CNN put out a release talking about its upcoming mega HD two night documentary Planet In Peril airing on October 23rd and 24th at 9pm ET…

In a sweeping four-hour documentary about the threats to the world’s environment, Planet in Peril takes viewers to places where environmental change is not a theory or just a future forecast, but a crisis happening in real time.

Bringing viewers the stories behind the statistics, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Animal Planet host and wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin will focus on four main issues that threaten the planet and its inhabitants: climate change, deforestation, species loss and overpopulation. Planet in Peril, filmed across four continents and 13 countries, airs over two nights on CNN/U.S. on Tuesday, Oct. 23, and Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. (ET/PT) and globally on CNN International.

“Some documentaries convey alarming statistics and others utilize stunning cinematography, but Planet in Peril brings it all together,” said Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. “This is a comprehensive and thorough evaluation of the state of our planet. We bring viewers right to the heart of the issue with CNN’s global perspective.”

“The environment is more than just a niche news story; it is an issue that affects every living being and warrants greater attention in the press,” Cooper said. “Our goal was to report not only on individual issues but to examine the interconnectivity of environmental changes. Instead of simply delving into academic theories, we set out to document the actual changes taking place that affect the way we live our lives and the choices we make.”

Offering first-hand accounts of environmental strife, Cooper, Corwin and Gupta traveled across the globe to explore these changes and reveal what they mean for each region and the world at large.

Cooper and Corwin traveled to Brazil to examine connections between the rapid deforestation of the Amazon River Basin and changes in the world’s climate, embedding with “poacher police” amid raids of illegal logging camps. In Thailand and Cambodia, they walk the markets where endangered animals are bought and sold to find out how their removal can affect entire ecosystems. Additionally, they traveled to Greenland to report on its melting ice sheet, where Cooper witnessed one of the world’s newest islands, discovered when the ice receded.

Taking viewers beyond the broad headlines, Corwin visits Alaska to help viewers understand how North America’s largest carnivore, the polar bear, is quickly losing its habitat and exists at the edge of extinction. Cooper and Corwin report from Yellowstone Park to show how park officials reintroduce species to their native environment.

With his extensive medical expertise, Gupta brings a deep understanding of the environmental pressures on the human population. In China, Gupta examines how the world’s most populous nation consumes its natural resources and the toll it takes on its people and the entire world. He also reports from Central Africa to show how climate change is drying up one of the world’s largest lakes and the impact that is having on a region already in crisis.

The debut of Planet in Peril, shot and produced using state-of-the-art high-definition equipment, comes on the heels of the Fall 2007 launch of CNN-HD, the network’s high-definition news channel. Crews for Anderson Cooper 360°, an in-depth, comprehensive news program that takes a full 360-degree look at the world’s events, produced Planet in Peril.

Anderson Cooper, who joined CNN in December 2001, has reported diverse and powerful stories from around the world including the Mideast turmoil from Lebanon and Israel in July 2006; Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath from New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast; the Sago Mine tragedy in West Virginia; the war on terrorism from Afghanistan and Iraq; famine and disease from The Congo and across Africa; and environmental issues from South America. Cooper and Anderson Cooper 360° have won several awards, most recently three Emmy awards in 2006 for reports about famine in Niger, Charity Hospital in New Orleans and black market infertility. Cooper is also a National Headliners Award and Peabody Award winner.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is chief medical correspondent for the health and medical unit at CNN. Gupta plays an integral role in the network’s medical coverage, which includes daily packages, the half-hour weekend show House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta and coverage of breaking medical news. A Peabody and Emmy Award-winning journalist, Gupta’s reporting has taken him to Kuwait and Iraq, where he was embedded with the U.S. Navy’s medical unit the “Devil Docs” and performed neurosurgery in the field, as well as to Bangkok, Thailand, Sri Lanka and New Orleans.

Animal Planet host and wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin has been working for the conservation of endangered species and ecosystems around the world since he was a teenager. Animal Planet viewers best know Corwin as host of The Jeff Corwin Experience and for the Discovery Kids series Jeff Corwin Unleashed, which won him an Emmy as “Outstanding Host” and nominations in three other categories. Since 2000, Corwin has partnered with Animal Planet and Discovery Communications as host and executive producer of The Jeff Corwin Experience and Corwin’s Quest.