The World Set Free (Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey)
| "The World Set Free" | |
|---|---|
| Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey episode | |
| Episode no. | Episode 12 |
| Directed by | Brannon Braga |
| Written by | Ann Druyan Steven Soter |
| Narrated by | Neil deGrasse Tyson |
| Produced by | Livia Hanich Steven Holtzman |
| Featured music | Alan Silvestri |
| Editing by | John Duffy Michael O'Halloran Eric Lea |
| Production code | 112 |
| Original air date | June 1, 2014 |
| Running time | 40 minutes |
"The World Set Free" is the twelfth episode of the American
Episode summary
This episode explores the nature of the
Tyson then notes the delicate nature of the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can influence Earth's climate due to the greenhouse effect, and that levels of carbon dioxide have been increasing since the start of the 20th century. Evidence has shown this to be from mankind's
As early as 1896 Svante Arrhenius published a scientific paper regarding Man's emission of carbon dioxide, followed by Edward Olson Hulburt in the 1930s and Guy Callendar.
Tyson then notes that humans have discovered means of harvesting solar power. At the 1878 World's Fair Augustin Mouchot won a gold medal for his solar power concentrator. In 1913 Frank Shuman constructed a solar powered irrigation plant in Egypt, with a view to transforming Sahara to arable land. Tyson points out that in both cases, the economics and ease of using cheap coal and oil caused these inventions to be overlooked at the time. Today, solar and wind-power systems would be able to collect enough solar energy from the Sun easily. Tyson then compares the motivation for switching to these cleaner forms of energy to the efforts of the Space Race and emphasizes that it is not too late for humanity to correct its course.
Reception
The episode received a 1.3/4 in the 18-49 rating/share, with 3.52 million American viewers watching on Fox. It placed third and last in its timeslot behind Believe and The Good Wife; and tenth out of fifteenth for the night.[3]
References
- ^ Gannon, Megan (May 31, 2014). "'Cosmos' Visits Venus to Talk Climate Change Sunday Night". Space.com. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
- ^ The Daily Galaxy (May 31, 2014). "'Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey' -- "Ancient Greenhouse Worlds" (Background for Sunday's Episode)". The Daily Galaxy. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (June 3, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'The Bachelorette' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
External links
- "The World Set Free" at IMDb
- Official Fox site for the series
- "The World Set Free" at National Geographic Channel
