Brokaw on Broken Climate

I finally watched Discovery Channel's Global Warming, What you Need to Know with Tom Brokaw. I still have not seen Gore's Inconvenient Truth, so I cannot compare it to that.

On its own, I was mostly impressed with it. It basically highlights the scientific case behind climate change - in accessible language. It addresses skeptics' claims without becoming bogged down in them - a significant feat when compared to others who are trying to do that.

I was particularly impressed by their discussion of climate history. They focused on NY and noted that throughout the history of that area, it was touching glaciers and at other times was mostly under water. This captures something that I think most people do not really understand. Things change!!

While people do grasp that things change on an intellectual level, I think we mostly harbor the idea that things change so slowly that NY may again be waterlogged, but probably not in our lifetime.

After a commercial break or two, we learn that the climate can change quite rapidly. This gives them a chance to use some computer animation to submerge Miami and a few other coastal cities.

But again, they do not fall into the trap of claiming this is unprecedented but carefully qualify it by noting it will be the fastest climate change in the history of human civilization. And that is exactly the point that I think many environmentalists and others forget. The earth is not dying. But we are radically altering it.

This may mostly rehash what we have been studying, but it is well worth at least recommending to others even if you cannot find the time to watch it.

The next showing is noon on 21 August - a Monday. Set up your DVR or request a reminder from the Discovery Channel site promoting the documentary.