focus Earth looks at Detroit automakers, which cut jobs and closed plants despite gas prices continuing to fall across the country. Then, Focus Earth follows President Barack Obama to Canada and Hillary Clinton to China where she will + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Obama in Canada

On Thursday, February 19, Barack Obama made his first trip abroad since becoming president. The short trip to Canada featured talks with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on issues both countries face, including economic downturn, energy consumption, and a need to + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: China Climate Talks

When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stepped of the plane in Beijing on February 20, the city was covered in freshly fallen snow. This snowfall broke a three-month drought in Northern China, but the event was not a miracle. The + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: A World Without Chocolate

When it comes to Valentine's Day, the most common question is "chocolate or flowers?" Though sustainably-grown cut flowers are a clear green choice, many people still prefer chocolate. But what if we didn't have the option? What if the world's + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: The Economic Stimulus Bill

At the end of the week, representatives in both the House and Senate continue to tinker with the details of a $790 billion economic stimulus bill that is hoped to help workers and small businesses. Voting was delayed on Thursday + READ MORE

Focus Earth: February 14, 2008: The Economic Stimulus Bill and A World Without Chocolate

This week, Focus Earth takes a look at the latest developments in Washington, including an analysis of the economic stimulus bill, remarks from the Interior Department, and a halt on offshore drilling, before looking overseas to the damage caused by + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: State of the Interior Department

The last few years have been hard on the Interior Department, the important agency responsible for overseeing federal lands and other environmental concerns. First, there was the controversial plan from the Bush administration that would have allowed drilling on thousands + READ MORE

Focus Earth: February, 6, 2009: A New Appointment and State of the Interior Department

This week on Focus Earth, President Barack Obama sits down with Charles Gibson to discuss green jobs and his stimulus package. Then, the team looks at the administration's energy agenda, the appointment of Senator Judd Gregg, Toyota's plan to close + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: A New Appointment

President Barack Obama has talked about creating a diverse cabinet with potentially conflicting views. His latest appointment, Senator Judd Gregg from New Hampshire, is a demonstration that he takes this seriously. Gregg, a Republican, disagrees with Obama on many key + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: A Call to Action

On January, 28, 2009, Nobel Laureate and former Vice President Al Gore testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Like most of the talks he's given in the last few years, the subject was climate change, but this time it + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Ambassador for Change

Barack Obama began his first full week as president by proposing new approaches to economic stimulus and environmental and energy policy. One of the most visible elements of the new approach to these issues was the appointment of Todd Stern + READ MORE

Focus Earth: January 31, 2009: Ambassador for Change and A Call to Action

This week, Focus Earth takes a look at President Obama's plans to jumpstart the economy, help the environment, and change the way the United States uses energy. Then, the team takes a close look at Obama's appointment of Todd Stern + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: The Bear Whisperer

The town of Mammoth Lake, California, has had a problem with bears for years. It stems from a simple misunderstanding between people, who don't expect bears in their yards, and the bears, who are tempted by the delicious food the + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Inauguration Wrap-Up

After a long campaign, an exciting election night, and months of bated enthusiasm, the much-anticipated moment, when Barack Obama would move into the White House, finally came this week. Beginning the preceding weekend, crowds flooded into Washington, DC, reaching an + READ MORE

Focus Earth: January 24, 2009: Inauguration Wrap-Up and The Bear Whisperer

Change has come to Washington and Focus Earth is here with reports and analysis on President Barack Obama's first days in office. Then, the team takes a look at a one New York City's poorest neighborhoods, where one leader is + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Bush's Environmental Record

On the last business day of the Bush administration, many people are looking forward to the promises and challenges of the next administration. Still, most are also speculating on how George W. Bush will be remembered. When it comes to + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Detroit Auto Show

This year's Detroit Auto Show opens on a more somber note: with ticket sales down and the industry facing serious economic troubles. Still, many environmentalists are looking to the event with excitement, anticipating a showcase of the new hybrid and + READ MORE

Focus Earth: January 17, 2009: Detroit Auto Show and Bush's Environmental Record

This week, one administration bows out of Washington as another steps in. From the Senate confirmations of Barack Obama's appointees, to the final message from President George W. Bush, Focus Earth has all the inaugural events covered with special analysis + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Coal Ash Update

On December 22, 2008, a dike outside a Harriman, Tennessee, coal mine broke, spilling 1.1 billion gallons of sludge from a pond that had covered more than 40 acres. The deluge covered several hundred acres up to nine feet deep + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Ocean Protection

On January 6, 2009, just two weeks before his term would end, President George W. Bush designated nine sites in the central Pacific as "marine national monuments." The sanctuary, spanning more than 195,000 square miles, will be the largest marine + READ MORE

Focus Earth: January 10, 2008: Ocean Protection and Coal Ash Update

This week, Focus Earth begins in Washington, DC, where a new proposal from President-elect Barack Obama seems to have set the stage for future green energy development. Meanwhile, President Bush declared the formation of several marine life sanctuaries in the + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Top Environmental News Stories of 2008

From the economic crisis to the United States presidential election, new signs of climate change to record oil prices, 2008 was an eventful year filled with news. Choosing the top stories, those that have the greatest significance, represent the most + READ MORE

Focus Earth: January 3, 2008: Top Environmental News Stories of 2008

This week, Focus Earth takes a look at the challenges faced by marine animals and those who work to protect them before rounding up the top environmental news stories of 2008. First, Focus Earth talks with Jeff Boehm of the + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: The Changing Lives of Reindeer

It's the reindeer, we imagine, that makes Santa's whirlwind tour around the world possible. Because of this, children across America wait anxiously in their beds on Christmas Eve, hoping to hear the clopping of hoofs on their roof. The story + READ MORE

Focus Earth: December 27, 2008: The Changing Lives of Reindeer

This week, Focus Earth features a special episode hosted from the North Pole, Alaska. Bob Woodruff and the team take a look at holiday related issues from Barrow, Alaska, where melting ice is altering the landscape and ecosystem, to Norway, + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: OPEC Cuts

After falling more than $100 from its peak in July, the price of one barrel of crude oil reached a low of $34 on December 19, 2008. The drop was caused by reduced demand around the world, particularly in the + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Saving the Condor

Though their numbers reached as few as nine in 1985, there are now 166 California Condors in the wild. This increase has come after decades of effort by zoologists, conservationists, and environmental activists. While the recovery is impressive, the species + READ MORE

Focus Earth: December 20, 2008: Saving the Condor & OPEC Cuts

This week, Focus Earth takes a look at recent appointments to Barack Obama's "Green Team," providing an analysis of what these selections mean for the administration's environmental policy. Then, Bob Woodward and the team report on recent OPEC production cuts, + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Obama's Green Team

Since the election, environmentalists everywhere have been waiting to see who will be chosen to fill Barack Obama's administration. Finding the right people to fill key positions is critical to developing successful solutions to pressing environmental issues but knowing who + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Cap and Trade Delay

According to the EPA, "Cap and Trade" is a "market-based policy tool for protecting human health and the environment." Under such a plan, a strict emissions limit, or cap, is set and each source, be it a farm, factory, or + READ MORE

Focus Earth: December 13, 2008: Cap and Trade Delay & Obama's Green Team

This week, Focus Earth covers the latest developments in the formation of President-elect Barack Obama green administration and investigates delays in his proposed "cap and trade" proposal. In other economic news, the Big Three automakers continue to lobby for government-bailout + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Flooding in Venice

Though the waters have already begun to subside, the city of Venice is still struggling to function in the face of the biggest flood in 22 years. Famed for its canals and rumors it is sinking into the sea, Venetians + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: An Interview with Laura Bush

This week on Focus Earth, Bob Woodruff sits down with Laura Bush to discuss the environment, energy, and conservation. With her stay in the White House coming to an end, she reflects on how she has helped to green America's + READ MORE

Focus Earth: December 6, 2008: An Interview with Laura Bush & Flooding in Venice

This week, Focus Earth looks at many of the economic and political issues impacting the green movement. From executives of the Big Three auto manufacturers riding to bailout hearings in hybrids, to the latest news on Barack Obama's expected appointments, + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Growing Up With Global Warming

Global warming and climate change will be two of the most pressing issues facing the new Barack Obama administration when he takes office on January 20, 2009. Seeing as climate change has far reaching effects that touch the economies of + READ MORE

Focus Earth: November 29, 2008: Growing Up With Global Warming

This week, Bob Woodruff and the Focus Earth team investigate what it is like to grow up with global warming. From the opinions of young students in Brooklyn to campaigns to fight global warming initiated and led by kids, to + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Western Water Woes

States throughout America's west and southwest have, for almost a decade, been in a state of drought. The situation, which threatens to get worse, could become the largest drought in 500 years of recorded history. Climate change is one major + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: U.S. to Battle Global Warming

On November 19, 2008, Barack Obama addressed the Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles, California, via satellite. During his speech, he promised "a new chapter in America's leadership on climate change." This statement seemed to be supported by Congress, who + READ MORE

Focus Earth: November 22, 2008: U.S. Tackles Global Warming & Western Water Woes

This week, Focus Earth takes a look at the dramatic effects climate change is having on weather and resources around the world. From unseasonable wildfires in California to an increasingly dire water shortage throughout the United States, Bob Woodruff and + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Race for Energy and Commerce Chairman

The campaigns have ended. Election night has come and gone. The votes have been counted and a winner announced. Still, there is a race on in Washington and it's between rivals with a much longer history than Barack Obama and + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Navy Wins, Whales Lose?

Ending a legal debate that has raged for years, the Supreme Court ruled on November 11, 2008, in favor of national security and in support of U.S. Navy sonar exercises. The ruling lifted restrictions on sonar tests which are increasingly + READ MORE

Focus Earth: November 15, 2008: Navy Wins, Whales Lose? & Race for Energy and Commerce Chairman

This week Bob Woodward and the Focus Earth team take a close look at changing environmental politics in Washington. From arguments for an auto industry bailout to the competition for the position of Energy and Commerce Chairman, prospects for America's + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Opening of the Arctic

Sir Francis Drake, Jacques Cartier, and Henry Hudson are just a few of the many explorers who devoted their lives, over the course of several centuries, to finding a navigable Northwest Passage. A northern sea route that could connect the + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Barack Obama's Green White House

For many in the green movement, the election of Barack Obama on November 4, 2008, was seen as a victory for their cause. Throughout the campaign, we heard very different plans from a range of candidates. John Edwards and Hillary + READ MORE

Focus Earth: November 8, 2008: Barack Obama's Green White House & Opening of the Arctic

This week on Focus Earth, Bob Woodruff takes a close look at two important events: the election of Barack Obama as the next president of the United States and record melting of ice in the Arctic. Both of these events + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Cleaning Up After the Election

After months of tough campaigning, Election Day is finally here. Tomorrow, people across America will line up at the polls and cast their vote. The news will be filled with the results of exit polls, opinions of swing voters, and + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Nitrogen Trifluoride

Carbon dioxide is widely known as the culprit of global warming. Most in the green movement try to reduce their carbon emissions, buy offsets, and, ultimately, hope to be carbon neutral. However, carbon dioxide is not the only compound that + READ MORE

Focus Earth November 1, 2008: Nitrogen Trifluoride and Cleaning Up After the Election

This week, the Focus Earth team reported from southern Pakistan, where a massive earthquake caused widespread destruction; China, where new reports name that country and the United States as the world's biggest polluters; and Siberia, where global warming has confused + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: The Green New Deal

The economic crisis has spread around the world, leaving businesses, investors, and citizens reeling. As governments scramble to ease the strain, many green initiatives, like funding alternative energy development and enforcing more stringent emissions regulations, have moved from the spotlight. + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: eBay Bans Illegal Animal Products

On October 20, 2008, eBay announced it would ban the sale of ivory and products made from ivory on its site. The policy change was initiated after a report was published by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) claiming + READ MORE

Focus Earth October 25, 2008: The Green New Deal & eBay Bans Illegal Animal Products

This week on Focus Earth Bob Woodruff and his team take a look at the presidential candidate's environmental promises in the final days of the campaign and investigates the impact of the financial crisis on the green economy. Then the + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Last of the Akuntsus

Saving the rainforest is a common refrain among many environmental groups. Whether concerned with climate change, biodiversity, the humane treatment of animals, or any number of other issues, deforestation in the rainforest seems to contribute to the problem. And, unfortunately, + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Grey Wolf Protected

After nearly reaching the point of extinction in the lower 48 states, grey wolves are making a slow comeback. Though populations in the western states are still low, they have exceeded goals in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. However, since 2007, + READ MORE

Focus Earth: October 18, 2008

This week, Bob Woodruff and the Focus Earth team have the latest analysis on the final presidential debate, information on the grey wolf's return to the endangered species list, and footage from the most recent wave of wildfires in + READ MORE

Focus On Focus Earth: The Dangers Of Eco-Tourism

This week, the Focus Earth team looks at the hazards of green travel, and brings you the expert?s perspective about how to make lasting vacation memories without creating permanent ecological damage. In the case of the Galapagos Islands, it is + READ MORE

Focus Earth: October 11, 2008

This week, the Focus Earth team investigates the hazards of green tourism, rounds up the green highlights of the presidential debates, and brings you the latest eco-news from the White House to the Galapagos Islands, plus everything in between. The + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: The Economic Crisis

On Focus Earth this week, Bob Woodruff and Lisa Fletcher bring you a close look at how the current economic crisis in the United States will impact the environment, and vice versa. Tune in to find out whether green + READ MORE

Focus Earth: October 4, 2008

Bob Woodruff and the Focus Earth reporters have the latest green news on Gov. Sarah Palin and this week's historic Vice Presidential debate, plus a hard look at how the current economic crisis in the United States will effect + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: The 25 Most Sustainable Cities

Focus Earth has some very good news this week, with the findings of a report that spells out the 25 most sustainable American cities. Bob Woodruff and his team bring you the rankings, and the facts about what green choices + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: The Bush-Clinton Coastal Recovery Fund

Focus Earth sits down with Bill Clinton and George Bush, Sr. this week to talk about their new fundraising initiative that unites people together across party lines to help Americans in need. Get the facts on what this dynamic duo + READ MORE

Focus Earth: September 27, 2008

Bob Woodruff and his eco-reporters bring you the cutting edge of green news, with the facts on the 25 most sustainable cities in the U.S., an in-depth look at electric power and carbon capture technology, plus a sit-down interview with + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Denmark's Energy Independence

Focus Earth takes a look this week at the country of Denmark, which has builts its own energy infrastructure that's entirely free from dependence on foreign oil. Given the country?s forward-thinking green policies, it's small wonder that global green leader + READ MORE

Focus Earth: September 20, 2008

This week on Focus Earth, Bob Woodruff is in London, and eco-reporter Dan Harris is in New York, with all the biggest green news, from policy battles in Washington, D.C. to the melting ice at the edges of the Arctic + READ MORE

Focus Earth: September 13, 2008

On the seventh anniversary of 9/11, Bob Woodruff and the Focus Earth eco-news team investigate the role that climate change may play in U.S. national security, look at how a political power figure is stepping up to the challenge, and + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: The Science Of Storms

As this year's storm season continues to threaten the Gulf Coast, the Focus Earth news team goes into the eye of Gustav with professional hurricane hunters, and meets the scientists on the cutting edge of weather prediction. Reporters Ned Potter + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Colleges Making The Green Grade

America's universities are going green, striving to make campus life environmentally sustainable through eco-conscious buildings and clean energy choices. On Focus Earth this week, Bob Woodruff scans the country's campuses to bring you the latest on how schools are learning + READ MORE

Focus Earth: September 6, 2008

This week on Focus Earth, get the facts on an eco-disagreement between McCain and his new VP pick Gov. Sarah Palin, and the latest news from across the U.S. on which colleges are making the green grade. Plus, Bob Woodruff + READ MORE

Focus On Focus Earth: The Denver Convention

As the US Presidential race heats up, Focus Earth checks out the latest eco-news from the Denver Convention on the election campaign trail. Bob Woodruff has the rundown on recently announced Obama running mate Joe Biden's green credentials, plus the + READ MORE

Focus On Focus Earth: Vanishing Louisiana Coastline

The Southeast Louisiana coastline is now the fastest disappearing land mass on Earth, and scientists predict that the an area roughly the size of Rhode Island will wash away from the shores by as soon as 2050. This week, Focus + READ MORE

Focus Earth: August 30, 2008

This week on Focus Earth, Bob Woodruff and his team head to New Orleans for the third anniversary of Katrina, to check out green rebuilding in the 9th Ward, talk to Louisana's governor about the state's ecological future, and chart + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Oceans in Peril

The August 23, 2008, episode of Focus Earth features a special focus on the dangers faced by the world's oceans. From the effects of carbon emissions on wildlife to the ongoing crusade of one famous family, the image that emerges + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Tropical Storm Fay

Though Tropical Storm Fay has drenched the coast of Florida, it has not transformed into a more severe hurricane. Using image data from NASA and other information, Focus Earth analyzes the situation to determine what happened, what the level of + READ MORE

Focus Earth: August 23, 2008

This week, Bob and the Focus Earth team bring you eco-reports from the city, the sea, and everywhere in between. Get the facts on the environmental legacy the 2008 Olympic Games will leave behind in Beijing, go deep into the + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Changes to Endangered Species Act?

Curious about the Department of the Interior's proposed document for changes to the Endangered Species Act? The full proposal is now online (see links below) and will be submitted to the Federal Registry next week for to begin a 30-day + READ MORE

Focus Earth: August 16, 2008

This week on Focus Earth, Bob Woodruff and his crew of eco-reporters bring you the big stories about everything from how athletes are dealing with air pollution in the Olympic Games to how rock stars are going green in their + READ MORE

Backstage with Green Rocker Jack Johnson

It's not everyday you get unfettered backstage access to a rock concert but my assignment for Focus Earth wasn't to go backstage at an "everyday" anything. This is Jack Johnson, king of green rock and roll (though he is + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Ned Potter on Lowland Gorillas in Africa

Lowland Gorillas inhabit a vanishing landscape, a jungle in Central Africa so dense and remote, and so free from traces of human life, that a surveyor nicknamed it "The Green Abyss." After a two-year survey of the area, the + READ MORE

Focus Earth: August 9, 2008

This week on Focus Earth, Bob Woodruff's eco-report for ABC News and Planet Green, the team travels the U.S. and the world, to bring you the latest on everything from your neighbors' carbon footprints to the threatened future of + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: An American Treasure

By Carrie McGourty The American prairie, the temperate grasslands that span from Canada to Texas and an iconic part of America's landscape, has mostly been lost in the past couple centuries to development and agriculture. Home to the prairie dog + READ MORE

Bill Clinton on Focus Earth!

If you've been wondering where Bill Clinton stands on environmental issues these days, you'll want to catch the ABC News production for Planet Green, Focus Earth. Bob Woodruff and Bill Clinton talk candidly about the recent G8 Summit and its + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: Who's the Greenest Presidential Candidate?

Barack Obama has been called green, in that he is a younger, less experienced candidate, but is also known for his green-friendly platform. John McCain, the Republican presumed nominee, is perhaps not as known for greenness, as it were. + READ MORE

Focus on Focus Earth: World Leaders Cut Emissions; Bush Too!

The G8 (or Group of eight) is a more than 30-year-old group of eight nations (if you didn't already know) that gets together once a year, in one of the countries (they alternate) and talks about stuff: global economics, + READ MORE

Planet Green's Focus Earth with Bob Woodruff Premieres

(Silver Spring, Md.) - On Saturday, July 12 at 6PM ET, Bob Woodruff of ABC News returns to the anchor desk for a new weekly eco-newscast, Focus Earth with Bob Woodruff, on Planet Green. Each week on Focus Earth, Woodruff + READ MORE

Meet Vinnie Malhotra

Vinnie Malhotra is executive producer of ABC News' Weekend News Content, as well as the executive producer of Focus Earth with Bob Woodruff. At ABC News, he is responsible for the editorial content and production of the network's two + READ MORE

About Focus Earth

Focus Earth is a weekly eco-newscast for Planet Green, Discovery Communications' 24/7 eco-lifestyle network. Each week, Bob Woodruff covers a variety of subjects ranging from climate impact, environmental policy, political debate and world events. An ABC News production for Planet + READ MORE

Meet Bob Woodruff

Bob Woodruff joined ABC News in 1996 and has covered major stories throughout the country and around the world for the network. He was named co-anchor of ABC's "World News Tonight" in December 2005. On January 29, 2006, while + READ MORE