Anderson in Congo

... for Sixty Minutes:

Anderson Cooper and his team have come for a few days to Goma to cover the plight of the Mountain Gorillas following the July massacre and the current fighting that is preventing the Rangers from protecting this imperiled species.

See link for more, plus photos.

Planet in Peril press release

Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta at the premiere of CNN's "Planet in Peril" at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on October 17, 2007 in Hollywood , California . Part I of “Planet in Peril” debuts on CNN on Oct. 23 at 9 p.m. ET; Part II on Oct. 24 at 9 p.m. ET.


CNN is pulling out all the stops for the PiP premiere.

PLANET IN PERIL, PART I

Tonight, this worldwide investigation, reported by CNN's Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Animal Planet's Jeff Corwin starts in the back alleys of Bangkok ’s colorful and chaotic “JJ Market,” a major center of the global black market animal trade. Steve Galster, co-founder of the conservation group Wildlife Alliance, that has confiscated more than 17,000 wild animals, takes the crew through training with Thai law enforcement as they protect native and endangered species from illegal traders.

Next, the documentary travels to Madagascar , home of rare amphibians caught during a Wildlife Alliance raid, to reveal from the air how the island nation has destroyed nearly 85 percent of its forests – where some of the world’s rarest species live – as many as 22 varieties discovered within the last 15 years. Elsewhere, the team reveals efforts to save other endangered species including a wounded tiger in Cambodia ’s Bokor National Park and a young elephant hobbled by a poacher’s snare. In China , the team examines how the most populous nation in the world houses 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world and will likely become the No.1 emitter of greenhouse gases within the next year.

In U.S. , the team discovers that of the roughly 80,000 chemicals and synthetics that exist in myriad products available in the U.S. , only 25 percent are tested for safety. Nearly every American shows signs of PCBS, mercury, lead and other contaminants within their blood streams, and children show higher concentrations than adults.

PLANET IN PERIL, PART II

In Part II, CNN's Anderson Cooper and Animal Planet's Jeff Corwin skim across the Greenland ice sheet on a snowmobile to a giant gap in the ice, where a river rushes beneath a glacier. They witness similar effects on the ice along Alaska ’s Beaufort Sea , and discover how these changes are affecting the survival of the polar bear.


From the Arctic, the team travels to the South Pacific’s Carteret Islands , which might be one of the first places on Earth to feel the full effects of rising sea levels and ocean temperatures. Meanwhile, waters recede in the central African desert where CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta visits a family of fishermen who used to live on the banks of Lake Chad but now walk miles just to get water. Examining deforestation, Cooper and Corwin travel to Brazil ’s Amazon basin where patches of rainforest the size of New Jersey are cut down annually. They confront poachers in a tense stand-off between illegal hunters and government agents.

Also in this episode, Cooper takes questions posed by skeptics of climate change and looks at whether pollution from petroleum companies in Texas is a source of pediatric leukemia.

Also for the countdown, CNN's red logo turns green.

Planet in Peril reviews

The Chronicle Herald

The Provindence Journal

And there's some hot pics here

CNN’s Anderson Cooper Investigates Afghan Drug Trade, Political Challenges

From the Turner Press Room

CNN: Special Investigations Unit – Narco State: The Poppy Jihad Premieres Saturday, Sept. 8, at 8 p.m. (ET)

Six years after the Sept. 11 attacks, CNN’s Anderson Cooper investigates the world’s largest producer of opium – Afghanistan. Despite the millions of American dollars spent on eradication, poppy cultivation in Afghanistan remains out of control with the heroin produced from the opium finding its way to the streets of America and Western Europe.

After a three-month investigation, CNN: Special Investigations Unit – Narco State: The Poppy Jihad uncovers how opium became 46 percent of Afghanistan’s gross domestic product, and what the United States is doing to stop the drug trade and interrupt its links to organized terrorism. Narco State premieres on Saturday, Sept. 8, and Sunday, Sept. 9, at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. All times Eastern.

The documentary reveals that Afghan farmers do not earn much for their crop, but it is more than they can earn growing anything else.

“They [poppies] bring eight times the price of wheat, even though the soaring rate of cultivation means that traffickers will pay less money for the crop this year than last,” Cooper says.

Afghanistan is one of the poorest nations on earth, providing almost no financial support for farmers. Hundreds of millions of dollars from the sale of opium help fund the Taliban and possibly al Qaeda. Afghan government and NATO forces have been reluctant to cultivate enemies among the farmers by interfering with poppy growing. As the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency destroys a poppy crop, a farmer protests: “You have destroyed my crops. I will have no harvest. How will I pay back my loan? What will I eat?”

Cooper points out how the loan likely came from drug lords who may demand one of his daughters for repayment.

International support for developing other institutions and loan programs for farmers has been nearly nonexistent despite the offer of some promises. A U.S. counter-narcotics expert confirms that farmers no longer trust the United States and other governments to help them convert to legitimate agriculture.

Narco State – The Poppy Jihad features interviews with CNN terrorism and Afghanistan expert Peter Bergen, British terrorism journalist Peter Jouvenal, U.S. and Afghan counter-narcotics agents, U.S. intelligence agency officials, and Afghan tribal leaders, drug mules and farmers. The program and Cooper traces the web of links between the drug trade and the resurgence of the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

“Anyone who wants to remember 9/11 should be very concerned about what’s happening in Afghanistan right now,” says Norine MacDonald, a U.S. counter-narcotics expert.

Narco State – The Poppy Jihad is produced by Towers Productions for CNN Productions. Tresha Mabile was producer, Rachel Milton was co-producer, Jeff Martin was supervising producer and Jonathan Towers was executive producer. Mark Nelson is the vice president and senior executive producer for CNN Productions and Jody Gottlieb is executive director and executive producer.

Elton John AIDS Foundation

An Enduring Vision

September 25, 2007
Grand Ballroom, Waldorf Astoria
New York City

The 6th annual An Enduring Vision will feature performances by Sir Elton John and a special musical guest, and will be hosted by Anderson Cooper. As part of the evening, EJAF will present Enduring Vision awards to corporate philanthropists Harry Slatkin of Slatkin & Co./Bath & Body Works and Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele of Chopard and to long-time EJAF supporters Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne.

Please contact Eric Washer at EJAF (+1.212.763.9172) to secure your space.

Vanity Fair Best Dressed

Anderson Cooper in the VF Hall of Fame

Wired Interview

Wired's Steven Edwards interview: "Anderson Cooper Hopes Monday's Debate Throws Candidates out of Their Comfort Zones"