Years of Living Dangerously

Years of Living Dangerously is a 9-part Showtime documentary television series focusing on climate change that premiered on April 13, 2014. James Cameron, Jerry Weintraub, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and clean energy investor and environmental activist Daniel Abbasi are executive producers of the series. Joel Bach and David Gelber, former 60 Minutes producers, are co-creators of the series as well as executive producers. Joseph Romm and Heidi Cullen are the chief science advisors.[1][2] The show won an Emmy Award as Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series.

The weekly episodes feature celebrity investigators, who each have a history of environmental activism, and well-known journalists, each of whom have a background in environmental reportage. These "correspondents" travel to areas around the world and throughout the U.S. affected by global warming to interview experts and ordinary people affected by, and seeking solutions to, the impacts of climate change. They act as proxies for the audience, asking questions to find out people's opinions and to discover the scientific evidence.[3][4] The celebrities include Harrison Ford, Matt Damon, Ian Somerhalder, Jessica Alba, Don Cheadle, America Ferrera, Michael C. Hall, Olivia Munn and Schwarzenegger. The journalists include Lesley Stahl, Thomas Friedman, Chris Hayes and Mark Bittman.[1] The final episode includes Friedman's interview of President Barack Obama.

Schwarzenegger reflected on how the series tried to make the issue of climate change one that would resonate with the public: "I think the environmental movement only can be successful if we are simple and clear and make it a human story. We will tell human stories in this project. The scientists would never get the kind of attention that someone in show business gets."[5] Cameron elaborated: "We didn’t use our celebrities as talking head experts, because they’re not climate experts. They were concerned, intelligent, curious citizens who were out to find answers. They were functioning as journalists."[6] Newsweek said that the celebrity reporters "lend sparks to an issue that sends most viewers for the exits".[7]

Episode summaries

Executive producer and correspondent Arnold Schwarzenegger

Episode 1, "Dry Season" (first aired on April 13, 2014), follows three stories. Don Cheadle reports on the severe droughts in the Southwest United States, following scientist and devout Christian, Katharine Hayhoe, as she tries to communicate to religious audiences the connection between extreme weather and climate change; Harrison Ford visits Indonesia to learn how slash-and-burn deforestation, driven by the worldwide appetite for products like palm oil and paper, contributes a large portion of the world's carbon emissions, and he explores the struggle to resist it; and Thomas Friedman investigates how drought contributed to the civil war in Syria.[2][8]

In Episode 2, "End of the Woods" (April 20, 2014), Arnold Schwarzenegger accompanies a team of elite firefighters in Western U.S. forests, the "hot shots", as they risk their lives to face the fire season made longer and more destructive by global warming, with the fire regions expanding from the southwest U.S. further north into Canada. He learns, however, that even more destruction is caused by the proliferation of bark beetles, as longer summers enable them to reproduce up to twice each year and kill trees with their toxic secretions. Meanwhile, Ford continues his quest to stop Indonesian deforestation and the carbon emissions and displacement of animals and people that it causes, confronting officials including Indonesia's Forestry Minister, Zulkifli Hasan, and its President, whom he persuades, with the help of the TV cameras, to take "real action". He also gets sustainability commitments from officers of Unilever, a major user of palm oil. We also learn that Greenpeace and other environmental groups are making a real and positive difference.[9][10][11][12]

In Episode 3, "The Surge" (April 27, 2014), Chris Hayes reports on how Superstorm Sandy affected towns and families; he meets with congressman Michael Grimm from New Jersey, initially a climate skeptic, who changes his position on global warming after reviewing the science and the work of fellow-Republican Bob Inglis. M. Sanjayan circles the globe to see the effects of climate change firsthand and interviews scientists about global warming and the data that they are collecting around the world, for example at Christmas Island, where El Niños begin.[13][14]

Correspondent Ian Somerhalder

In Episode 4, "Ice & Brimstone" (May 4, 2014), Ian Somerhalder follows Anna Jane Joyner, the daughter of prominent Evangelical preacher, Rick Joyner, as she tries to persuade congregations and preachers in North Carolina (including her skeptical father) to join the Evangelical fight against global warming and the Beyond Coal campaign to shut down a coal-fired power plant.[15][16] They meet with Inglis, gulf coast workers, Hayhoe and former skeptical scientist Richard Muller, all of whom provide Rick with information about impacts of climate change.[17] Anna asked her father for his support in an open letter in the Huffington Post, writing: "We are the first generation that knows how serious the stakes are, as well as the last to be able to do something about it in time.[18] Lesley Stahl visits Greenland to investigate the effects of global warming in the Arctic on global sea levels and to learn about the rush to develop oil and gas reserves there. She finds that Greenland's ice is melting five times faster than only 20 years ago, but the country stands to gain trillions of dollars from development made possible by the melting.[16] Scientist Heidi Cullen explains to her that "if we don’t leave 30 percent of our oil and gas reserves untapped, large parts of our planet will become unlivable."[19] Stahl meets with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry,[20] who has called climate change "perhaps the world's most fearsome weapon of mass destruction".[21] Kerry notes that, to make meaningful progress, "the people need to demand that our elected officials take responsible action to craft a real energy policy."[17]

Jay Inslee campaigned on a pro-environmental platform

In Episode 5, "True Colors" (May 12, 2014), Olivia Munn learns about ocean acidification and the proposed West Coast coal export terminals that would nearly double US coal exports. She follows the new governor of the State of Washington, Jay Inslee, as he makes the fight against global warming a top priority in his first year in office, using his executive powers when necessary to get around Republican climate-change skeptics in the state legislature. Inslee says, "We're not going to wait until the last person in Washington understands physics and chemistry in order to confront climate change" and he "urged the media to be more aggressive in covering climate threats since we face 'civilizational suicide' if we fail to act."[22] Columnist Mark Bittman of The New York Times follows up on the post-Hurricane Sandy rebuilding story, the global rise in sea level, and what is being done to better prepare the East coast for storms and surges. He examines the Dutch system of flood management and discovers that, in New Jersey, rebuilding so close to the ocean is environmentally and financially unsustainable. Governor Chris Christie refuses "to acknowledge the role that climate change played in amplifying the impacts" of Sandy.[22] Bittman also finds that Christie pulled New Jersey out of RGGI after meeting with the Koch brothers, who then funded campaign advertising for Christie.[23][24]

Correspondent America Ferrera

In Episode 6, "Winds of Change" (May 19, 2014), America Ferrera reports on how public policy has supported the growth of wind and solar power in Kansas, and how oil and gas companies, with lobbyists and allies like the Heartland Institute and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) oppose these policies. Meanwhile, Bittman discovers that extracting natural gas through fracking delays our transition to renewable energy and that fracking wells leak a large amount of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, which makes fracked natural gas as dirty as, or dirtier than, burning coal.[25][26]

Episode 7, "Revolt, Rebuild, Renew" (May 26, 2014) covers the economic costs of global warming. Jessica Alba follows Climate Corps fellows as they work to help US companies to save money and improve profits through energy efficiency and sustainability management. Friedman studies how the effect of global warming on the US wheat crop (and the wheat crop in other exporting nations) caused a spike in wheat prices in the Middle East, helping to provoke the Arab Spring. He learns that "Earth could warm by more than 9 degrees F (5 degrees C) by 2100 if we don’t aggressively reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases", and that more frequent heat waves and droughts will contribute to food shortages, which can lead to greater conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere.[27] Hayes explores the economy of another area adversely affected by Hurricane Sandy, Far Rockaway, discovering that the most economically vulnerable people have been the most severely affected, losing their jobs because of lack of transportation, or having to move away altogether. He concludes that New York and other cities are unprepared for the effects of global warming on their poorest citizens.[27][28]

Damon volunteering in Haiti

In Episode 8, "A Dangerous Future" (June 2, 2014) Michael C. Hall travels to Bangladesh to see how climate change will impact workers and the poor in developing countries in the coming decades, when a projected 150 million people will be forced to leave their homes to escape sea level rise and increased drought, insect-borne disease and flooding. He finds that in low-lying, flood-prone, densely populated Bangladesh, sea level rise and the lengthening of the monsoon season, both caused by global warming, have already caused a migration of coastal people to Dhaka and other cities, and even across the border into India, because they have lost their homes or livelihoods. These factors are projected to lead to the displacement of 20 million of Bangladeshis by 2100, who are often forced to take dangerous work.[29] Hall notes that since the US has contributed a large portion of the emissions already in the atmosphere, it bears responsibility for the climate change impacts in poorer nations.[30][31] Matt Damon explores the public health emergencies around the nation and world caused by more frequent, intense, and longer heat waves, which kill more Americans than hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes and lightning combined and cause health problems associated with dehydration, such as premature birth.[32][33][34] Friedman continues his Middle East investigation in Yemen, where the scarcity of water is already leading to local fighting. He speaks with President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. Friedman concludes that where climate change leads to more frequent droughts, it is a factor that will increasingly push volatile political situations towards war.[32][29]

Obama with his wife and daughters

On Episode 9, "Moving a Mountain" (June 9, 2014), Hall concludes his journey to Bangladesh, where rising seas are expected to submerge 17% of the country.[30] He learns that global warming is a human rights, public health and foreign policy issue. Sanjayan questions top climate scientists in their fields who collect data from the past, such as ice core samples, that explain how our climate is changing. Friedman interviews President Barack Obama on climate change. He finds that climate can change so fast that it can wipe out a civilization and that "action taken to curb greenhouse emissions could have a measurable, helpful impact."[35] Obama echoes this, saying "there’s a lot we can do about" global warming.[35] He notes that he is deeply concerned about the issue as a father, and he is optimistic that, with persistence, America can make progress on battling global warming and can become a leader on the issue. Obama acknowledges that, to avoid the worst effects of global warming, we must leave some fossil fuels unexploited. He tells Friedman that "if you profess leadership in this country at this moment in our history, then you've got to recognize [that global warming] is going to be one of the most significant long-term challenges, if not the most significant long-term challenge, that this country faces and that the planet faces. ... when [the effects of climate change] start multiplying, then people start thinking '... We're going to reward politicians who talk to us honestly and seriously about this problem.'"[36][37]

Distribution and schedule

Executive producer James Cameron

The show premiered on Showtime on Sunday, April 13, 2014 at 10:00pm Eastern and Pacific time. Episode 1 was made available freely on the internet on April 7, 2014, prior to its television debut. The next three episodes aired at 10:00pm ET/PT on Sundays, April 20 and 27 and May 4; the last five episodes aired on Monday nights, May 12, 19 and 26, and June 2 and 9 at 8:00pm ET/PT.[38] Showtime re-aired the entire series in September 2014.[39][40]

Electus International acquired international rights to the series[41] and has licensed it to broadcasters in over 75 countries and regions.[42]

The series is available on DVD and other digital platforms. The producers are looking for a network to air a second season.[43] In addition, the National Wildlife Federation is editing the series' episodes to create curricula for schools and colleges[44] that is expected to be available beginning with the 2014–2015 school year.[39]

Website

The series producers maintain a website that contains bonus footage and further information about the stories told in the episodes.[45] It also contains:

Reception

Critical reaction

The series' Metacritic score is 81.[49] The Globe and Mail calls the series "a lavish, gripping production focused on the real effect of climate change in real people’s lives around the world."[5] The Yale Forum on Climate Change & The Media noted that the series shows what scientists do in the field "and why they’re reaching the conclusion that this problem is such a serious risk to the viability of our civilization and requires urgent action. ... [The] actors [get] their 'hands dirty'. ... [The show] may ... open new avenues for climate change communications."[50] Skeptical Science terms the series "terrific and powerful. ... The series sets a dramatic, powerful urgent tone."[8] Bryan Walsh of Time magazine wrote that: "it's a strong work of documentary journalism, with richly shot and compelling stories".[51]

On The New York Times Dot Earth blog, Andrew C. Revkin wrote that "the Showtime team, at least in episode one, deserves plaudits for taking a compellingly fresh approach to showing the importance of climate hazards to human affairs ... having the movie and television stars ... asking questions and driving the story through their inquiry."[3] CleanTechnica called the series "powerful" and "compelling", observing that the "often baffling science of climate change, marked by relatively small changes that are often invisible to lay observers, is finally something the larger public can immediately understand here in the format of the finest mainstream cable television.[40] The Sun Herald commented: "The stories are compelling, and were filmed as real news was happening around the participants.[52] A reviewer for The Hollywood Reporter thought: "The documentary does an excellent job of being simple and clear without being arrogant, and its convergence of science, politics, religion and industry proves its ultimate point."[53] The Guardian calls the series "perhaps the most important climate change multimedia communication endeavor in history."[54]

After the DVD and digital release of the series, The New York Times review lamented that "many American households did not have the chance to see Years of Living Dangerously. That is a shame. ... With nine episodes running nearly an hour apiece, “Years” represents a serious time commitment. But that time will be rewarded, because this is the best American television series ever done on climate change."[55]

Viewership

A TV show is rated by the percentage of its target-demographic group watching the show – most often, adults 18–49 years old.[56] The four Sunday evening episodes of Years of Living Dangerously, from April 13 to May 4, 2014, had ratings of 0.07%, 0.04%, 0.04% and 0.04% in that demographic.[57] These figure do not include "on demand" viewers or the viewers who saw the show during Showtime's free weekend, May 9–11.[58] Episode No. 1 has been viewed more than 500,000 times on YouTube.[59]

Cameron commented that the producers had hoped for higher ratings, but they "braced for less because historically people tend to not tune into something that’s environmentally themed or climate change related. ... It's part of the whole denial process that we're all in as a society that we really have to face up to."[44]

Awards

Years of Living Dangerously was nominated for two 2014 Emmy Awards: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series and Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming (for Episode 3: "The Surge").[60] It won the first of these.[61] The series also was named as the first honoree of the 2014 Environmental Media Awards, winning for Outstanding Achievement for Environmental Content.[39][62]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Team", Years of Living Dangerously website, Showtime, accessed March 30, 2014
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hale, Mike. "A Climate of Complexity", The New York Times, April 12, 2014
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Revkin, Andrew C. "Showtime Series Aims to Engage Sleepy Public on Global Warming With Celebrity Guides", The New York Times, April 7, 2014
  4. ↑ Fitts, Alexis Sobel. "Almost Famous", Columbia Journalism Review, January 2, 2014
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Doyle, John. "The Governator’s got a new foe – Climate Change", The Globe and Mail, January 16, 2014
  6. ↑ Joiner, James. "James Cameron on Getting Over Dread, Despair and Yourself Long Enough to Believe in Climate Change", Esquire magazine, September 23, 2014.
  7. ↑ Elder, Sean. "Years of Living Dangerously Shows the Devastating Effects of Climate Change", Newsweek, September 4, 2014
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Watch Episode 1 of James Cameron's Years of Living Dangerously", Skeptical Science, April 7, 2014
  9. ↑ Abraham, John and Dana Nuccitelli. "In the Years of Living Dangerously, Part 1", The Guardian, September 6, 2014
  10. ↑ Bittel, Jason. "The Governator’s Back – and Going After Climate Change", On Earth, April 21, 2004
  11. ↑ Demaline, Kristen. "Years of Living Dangerously Recap: Episode 2", Ecocentric, Grace Communications Foundation, April 21, 2014
  12. ↑ Ross, Judith A. "Years of Living Dangerously Brings Home the Facts ~ Episode 2", Moms Clean Air Force, April 23, 2014
  13. ↑ Demaline, Kristen. "Years of Living Dangerously Recap: Episode 3, 'The Surge'", Ecocentric, Grace Communications Foundation, April 28, 2014
  14. ↑ Ross, Judith A. "Years of Living Dangerously Explores a Mother’s Worst Nightmare in Episode 3", Moms Clean Air Force, April 29, 2014
  15. ↑ Sellitti, Rebecca. "Years of Living Dangerously Episode #4: Ice and Brimstone with Ian Somerhalder", Globalcool.org, May 7, 2014
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Demaline, Kristen. "Years of Living Dangerously Episode 4: 'Ice and Brimstone'", Ecocentric, Grace Communications Foundation, May 5, 2014
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Abraham, John and Dana Nuccitelli. "In the Years of Living Dangerously, Part 2", The Guardian, September 8, 2014
  18. ↑ Joyner, Anna Jane. "An Open Letter to My Daddy Who Doesn't Accept Climate Change", Huffington Post, May 2, 2014
  19. ↑ Ross, Judith A. "Years of Living Dangerously Episode 4 Shows Us Why We Can’t Give Up", Moms Clean Air Force, May 14, 2014
  20. ↑ Photo of Stahl and Kerry, "Under the Ice", Episode 4, Years of Living Dangerously, accessed June 6, 2014
  21. ↑ Mohney, Gillian. "John Kerry Calls Climate Change a 'Weapon of Mass Destruction'", ABC News, February 16, 2014
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 DeMelle, Brendan. "Years of Living Dangerously Takes on Climate Denial, Anti-Science Attacks on Climate Solutions", De-Smog Blog, May 19, 2014
  23. ↑ Demaline, Kristen. "Years of Living Dangerously Recap: Episode 5, 'True Colors'", Ecocentric, Grace Communications Foundation, May 13, 2014
  24. ↑ Sellitti, Rebecca. "Years of Living Dangerously Episode #5: True Colors starring Olivia Munn", Globalcool.org, May 19, 2014
  25. ↑ Demaline, Kristen. "Years of Living Dangerously Recap: Episode 6, 'Winds of Change'", Ecocentric, Grace Communications Foundation, May 20, 2014
  26. ↑ Sellitti, Rebecca. "Years of Living Dangerously Episode #6: Winds of Change starring America Ferrera", Globalcool.org, May 30, 2014
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Ross, Judith A. "Years of Living Dangerously Episode 7 Reveals Climate Change's Worldwide Web", Moms Clean Air Force, June 4, 2014
  28. ↑ Demaline, Kristen. "Years of Living Dangerously Recap: Episode 7, 'Revolt, Rebuild, Renew'", Ecocentric, Grace Communications Foundation, May 27, 2014
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Abraham, John and Dana Nuccitelli. "In the Years of Living Dangerously, Part 2", The Guardian, September 10, 2014
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Sellitti, Rebecca. "Years of Living Dangerously Season Finale: The Future Is Now Starring Michael C. Hall", Globalcool.org, June 17, 2014
  31. ↑ "The Future is Now", Years of Living Dangerously, Showtime, accessed June 3, 2014; Romm, Joseph. "Climate Change 101: An Introduction", Years of Living Dangerously, Showtime, accessed June 3, 2014
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Demaline, Kristen. "Years of Living Dangerously Recap: Episode 8, 'A Dangerous Future'", Ecocentric, Grace Communications Foundation, June 3, 2014
  33. ↑ "The Science Is In: Heat – Heat Deaths", Years of Living Dangerously, Showtime, accessed June 3, 2014
  34. ↑ Sellitti, Rebecca. "Years of Living Dangerously Episode #8: Mercury Rising starring Matt Damon", Globalcool.org, June 10, 2014
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Demaline, Kristen. "Years of Living Dangerously Recap: Episode 9, 'Moving a Mountain'", Ecocentric, Grace Communications Foundation, June 10, 2014
  36. ↑ Alman, Ashley. "Obama 'Absolutely' Wants to Go Off on Climate Change Deniers in Congress", The Huffington Post, June 8, 2014
  37. ↑ Freidman, Thomas L. "Obama on Obama on Climate", The New York Times, June 7, 2014
  38. ↑ "Project Scheduling Sheet", Yearsoflivingdangerously.com, accessed April 14, 2014
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 Doan, Pamela. "Critical Success for Global Warming Series", Philipstown.info, August 24, 2014
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Dechert, Sandy. "Years of Living Dangerously Reprise Starts Tomorrow Night", CleanTechnica.com, September 4, 2014
  41. ↑ O'Connell, Michael. "Electus Acquires International Rights to Showtime Doc Years of Living Dangerously", Hollywood Reporter, September 12, 2013
  42. ↑ "Years of Living Dangerously Wins 2014 Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series", CNN.com,
  43. ↑ Astle, Randy. "Joel Bach and David Gelber on Years of Living Dangerously", Filmmaker magazine, September 3, 2014
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Gaudiosi, John. "Director James Cameron's 'dangerous' message", Fortune, August 10, 2014
  45. ↑ Plait, Phil. "Years of Living Dangerously", Slate, March 28, 2014
  46. ↑ Romm, Joseph, et al. "The Science Is In", YearsofLivingDangerously.com, accessed June 5, 2014
  47. ↑ "What We Can Do", YearsofLivingDangerously.com, accessed September 22, 2014
  48. ↑ "Years of Living Dangerously central education website", accessed June 5, 2014
  49. ↑ "Years of Living Dangerously: Season 1", Metacritic, accessed June 10, 2014
  50. ↑ Wihbey, John. "Celebrities, Climate and Showtime's Years of Living Dangerously", The Yale Forum on Climate Change & The Media, Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, March 26, 2014
  51. ↑ Walsh, Bryan. "The Docu Series Years of Living Dangerously Tries to Close the Climate Gap", Time magazine, April 12, 2014
  52. ↑ Leytham, Tammy. "Showtime's Years of Living Dangerously looks at climate change through 60 Minutes storytelling", Sun Herald, April 7, 2014
  53. ↑ Keene, Allison. "Years of Living Dangerously: TV Review", The Hollywood Reporter, April 11, 2014
  54. ↑ Abraham, John and Dana Nuccitelli. "Years of Living Dangerously – a global warming blockbuster", The Guardian, 9 April 2014
  55. ↑ Gillis, Justin. "Shining Star Power on a Crucial Subject", The New York Times, p. D5, September 23, 2014
  56. ↑ "Basics", Show Buzz Daily, accessed May 9, 2014
  57. ↑ "Years Of Living Dangerously", Show Buzz Daily, accessed May 9, 2014
  58. ↑ "Free Preview Weekend (May 9-11)", Showtime, accessed June 10, 2014
  59. ↑ "Years of Living Dangerously Premiere Full Episode", YouTube, April 6, 2014, accessed June 10, 2014
  60. ↑ Nominations list", Emmys.com, July 20, 2014
  61. ↑ "Creative Arts Emmys Doled Out in Hollywood", CBS Local, August 16, 2014
  62. ↑ Gajewski, Ryan. "'Years of Living Dangerously' Named First Honoree of 2014 Environmental Media Awards", Hollywood Reporter, August 7, 2014

External links