♪ >> coming up, rebuilding after the earthquake. revolution will be televised. and china, the world's electronic wastebasket. mesmerized by what was destroyed. >> in nepal, a long way to go

after the earthquake. >> he lost his mother and his school. >> if we are rebuilding in school, it have to be -- school. >> rebuilding lives and schools in nepal. ♪

>> i live in kathmandu. i am helping with the school that was destroyed. ♪ >> i was amazed by how many schools were destroyed.

the only good thing i can think of is that happened on a weekend.

♪ ♪

♪

[chatter]

>> you need wls that are reinforced and brackets that support the walls a so the ceiling doesn't collapse as quickly and it allows evacuations. you need flexibility in the design, so the building can move as the earthquake is happening. and a place like nepal does not have the technology. but there are things you can do at the local level that will help.

>> and the reconstruction has started now. it is a program i initiated. >> there are now modern ways of predicting earthquakes and giving children more time to evacuate.

and that is a key point. you can save lives through prevention measures. and it works. ♪

announcer: ukraine, a country rocked by conflict and still searching for greater democracy. announcer: turning a camera lens on politics. announcer: can reformers succeed in creating a more open society?

announcer: in 2014, anya fled her home in eastern ukraine when the escalating conflict gripped the country. announcer: she settled her family nearly 300 kilometers also in eastern ukraine. theence interrupted after

president was ousted. he was part of the corruption that plagued the country. some hoped for a new democratic order, but others thought they would go into chaos. support for the revolution was lower in eastern ukraine where she is from. although most ukrainians were unhappy with corruption, many like tonya felt torn over the recent rolution, which is revolution, maidan named for the plaza where the revolution take place -- took place. ♪ announcer: despite the difficult

situation she finds herself in, she still has hope for the future. she has received training at the democracy project and now has work with the city council. her town council and others like it across ukraine received support from the u.n. democracy fund, to help bring about reform in the country and give greater voice to the citizens. many of those consuls -- cou ncils like this one are enthusiastic supporters of reform. ya, at the -- oksan council, is in favor of the revolution. announcer: it is 10:00 a.m. on a

thursday and oksanya is supervising a session. public representatives from the surrounding region have come to the city to vote on aundle of new proposals with far-reaching effects. she says the support they have received through the ui democracy fund has helped transform the council. announcer: the project was the brainchild of the western ukrainian resource center, an ananization led by

organization in western ukraine. announcer: this lack of ansparency fueled the anger against th ousted president to redeem, when he canceled a

cooperation agreement with the european union. ukrainians have long felt like they had no control over politicians, but the democracy project is helping to shift attitudes. announcer: the democracy program introduced councils from across ukraine to a new tool tt would allow constituents to watch over political proceedings. the innovation is the only streaming of counsel sessions, a standard practice in western democracies, but absent in the local councils of ukraine. says it has been a

great catalyst for engagement. a young activist from the nearby viage was so inspired by the u.n. democracy project, he began taping his village council sessions himself. the videos he posted to youtube have a large audience.

announcer: if he is one day no longer able to film the sessions, he thinks his work won't live on. that is why hhas traved from the village to meet with bucks on a -- oksanya today, to get advice on how they can legally mandate streaming. announcer: today, he gets

encouraging news when a village councilmember throws her support behind his project. announcer: directly because of his efforts to bring about greater transparency, two months after we filmed his work, the head of the council was arrested on major bribery charges. sergei try toike build a new political system, for tanya the focus has been on building her new life. and with the democracy training, she sees better prospects for herself and her family.

announcer: as she settles into her new wk machine hopes the new insights -- work, she hopes the new insights will lead to even more democratic ukraine. ♪ announcer: in china, a digital mountain of e-waste. >> we should be mindful, nowadays people get rid of old phones all the time. announcer: the search for a solution to a growing problem. >> sometimes they end up in cities where they are dismantled and very unhealthy and unsafe ways. in a world of computers my tablets and smartphones, electronic waste is

becoming a major worldwide problem. and china is in the front lines. does it is one of the globe's leading producers of electronic equipment. province has seen huge changes. long submerged in poverty, it has now become a center for createdg e-waste it has multimillion dollar businesses. it has been described as the world's electronic waste basket, with 80% of the people earning a living by ripping apart old electronics, especially old computers and mobile phones. >> nowadays, people get rid of old phones all the time. announr: here is the director of the largest internet search engine company. up inetimes they end cities where they are dismantled

in uealthy and unsafe ways that expose not only people who are doing the dismantling to dangerous chemicals, but it pollutes the air and ground modern -- groundwater. announcer: with its extensive reach, this company has worked with united nations programs to come up with an innovation that could help reduce -- and prove the proper disposal of electronic waste. >> it gives you choices of products you might want to recycle. i want to recycle this old refrigerator, so all i need to do is pick the size, the date i want it to be picked up, and take a photo of it. now, i select the place where i am and one of the companies will come and pick it up. announcer: along with the u.s., china produces a third of the world's e-waste.

the chinese ministry of environment is encouraging manufacturers to follow recycling procedures. but china is still set to become the largest generator of electronic waste by 2017. so the search for solutions is more urgent than ever. announcer ♪ [captions made possible by kcet television]

announcer: this is the moment of reckoning, between human nature and the force of nature, the tipping point of our collective future. right here, right now, on "this planet." our first video, "biomimicry," looks to nature for innovative solutions to engiering and sign challenges. the video features science writer jine benyus. she shows how mimicking nature can solve pressing problems to help create a long-term, sustainable world. [music]