No one on earth has ever seen a living great Auk, not since two Icelandic fishermen strangled the last pair of these penguin-like seabirds more than a century ago. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the tragic story of this fat, flightless bird and our efforts to keep others from sharing its fate. Also, T.C. Boyle's vision of future Earth – acid rain, mass extinction, and rampaging plagues.

Environmental journalist Mark Hertsgaard tells Steve Paulson about the Global Green Deal - his scheme for turning capitalists into eco-warriors. Hertsgaard's book is "Earth Odyssey: Around the World in Search of Our Environmental Future." Also, novelist T.C. Boyle's latest is "A Friend of the Earth." It's a satire that deals with a future time when the earth has become an ecological disaster. He talks with Steve Paulson about the book and the concerns that prompted it.

Mark Sagoff is a philosopher at the University of Maryland. Jason Van Driesche is working on an advanced degree in conservation at the University of Wisconsin and is the co-author, with his father Roy Van Driesche, of "Nature Out of Place." Mark and Jason discuss with Jim Fleming the debate about the harm allegedly caused to the environment by the introduction of non-native species of plants and animals.

Reporter Debbie Bilder goes into the field (literally! with bird watcher extraordinaire Kenn Kaufman. Kaufman is the author of the field guide "The Birds of North America." Also, Painter Errol Fuller has written an enormous book called "The Great Auk." He tells Jim Fleming the sad story of this fat, flightless bird - the original penguin and its lasting hold on our imagination.

• Peanut Vendor from the album See It In Sound with Esquivel
• Amazon Paddle Boat from the album See It In Sound with Esquivel
• Boston from the album Sacred Heart #2 with Peter Ostroucshko
• Sacred Heart from the album Sacred Heart #2 with Peter Ostroucshko

Distribution dates:

• week of 10/08/2000 - hour 2