Bad Bugs

It's the third appearance on KobreGuide for New York Times videojournalist Erik Olsen. First he offered a video profile of Serena Williams' practicing partner, in Hitting with Serena. Then he updated us on the work of an artist who found fame at 21 when her design was selected for Washington's Vietnam Memorial, in Maya Lin's 'Wave Field.'

Now Erik is back with an ambitious video report on the devastation of millions of acres of North American forests, all because of an insect the size of a grain of rice. The tiny mountain pine beetle is responsible for the largest insect infestation in the history of the continent. It's a big problem with far-reaching consequences and no easy solutions. View it here: America's Disappearing Forests.

Lioness ... and Other Remarkable Women

Perhaps you saw the full-length documentary "Lioness" this week on public television. It tells the story of a group of female Army support soldiers who unintentionally became the first women in American history to be sent into direct ground combat. Without sufficient training, these young women ended up fighting in some of the bloodiest counterinsurgency battles of the Iraq war. Their candid narratives describing their experiences in Iraq and scenes from their lives back home form a portrait of the emotional and psychological effects of war from a female point of view.

The directors of "Lioness" produced a video op-ed piece for The New York Times, arguing that it's time for U.S. legislators to acknowledge female warriors and properly train and equip them for battle.

Look for it here on KobreGuide:

LIONESS: WOMEN IN COMBAT
There's a disconnect between what U.S. policy says female soldiers can do and the fighting they are actually doing, so they're not getting the training they need.

Other KobreGuide video reports on remarkable women this week:

ALEXANDRA MORTON's SALMON FIGHT
In northern British Columbia, a self-trained biologist is battling fish farms in hopes of saving the orca whale population.

MAYA LIN's 'WAVE FIELD'
The artist found fame at 21 by designing the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. Look at what she is creating now.