Earth 2100 (2009)

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 was 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 current 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."



^ "Earth 2100 official website". Retrieved 2009-02-12.

^ Namias, Sarah (June 12, 2008). "Scientists From Around the Globe Join ABC News in a Forum on Surviving the Century". ABC News: Technology & Science. Retrieved 2008-06-15.

^ http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alex_Steffen

^ "Note from the Producer". Retrieved 2009-06-06.

Synopsis

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 EMT 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).