Tuesday, June 2, ABC will air ‘Earth 2100′: the Final Century of Civilization?, which sounds like a must-watch program for anyone who is the least bit interested in energy, environmental, or sustainability issues:
It’s an idea that most of us would rather not face — that within the next century, life as we know it could come to an end. Our civilization could crumble, leaving only traces of modern human existence behind.
It seems outlandish, extreme — even impossible. But according to cutting edge scientific research, it is a very real possibility. And unless we make drastic changes now, it could very well happen.
Experts have a stark warning: that unless we change course, the “perfect storm” of population growth, dwindling resources and climate change has the potential to converge in the next century with catastrophic results.
In order to plan for the worst, we must anticipate it. In that spirit, guided by some of the world’s experts, ABC News’ “Earth 2100,” hosted by Bob Woodruff, will journey through the next century and explore what might be our worst-case scenario.
But no one can predict the future, so how do we address the possibilities that lie ahead? Our solution is Lucy, a fictional character devised by the producers at ABC to guide us through the twists and turns of what the next 100 years could look like. It is through her eyes and experiences that we can truly imagine the experts’ worst-case scenario — and be inspired to make changes for the better.
Let me state the obvious: I don’t get advance screenings of such shows, so I’m basing my comments on the article above, which was produced by ABC. But judging by the people they mention (most notably Heidi Cullen, Michael Klare, John P. Holdren, and E. O. Wilson), it sounds like they did their homework. We all have our personal hot button topics in the vast, undulating energy and environmental landscape, so I’m sure most of us here will complain about which areas they do and don’t emphasize “enough”. And there’s always the possibility, which hangs like the sword of mediocrity over any such project, that they’ll take refuge in faux balance, e.g. “That’s what some experts say. But the following list of right-wing think tanks and fossil fuel corporations all say we shouldn’t worry our pretty little heads about such awful tales of woe and instead keep shopping.”
I, for one, plan to watch and see what they came up with.
