Cool Planet: A Year-Long BBC News Series On Climate Change

Let's be totally honest: The BBC doesn't have the best reputation among climate scientists. Mainly, that's because the British public broadcaster has been quite slow to react to the false balance trap. Until recently, climate deniers used the Beeb as a formidable platform from which to spread misinformation. Finally, last September the bosses finally moved on, issuing an internal guide to help journalists cover climate change. Since then, we've had some excellent one-off shows on climate change, but I was still missing a regular presence in their daily news programming.

So I was really excited yesterday (and so were a lot of the British climate nerds I follow on Twitter) when I saw that BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast (a 3-hour morning news show) will include a year-long series on the topic. The series aims to answer questions on climate change a layperson may have, such as 'what does a low-carbon lifestyle really mean?' and 'how can individuals make governments and industry reinvent themselves?' It will also work to dispel climate myths and meet some of the people already taking action.

The episodes are spread out over the show's duration, which is not convenient, but I must say the three hours were quite fun. However, I can understand you don't have the luxury of time, so I've noted down the time codes for the climate talk:

• 22:36 - An introduction to the series, some basic jargon, the questions and the experts (Carly McLachlan and Mike Berners-Lee).
• 53:10 - A world without fossil fuels and a first visit to a green household in Essex.
• 1:18:31 - Conspiracy theories about climate change. Economic transition with aviation as a focal point.
• 1:55:31 - A return to Essex, where some awesome kids live.
• 2:36:35 - The question of overpopulation. Waste, transport, water and collective action.

The show is promising, and I hope they keep the level up. Congrats to the BBC: It's never too late!