The underlying message of the entire series is that man will finally realize just before its too late that we need to stop using fossil fuels (and eating meat?). The appropriate global agencies will take the lead and scientists will dictate exactly what we need to do to save humanity.
His smugness throughout is grating. I can't believe I watched all of the first and got more than 5 minutes into the second.
The funny thing is that he never mentions the part where all the scientists knew we were headed into an Ice Age. Also, he hints that the Japanese will be the heroes that provide the scientific knowhow. China is barely mentioned, but this was the 80's after all. And then of course there is him worrying about CFCs because we hadn't stopped pumping those out yet (or hadn't figured out that maybe there really was no relationship between CFCs and the ozone hole.)
His great recommendation was a market in carbon credits where Africa would be given more credits than they needed so they could sell them to the first world and use the money to industrialize with green technology. Of course Burke hadn't figured on Fortune 500 companies buying up businesses that only theoretically could emit greenhouse gasses and then claim credits for never turning on the factories.
Thanks for warning me about that. I’ll be certain not to watch. I can’t stand smug. But it’s a perfect example of how scientists are soooo smart.
OH - this comment you made backs up one of my pet observations: “...claim credits for never turning on the factories” - write it down - People who have to live by the rules are almost always smarter than those who write the rules. (This is especially true of Americans and Congress...)