Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions to Zero I NOVA I PBS
Most experts agree that the key to avoiding worsening effects from a changing climate is to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero, and through a strategy called “prevention,” humans can significantly cut emissions.
Explore how scientists approach the challenge, and discover the technologies that will help get us there.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Narrated by: Caitlin Saks
Produced by: Ana Aceves
Research & Production: Sukee Bennett, Ari Daniel, Robin Kazmier, Christina Monnen, & Caitlin Saks
Science Advisor: Scott Denning
MEDIA CREDITS
Animation: Mitch Butler & UNIT
Music: APM
© 2020 WGBH Educational Foundation
@EslindaIbnosali
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Permission to use This video Thanks❤
@brucefrykman8295
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
The magnitude of ignorance and misinformation presented in this piece of screed is monumental. Where to begin?
First CO2 is not "carbon" just as H2O is not the the explosive gas "hydrogen," there is therefore no worry that we will explode by drinking "hydrogen pollution" Carbon dioxide is a colorless oderless gas that happens to form the one of the three fundamental necessities of all life on Earth, the other two being water and the energy supplied by sunlight. It is nothing short of insane to refer to it as "carbon pollution" CO2 can never form black mountains of sooty looking crap that you suggest in this idiotic comic video.
Second you failed to mention that the insulation response to IR radiation is "logarithmic." I don't expect the scientific illiterates who watch and then believe your cartoon to understand this so Ill explain it in simple terms even they might understand. The foot of insulation in your attic is an effective insulator. Adding another foot to make 24 inches will not double its effectiveness. You would need to add 2 feet (making its depth 36 inches) to do this. To double it again you would need to add another 72 inches (now 9 feet deep). The same is true with the CO2 insulation response but we were nearly fully saturated along the logarithmic curve at pre-industrial (280 ppm) levels it has been estimated by CO2 physics experts that doubling today's 420 ppm CO2 levels to 840 ppm might at most raise the year in year out average temperature on Earth by one degree. This estimate is born out by the fact that the Earth's CO2 levels have been as high as 4000 to 8000 ppm in the the past and there has been no effective correlation of CO2 levels with temperature from the geological record.
Worse you failed to mention that warming the Earth slightly and enriching its farms and forests with more CO2 fertilization is a fact. The wars of the past were most often instigated by cold accompanied by crop failures
Third, there is nothing odd going on with climate. Forest fires are healthy and natural methods of keeping forests healthy, its when environmentalist prevent logging and natural burns that forests accumulation unnatural fuel loads that causes larger unmanageable fires. This has nothing to do with either climate or CO2. In fact higher CO2 levels make forests more drought resistant.
Fourth, Methane (CH4) is measured in parts per trillion and in no way poses any significance to IR radiation. It also has a short half life breaking down readily into CO2 and H2O
Fifth there is no such thing as "clean energy" All energy sources have environmental consequences. The ideal means of energy production will have these attributes: It will meet needed demand on a 24 hour basis 365 days per year regardless of weather, sunlight, latitude, and season. It will also have a tiny impact on the natural environment. Wind and solar fails on every one of these attributes and at the same time will increase, not decrease CO2 emission, They both therefore create issues while solving none even if you are deluded enough to to call the staff of all life on Earth and in the seas (CO2) a "pollutant" CH4 (natural gas) and petroleum pose the very least environmental impact while always being available when needed. Hydro electric is good too but the environmentalists want all the dams torn down. Nuclear ditto.
@osopolarmovies
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
This is pure nonsenset, has nothing to do with science. CO2 is the gas of life and we need more of it. Never heard of photosynthesis?
@cliffords2315
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Paganism is the Biggest Bullshit Religion in History, the whole Greenhouse Gas thing is Bullshit, and you people promoting
the lie are Thieves and Idiots.
@AdamHalperin5
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Solve overpopulation and you solve climate change along with a host of other problems facing humanity. There’s just way too many humans on the planet.
@charles4k8k
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
This sounds like inside the NBA commentator
@dr.danburritoman1293
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Nuclear is the SAFEST alternative! Why didn’t you spend more time on it? It’s also compatible with the American power grid.
@mojavemike6522
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Hahahaha. Most experts…..They never name the source.
@abhirupbiswas0509
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
A technology should be there that sucks all the carbon from the atmosphere and planting more trees are the best sollution. Otherwise earth will not be habbitable in summers by the end of the century and it's not good at all for the future generations🤧
@C.Hawkshaw
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Why doesn’t anybody talk about the man-invented greenhouse gases?
https://css.umich.edu/factsheets/greenhouse-gases-factsheet
@BobQuigley
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
not surprising that this PBS video not only avoided asking viewers to minimize their emissions it added 'no one wants to lower their energy use' -surely this is the Koch brothers message. This criminal organization has been buying up colleges, think tanks, airwaves. PBS, desperate for funding, capitulated. We waste a MINIMUM of 50% of all our energy in countless ways. The cheapest energy is the energy you do NOT use! The process of fixing these issues offer unprecedented opportunity for new businesses. The savings for homeowners, building owners etc is substantial.
@faisalreno9962
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Usu
ha
@Michael5001
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
All of these horrors we face, and all the solutions mentioned not ONE includes rethinking our economic system. Disgusting.
@Tsamokie
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
What a buncha BS. Water vapor and clouds account for more that 70% of the greenhouse effect of the astmosphere. That's how we get rain, ya' dummies.
@jamdalf4343
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
This is all absolute Rubbish! We are still in the Meghalayan stage of the 'Holocene' Ice-Age, the Earth is in a COLD period. Normally like 8/10s of the Earth's timeline it is naturally so warm there's no Ice-Sheet areas (Antarctica Greenland Northpole) anywhere!
@pedroghirotti
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
I have a solution! Wipe out 1/2 the population of Humans. Star by people who spend more than 3 seconds on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Them move to idiots who drive gigantic personal SUVs. Them whomever enjoy cruise ships. Disneyland goers could be next. And finally anyone who spend more than 20 dollars yearly on clothing. That sounds a great plan!
@chungwong1010
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Where can I watch more Nova? Amazon prime and netflix only have very small amount of episdoes
@thepowerofdreams6816
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
1-Energy efficiency is a lost cause, energy efficiency means you can make twice the ammount of stuff with the same spending on energy, is the same reason why higher productivity doesn't translates to higher unemployment, in fact the US per capita energy consumption has been stuck since the late 60's, the reason why the US has twice the GDP per capita is because the average efficiency of our machinery has passed from 25% to 45%
2-Wind and solar are just a floating pie in the sky, it would cost the us with only Solar power it would cost 16.25 Trillion U$D, and you would need to spend that much 20 years and you would need to change 6.75 million solar panels every single day FOREVER, and that's without counting storage for winter or the nights.
In the case of wind is more like 12 trillion U$D every 20 years, and like 1.7 million wind mills, better than PV but not much better really.
3-the total fossil fuel production grew from 495.38 Exajoules in 2018 to 504.23 Exajoules in 2019, that extra 8.85 Exajoules is the equivalent of 2458TWh or 280.4GWa, Wind power and solar in 2019 was 2153.7TWh or 211GW, The growth of Oil, Gas, and Coal from 2018 to 2019, was larger than the wind and solar power generation in 2019, the growth from wind and solar power from 2018 to 2019 was, 34GWa
if you are lucky at best you are gonna produce 10% of world energy with wind, solar, and tidal, in the case of germany wind power generation is stalling and wind and solar is only 5% of the total energy consumed in germany, in denmarks case is 8%
4-Outside Geothermal, Hydro, & Nuclear, there is no hope, and only one of those 3 is scalable.
@gamingtonight1526
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
For every 1% rise in GDP you need DOUBLE the energy! We expect 2-3% GDP increases every year, and that means 600% more enemgy will be needed. GDP growth and energy reduction is NOT possible.
@patrickometry
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Sorry folks, it's all too little, too late. We've destroyed most of our beautiful planet. We've killed off countless species. Renewables aren't going to fix or change that. Clean energy won't fix or solve the much much much bigger problems of human environmental poisoning and destruction. We humans are good at denying the horror and irrevocability of what we've already done.
@ronhaytack7038
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
My view of a few of the other problems include, you only have a total of 454 views at this point, you only have 48 likes and 6 unlike's and finally some of the comments are totally anti-productive!! We need to get involved before its to late for our children!!!
@Mr.Unacceptable
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
First. Stop lying for the cause. When you lie it only corrupts you. You know the lies your political opponents tell that are so obvious to you? Wake up call. Your lies are just as obvious to them.
Second. Stop with all the fake solutions. Even the napkin math shows none of these alternative solutions solve a single problem and most make the problems worse.
@tomhools1605
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
How to solve it? Manhattan-like project to bring nuclear fusion.
@dankole307
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Tell India and china to stop building coal fired plants and THEN get back to me. Kill some more birds with wind farms first. PBS likes to act that the US is the worlds biggest polluter to sell the "green" solution. It is nothing more than a money grab for income redistribution.
@demonorse
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Humans do not need an airline industry.
@vthilton
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Save Our Planet
@goodlight4113
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
70% by what, volume? What about % by effect on environment. Lay off the beef, maybe just weekends or something. But i'm sure that would be too much of an inconvenience.
@forknowledge6959
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
fix population growth and wasteful culture otherwise you will never solve this problem.
@matchrocket1702
November 26, 2025 at 10:30 pm
Waiting for the deniers to show up.
Comments are closed.