Did ABC's Earth 2100 Go Too Far?

By Dr Gwenn, Thu, June 04, 2009

I watched ABC’s Earth 2100 the other night because

1. Nothing else was on.
2. The description on Comcast sparked the “go green”, “save the planet” part of me.

The Comcast description invitingly stated this about the show:“An environmental road map to the 22nd century explores possible effects ofclimate change, population growth, & resource depletion….”

We all know the facts so I wasn’t expecting a feel good show but I was expecting a show about hope and ways we can have a better tomorrow. Not! Earth 2100 was, in the end, an apocalyptic docu-drama with a sci-fi feel aka Mad Max or Planet of the Apes that droned on for 1 hour and 45 minutes based on zero facts and pure speculation.

In the show’s remaining 15 minutes, the producers attempted to lighten the mood with a more hopeful depiction of what we can do to improve our fate but by then most people had either clicked off or tuned out. Plus, 15 minutes? Is that all we deserve to be hopeful that our planet can be saved?

Between other blogs and comments in blogs, I couldn’t find a single word of praise for this show.

The examiner.com came closest to my perceptions of the overall viewing experience with a post titled: “Global warming as the worst science fiction—Earth 2100 making fighting climate change harder” and these comments:

“The greenhouse effect is real. CO2 does push up temperatures. Global warming has been occurring since about 1880 (although it has taken a breather lately, with no warming since 2002). But when ABC paints a scary picture of temperatures rising six degrees by 2070 and sea level rises of 3-7 meters, it is about as real as Battlefield Earth. In fact, last night's show would have been improved by John Travolta...”

Earth 2100 didn’t even do a good job in awareness. Hit the Discovery Channel or your local science museum if you want to learn about the real issues our planet faces…and you’ll learn we’re doing ok. Sure, we have issues to grapple with but at least we’re not ignoring them or taking them for granted. They are out in the open and being investigated. The portrayal of the human race shown in Earth 2100 is not what we are, not even close!

If you have tweens and teens, this is one show they don’t need to view. Let them live their lives hopeful and knowing our world is ok – because it is, and it will be for their kids. If we all believe that, we’ll take the necessary steps to ensure our futures.