Anyone Catch "Bill Nye's Global Meltdown" on NatGeo Tonight?

I had just heard about this episode of NatGeo's EXPLORER titled "Bill Nye's Global Meltdown" last night. After reading a brief outline I made sure to watch it. (Very rare for me regarding any TV show.)

From broadwayworld .com

Acclaimed educator and "Science Guy" Bill Nye realizes the reason he is feeling down is because he is in fact suffering from "climate change grief." With a little help from Hollywood action star and environmental advocate former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nye delves into the various manifestations of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance that represent not only the clinical stages of grief, but also the shared emotions that people exhibit in relation to the stark realities of climate change.

Here's a 30 second preview via Vimeo

The story follows Nye around the country as he attempts to overcome the various stages of "climate change grief," as recommended by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plays Nye's "therapist" in the episode. It combines very humorous scenes between the two as well as matter-of-fact interviews with engineers, activists, congressmen and fellow scientists from around the world.

Various topics are discussed including the Alberta tar sands, the futility of currently booming coastal construction (namely in Miami,) collecting methane from landfills and the validity of renewable energy (among others.)

I found the show extremely factual and highly entertaining, (in proper Bill Nye fashion.) I didn't sense an abundance of "spin" in the rhetoric, nor was it overly ambiguous (in proper NatGeo fashion.) There are definitely a few good laughs, including some very awkward moments with a Florida State Representative who is obviously stuck in the "denial" stage.

We get to see our beloved Science Guy smoking cigars with the Governator, as well as a rare shot of him with his trademark bow tie untied in disheveled hopelessness after a visit with Guy McPherson.

This was the climax of the episode for me, having read McPherson's work to much horror. McPherson and Nye sit down for some straight whiskey and cigarettes at McPherson's New Mexico home and discuss his truly bleak assertion that "there will not be any humans left on Earth by 2030." This of course, was during the "depression" phase of Nye's recovery. No overt attempt to discredit McPherson is made (to my surprise.) However, Bill errs more on the side of hope as he emerges out of his grief and accepts the reality of climate change.

Nye leaves us with two possible outcomes: One being "do nothing" which will most certainly spell doom for humanity in short order... OR... "Change the world." The Science Guy makes the plea that indeed there is still hope, although there is most definitely a grave issue at hand, and YES: it's largely our own fault, regardless of the outcome we choose.

If you did watch the episode, let me know what you thought about the program, likes and dislikes etc.

If you missed it, I highly recommend trying to catch it in the future should they rerun it. (There will be a rerun at 1AM CST this morning)

I thought it was great!

a reply to: Aqualung2012

Sounds awesome, thanks for the post on it - i think you drew me in more than any standard review or blurb could. Hopefully I'll carve out the time and find somewhere i can watch it soon so i can post a reply after giving it a watch.

a reply to: dogstar23

Thanks I appreciate the compliment.

Yeah, I just checked the schedule, they are replaying it at 1AM CST. (I see you're from IL.)

Assuming you have NatGeo and can stay up that late you'll be able to catch it for sure!

Make sure You pay heed to what the Flori-Duh Legislator says about the future and His constituents. I turned it over right after they spoke w/Gov. Scott, You know the guy that spent $75M from a healthcare scheme for a job that pays $237k/yr.. You also have to remember that the $$ the Gov. was actually making on welfare recipient drug tests were deemed to be a 'conflict of interest'

namaste

a reply to: JimNasium

Do you mean that you turned it off, or you turned it on when they spoke to Gov. Scott?

...Coz he refused to comment for the show. They never talked to him, instead they got some goofy State Rep instead.

Just sayin'

But yeah that guy they interviewed was full of that "color by numbers" way of speaking that's typical of politicians. All he could talk about was what's "fiscally responsible." Flori-duh indeed.

I watched it and enjoyed it.

I thought Nye and Arnold (won't try to spell his last name) did a great job with the comedy.

The interview with the Flori-duh representative was very telling. He seemed to have an underlying grin on his face the whole time. I thought Nye goofed up when he allowed himself to answer the question of What do we do. He should have thrown it back at the guy and made him answer it. I guess he did kinda. But I think he should have pushed him more. Maybe it would have smacked that grin off his face.

A co-worker has family that is planning to move into the area. When I brought up the water rise, his answer was. Well they don't believe it's really a problem. Some people are just being fear-mongers. LOL!!! It took me alot to shut up and walk away just shaking my head.

McPherson's part in this... I think folks like him who go way overboard, are the problem with people not believing this to actually happen. I think he said by 2030 well all be dead. Or something like that. That to me is fear-mongering. I guess it did give me a little giggle though when they were drinking the whiskey.

All in all, I thought it was a good program, and would recommend others check it out.

a reply to: crappiekat

I totally agree that Nye -if not should have- definitely could have nailed that Representative to the wall... WITH SCIENCE! hahaha! But, the Science Guy is a well mannered and respectful man who is above such things. (Despite a proven false rumor that implies Nye went on a tirade against creationists using "f-bombs" and calling them "f-ing idiots.")

As far as McPherson... I was slightly disappointed that they didn't get more into why he says these things. I linked McPherson's scientific journals in the OP (as his name,) and there is a massive amount of cited evidence for his claims. There was no mention whatsoever of self-reinforcing feedback loops in the episode, which are the "nails in the coffin" so to speak.

I don't believe Nye or the NatGeo producers wanted to adhere too firmly to any prognosis. They did a fair job of keeping the balance between "no hope" and "hope," given the "death grieving" theme. Yes, there is a death to be grieved, but I believe it is the death of the known industrial way of life rather than the death of humanity itself which is at hand.

IDK though, McPherson as a fear monger definitely does a great job, albeit rather quietly when compared to the typical blowhards out there. I'm not convinced he's wrong, but we shall see.