I am an hour into watching Earth 2100, the 2 hour special on ABC which attempts to predict the progression of climate change over the next 91 years. So far, nothing to disagree with. Some big names here! Jared Diamond, I enjoyed his book Collapse, a very insightful look at the process of human over-exploitation of natural systems. Exhibit A, the collapse of Easter Island in the 1600s following total deforestation. Heidi Cullen of the Weather Channel, the one the denial squad hates worse than Al Gore, if possible.
We expect to have 9 billion live humans on this rock by the year 2050. Rising seas, expanding droughts, climate refugees. Colorado River, mostly dry, Las Vegas empty. But looking at this through my own eyes, I have to spare a moment to try to see it through the eyes of others:
"Crazy fear mongering, that's what it is. There are no limits to our ability to feed humans. Economics teaches us that the human mind is capable of meeting any challenge. If climate change turns out to be real, and it won't by the way, we will figure out how to grow food in air conditioned greenhouses and build sea walls to protect Miami, New York City, New Orleans." No, that's not part of the show, I am just telling you what was going through the minds of certain audience members. Of course, most of those people did not watch this show beyond the first minute, let's face it.
One thing that is missing in this program so far is a true global perspective. They spoke about China and India briefly, then let it drop. Yes, there is not enough time in two hours to explain all of this, so okay. They did mention that Bangladesh will lose most of its land with 3 feet of added sea level. Yup.
Did you watch this show? What did you think?
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 7
I would like to know more about who funded the making of this show. I find it very interesting but skipping many points about the effects of global warming.
The idea of putting flood gates in New York City harbors is nothing new and the technology is available but not the funding. I also doubt that New York City will be the savour of the American people.
If we are going to continue to feed the worlds populations we would need to practice soil conservation which is scoffed at by corporate farming. I believe we will feed the worlds hungry or they will just come and take what they need like the barbarians did with Rome.
I have no doubt that global warming is going to go into overdrive very soon and the deniers will still be denying as their tongue swells from the lack of water. I think this program was put on as fear mongering to help give government the leverage it needs to screw up things even more than they are already.
wow wolverine, not sure you even know what happened today.
I think this program was put on as fear mongering to help give government the leverage it needs to screw up things even more than they are already.
Jack, let go of the dark side! I find it hard to get motivated any more on climate change with the road we are walking down, but bottom line, without a scrap of optimism we can't survive. We have to somehow hold onto that scrap, while admitting our past failures and follies, and the steepness of the mountain we must climb.
Bob Woodfuff, host of this TV special. said that making up what will happen in the future is "a different kind of journalism". Granted, in the recent past, journalists seemed to make up stories about current events. With regards to the global warming issue, many scientists have been doing for years what Woodruff is just now claims to be contemplating. Hey, if AGW activists can make up stories about the future, so can journalists! Let's call it "virtual" journalism. It could be automated as a subroutine at the end of global cilamte model runs...ready for printing in newspapers or scripts for TV shows.
Jeff- there are times that fiction can speak to us in a language that we hear a lot better than nonfiction. There were plenty of dry texts describing the predicament of the Jim Crow south. then Harper Lee wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird", and helped to change the world. I'm okay with fiction that is based on reality. I am not okay with supposed nonfiction that is based on fantasy, as in the odd little books penned by the climate change denial squad with the support of maybe one percent of the scientific community.
gee, 150 readers and one rating. Lot of people on the fence out there on climate change. That was okay in 1980, people.
You can look out. You can look in. What have you done in the face?
I didn't watch the show. Every few zillion million years (forgot the actual number - ha ha) Earth has a big extinction level event. Most things die. Life starts over. There's nothing saying it can't happen again - and the disaster this time wasn't a comet or whatever, but humans.
Maybe.