In the present age, where humans are beginning to recognize their substantial, and often negative, impact on the environment, lawyers, philosophers, and activists are trying to find ways to use the established legal system to handle issues of environmental damage. In this talk, University of Southern California law professor Christopher Stone explains his bold idea to make natural objects legally considerate. Stone explains the various legal, moral, and environmental implications of his proposal.

Using satellite imagery, scientists have been able to monitor environmental change over large areas such as the Amazon. As Dr. Bruce Nelson discusses in this lecture, satellite technology enables monitoring of both natural and human-created change. Drawing from his work with Brazil's National Amazon Research Institute, Nelson explains why the human impact in the Amazon is cause for concern, and he also shows why natural disturbances in the rain forest are interesting to study.