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The Monday Documentary: Defining The Decade

The Documentary: Defining the Decade: The Heat Is On

Factual: History

Defining the Decade: The Heat Is On

28/12/2009

BBC World Service - The Documentary, Defining the Decade: The Heat Is On

Edward Stourton explores how, in the past 10 years, the world woke up to climate change.

In 2000 the world’s leaders did not seem to be troubled by the notion of global warming. 

By the middle of the decade that began to change as the world was began to heat up.

Who would have thought, when the Millennium dawned, that it would end with both British and American troops dying in Afghanistan.

Would you have believed that millions would be communicating and doing business over the world wide web? And would you have agreed that climate change was a greater threat than terrorism?

This has been a decade when history has been on fast forward. Now, as we near the end of the decade, Edward Stourton looks at the big picture, charting the revolutions in science, technology and politics.

What are the underlying themes of the past ten years and what does it all add up to?

In 2000 the world’s leaders did not seem to be troubled by the notion of global warming. 

Alarm bells were beginning to ring amongst the scientific community, but there were others who dismissed the threat as fanciful and scorned any idea that any changes in the climate could be man-made.

By the middle of the decade that began to change - report after report seemed to confirm that the world was heating up and went on to predict that it would get much worse.

Edward Stourton speaks to Dr David King; former IPCC Chairman Bob Watson, and environmental campaigner Bill McKibben.

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