Earth 2100
Encyclopedia
Earth 2100 is a television program that was presented by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
network on June 2, 2009 and was aired on the History channel in January 2010 and will continue to be shown through 2010. Hosted by ABC journalist Bob Woodruff, the two-hour special explored what a worst-case future might look like if humans do not take action on current or impending problems that could threaten civilization. The problems addressed in the program include climate change
, overpopulation
, and misuse of energy resources.
The events parallel the life of a fictitious storyteller, "Lucy" (told through the use of motion comics, or limited animation
), as she describes how the events affect her life. The program included predictions of a dystopian Earth in the years 2015, 2030, 2050, 2085, and 2100 by scientists, historians, social anthropologists, and economists, including Jared Diamond
, Thomas Homer-Dixon
, Peter Gleick
, James Howard Kunstler
, Heidi Cullen
, Alex Steffen
and Joseph Tainter
. It ended with a quote from writer Alex Steffen
, saying "Kids born today will see us navigate past the first greatest test of humanity, which is: can we actually be smart enough to live on a planet without destroying it?"
According to Executive Producer Michael Bicks, "this program was developed to show the worst-case scenario for human civilization. Again, we are not saying that these events will happen — rather, that if we fail to seriously address the complex problems of climate change, resource depletion and overpopulation, they are much more likely to happen."
" project where viewers were encouraged to submit homemade videos imagining life in 2015, 2050, and 2100 in locations in Africa
, Australia
, United States
, Europe
, India
, South America
, and China
. During the summer and fall of 2008, users began to post their submissions on the Earth 2100 website, and these videos were cobbled together into a Web-based narrative showing the worldwide consequences of population growth, resource depletion, and climate change.
Multiple delays changed the scope of the project. Originally, Earth 2100 was set to air in September 2008. Then, partly due to personal reasons on the part of producer Michael Bicks, the program was rescheduled for Spring 2009. The final product was innovative in its use of the "motion comics" element and the "Lucy" story, but used very little user-generated footage.
The Earth 2100 website, however, does feature selections of user-created videos representing the crisis points of 2015, 2050, and 2100.
technique using the talents of comic book
creators, including Josh Neufeld
, Sari Wilson, Joe Infurnari, George O'Connor
, Tim Hamilton, and Leland Purvis
. Their story was brought to "life" by the visual effects company Guerilla FX and lead animator John Bair.
and meets her husband, Josh, an engineer, during a protest against high water prices of California desalinated seawater in 2030 (Las Vegas
had run dry).
In 2050, they and their 19-year-old daughter Molly move to New York City
by car, passing desperate Texans begging for rides north. One pulls a gun on Molly, but fortunately, others in the car/truck convoy point automatic weapons on the desperate man, who backs down. While the others in the convoy make it to Canada, New York City is a marvel of clean power, clean transit, and community gardening. Josh sets to work building a flood barrier
to hold back the ocean, but the CO2
warming unleashes trapped methane in the Arctic
, which causes even faster, non-linear warming.
An effort to use sulfur dioxide
as a last resort to cool the planet is called off when it is found to destroy the ozone layer
. Lucy finds and helps quarantine and neutralize a strange new disease, and Molly moves upstate to an agricultural community. During a storm at high tide in 2075, Josh is killed trying to fix a stuck gate, and New York City is flooded. Lucy refuses Molly's offer to live with her, her husband and son. Starving people among the rotting flood damage set the stage for the return of the disease Lucy saw, now called "Caspian Fever."
Caspian Fever soon becomes a pandemic
and kills so many people on Earth that population growth starts shrinking, and eventually it dawns on Lucy and every American that there is no Federal response, no National Guard, no soldiers to keep order. Democracy and civilization at the national level have died in America.
Lucy leaves the city with some friends and a dog in 2081, and eventually finds her daughter, now a widow like herself, and her grandson. Initially there is no communication with the world, until someone set up a two-way radio. In 2100, Lucy ponders what wisdom to pass along to her grandson, now denied the education she took for granted, as she is the oldest person in the world.
.
Response to the broadcast was mostly confined to online comment boards, which soon buzzed with debates about the validity of Earth 2100' s predictions, and the show's overall effectiveness. Many commenters were annoyed by the show's apocalyptic, dystopian tone, accusing ABC of fear-mongering. Thomas Fuller, writing for Examiner.com
, accused ABC of portraying "science fiction" as fact, and claimed that:
ABC made sure, however, to post annotated transcripts on the Earth 2100 website, outlining the scientific sources for the program's various predictions, scenarios, and statements.
Conversely, many commenters found the Lucy/motion comic storyline a very effective way of depicting the various predictions. Posts also congratulated ABC for devoting a two-hour, prime-time spot to the issue, and asked when the program would be re-aired, made available on DVD, or posted online.
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
network on June 2, 2009 and was aired on the History channel in January 2010 and will continue to be shown through 2010. Hosted by ABC journalist Bob Woodruff, the two-hour special explored what a worst-case future might look like if humans do not take action on current or impending problems that could threaten civilization. The problems addressed in the program include climate change
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
, overpopulation
Overpopulation
Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. The term often refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth...
, and misuse of energy resources.
The events parallel the life of a fictitious storyteller, "Lucy" (told through the use of motion comics, or limited animation
Limited animation
Limited animation is a process of making animated cartoons that does not redraw entire frames but variably reuses common parts between frames. One of its major trademarks is the stylized design in all forms and shapes, which in the early days was referred to as modern design...
), as she describes how the events affect her life. The program included predictions of a dystopian Earth in the years 2015, 2030, 2050, 2085, and 2100 by scientists, historians, social anthropologists, and economists, including Jared Diamond
Jared Diamond
Jared Mason Diamond is an American scientist and author whose work draws from a variety of fields. He is currently Professor of Geography and Physiology at UCLA...
, Thomas Homer-Dixon
Thomas Homer-Dixon
Thomas Homer-Dixon holds the Centre for International Governance Innovation Chair of Global Systems at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Ontario, and is a Professor in the Centre for Environment and Business in the Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo...
, Peter Gleick
Peter Gleick
Dr. Peter H. Gleick is a scientist working on issues related to the environment, economic development, and international security, with a focus on global freshwater challenges. He works at the Pacific Institute in Oakland, California, which he co-founded in 1987. In 2003 he was awarded a MacArthur...
, James Howard Kunstler
James Howard Kunstler
James Howard Kunstler is an American author, social critic, public speaker, and blogger. He is best known for his books The Geography of Nowhere , a history of American suburbia and urban development, and the more recent The Long Emergency , where he argues that declining oil production is likely...
, Heidi Cullen
Heidi Cullen
Heidi Cullen is interim CEO and lead correspondent for Climate Central. Prior to that, she was the climate expert and correspondent for The Weather Channel where she helped start Forecast Earth, the first weekly program on climate change and the environment. Before joining The Weather Channel she...
, Alex Steffen
Alex Steffen
Alex Steffen is an American writer, editor, public speaker and futurist most noted for his bright green ideas.Steffen co-founded and ran the online magazine Worldchanging from its start in 2003 until its closure in 2010...
and Joseph Tainter
Joseph Tainter
Joseph A. Tainter is a U.S. anthropologist and historian.Tainter studied anthropology at the University of California and Northwestern University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1975. He is currently a professor in the Department of Environment and Society at Utah State University...
. It ended with a quote from writer Alex Steffen
Alex Steffen
Alex Steffen is an American writer, editor, public speaker and futurist most noted for his bright green ideas.Steffen co-founded and ran the online magazine Worldchanging from its start in 2003 until its closure in 2010...
, saying "Kids born today will see us navigate past the first greatest test of humanity, which is: can we actually be smart enough to live on a planet without destroying it?"
According to Executive Producer Michael Bicks, "this program was developed to show the worst-case scenario for human civilization. Again, we are not saying that these events will happen — rather, that if we fail to seriously address the complex problems of climate change, resource depletion and overpopulation, they are much more likely to happen."
Development
According to early ABC press releases, Earth 2100 was meant to be an "unprecedented television and Internet event." The initial phase of the project was an online "crowdsourcingCrowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing is the act of sourcing tasks traditionally performed by specific individuals to a group of people or community through an open call....
" project where viewers were encouraged to submit homemade videos imagining life in 2015, 2050, and 2100 in locations in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. During the summer and fall of 2008, users began to post their submissions on the Earth 2100 website, and these videos were cobbled together into a Web-based narrative showing the worldwide consequences of population growth, resource depletion, and climate change.
Multiple delays changed the scope of the project. Originally, Earth 2100 was set to air in September 2008. Then, partly due to personal reasons on the part of producer Michael Bicks, the program was rescheduled for Spring 2009. The final product was innovative in its use of the "motion comics" element and the "Lucy" story, but used very little user-generated footage.
The Earth 2100 website, however, does feature selections of user-created videos representing the crisis points of 2015, 2050, and 2100.
Motion comic
Lucy's story was created with a limited animationLimited animation
Limited animation is a process of making animated cartoons that does not redraw entire frames but variably reuses common parts between frames. One of its major trademarks is the stylized design in all forms and shapes, which in the early days was referred to as modern design...
technique using the talents of comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
creators, including Josh Neufeld
Josh Neufeld
Josh Neufeld is an alternative cartoonist known for his nonfiction comics on subjects like Hurricane Katrina, international travel, and finance, as well as his collaborations with writers like Harvey Pekar and Brooke Gladstone...
, Sari Wilson, Joe Infurnari, George O'Connor
George O'Connor (author/illustrator)
George O'Connor is an American-born author, cartoonist and illustrator living in Brooklyn.-Career:O'Connor's first picture book, Kapow!, was a New York Times bestseller....
, Tim Hamilton, and Leland Purvis
Leland Purvis
Leland Purvis is a comic book writer and artist, best known for his black and white series Vóx and Pubo.-Awards:Purvis was nominated for the 2004 Ignatz Award for Promising New Talent for his work on Suspended in Language...
. Their story was brought to "life" by the visual effects company Guerilla FX and lead animator John Bair.
Plot
Lucy is born June 2, 2009 (changed to January 1, 2009 in subsequent airings), in the suburbs of Miami and is still alive in the year 2100. In 2015, she moves into an apartment in Miami and a few months later a powerful hurricane named Linda hits and levels much of Miami, killing thousands of people. She and her parents move to San Diego. She becomes an EMTEmergency medical technician
Emergency Medical Technician or Ambulance Technician are terms used in some countries to denote a healthcare provider of emergency medical services...
and meets her husband, Josh, an engineer, during a protest against high water prices of California desalinated seawater in 2030 (Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
had run dry).
In 2050, they and their 19-year-old daughter Molly move to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
by car, passing desperate Texans begging for rides north. One pulls a gun on Molly, but fortunately, others in the car/truck convoy point automatic weapons on the desperate man, who backs down. While the others in the convoy make it to Canada, New York City is a marvel of clean power, clean transit, and community gardening. Josh sets to work building a flood barrier
Flood barrier
A flood barrier, surge barrier of storm surge barrier is a specific type of floodgate, designed to prevent a storm surge or spring tide from flooding the protected area behind the barrier...
to hold back the ocean, but the CO2
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
warming unleashes trapped methane in the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
, which causes even faster, non-linear warming.
An effort to use sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is released by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide unless the sulfur compounds are removed before burning the fuel...
as a last resort to cool the planet is called off when it is found to destroy the ozone layer
Ozone layer
The ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone . This layer absorbs 97–99% of the Sun's high frequency ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to the life forms on Earth...
. Lucy finds and helps quarantine and neutralize a strange new disease, and Molly moves upstate to an agricultural community. During a storm at high tide in 2075, Josh is killed trying to fix a stuck gate, and New York City is flooded. Lucy refuses Molly's offer to live with her, her husband and son. Starving people among the rotting flood damage set the stage for the return of the disease Lucy saw, now called "Caspian Fever."
Caspian Fever soon becomes a pandemic
Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
and kills so many people on Earth that population growth starts shrinking, and eventually it dawns on Lucy and every American that there is no Federal response, no National Guard, no soldiers to keep order. Democracy and civilization at the national level have died in America.
Lucy leaves the city with some friends and a dog in 2081, and eventually finds her daughter, now a widow like herself, and her grandson. Initially there is no communication with the world, until someone set up a two-way radio. In 2100, Lucy ponders what wisdom to pass along to her grandson, now denied the education she took for granted, as she is the oldest person in the world.
Reception
The Earth 2100 premiere garnered an audience of nearly 3.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
.
Response to the broadcast was mostly confined to online comment boards, which soon buzzed with debates about the validity of Earth 2100
Examiner.com
Examiner.com is a media company based in Denver, Colorado, that operates a network of local news websites, allowing "pro–am contributors" to share their city-based knowledge on a blog-like platform, in 238 markets throughout the United States and parts of Canada with two national editions, one for...
, accused ABC of portraying "science fiction" as fact, and claimed that:
ABC made sure, however, to post annotated transcripts on the Earth 2100 website, outlining the scientific sources for the program's various predictions, scenarios, and statements.
Conversely, many commenters found the Lucy/motion comic storyline a very effective way of depicting the various predictions. Posts also congratulated ABC for devoting a two-hour, prime-time spot to the issue, and asked when the program would be re-aired, made available on DVD, or posted online.
See also
- Ecological economicsEcological economicsImage:Sustainable development.svg|right|The three pillars of sustainability. Clickable.|275px|thumbpoly 138 194 148 219 164 240 182 257 219 277 263 291 261 311 264 331 272 351 283 366 300 383 316 394 287 408 261 417 224 424 182 426 154 423 119 415 87 403 58 385 40 368 24 347 17 328 13 309 16 286 26...
- Global warmingGlobal warmingGlobal warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
- Malthusian catastropheMalthusian catastropheA Malthusian catastrophe was originally foreseen to be a forced return to subsistence-level conditions once population growth had outpaced agricultural production...
- Peak oilPeak oilPeak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. This concept is based on the observed production rates of individual oil wells, projected reserves and the combined production rate of a field...
, Peak gasPeak gasPeak gas is the point in time at which the maximum global natural gas production rate is reached, after which the rate of production enters its terminal decline. Natural gas is a fossil fuel formed from plant matter over the course of millions of years. It is a finite resource and thus considered...
, Peak uraniumPeak uraniumPeak uranium is the point in time that the maximum global uranium production rate is reached. After that peak, the rate of production enters a terminal decline. While uranium is used in nuclear weapons, its primary use is for energy generation via nuclear fission of uranium-235 isotope in a nuclear... - Societal collapseSocietal collapseSocietal collapse broadly includes both quite abrupt societal failures typified by collapses , as well as more extended gradual declines of superpowers...
- SurvivalismSurvivalismSurvivalism is a movement of individuals or groups who are actively preparing for future possible disruptions in local, regional, national, or international social or political order...
- Water crisisWater crisisWater crisis is a general term used to describe a situation where the available water within a region is less than the region's demand. The term has been used to describe the availability of potable water in a variety of regions by the United Nations and other world organizations...