Years of Living Dangerously

Sigourney Weaver in China

02:22

Synopsis

After a first season hailed as "the most important television series ever," the Emmy award-winning documentary series, Years of Living Dangerously, returns with a second season to the National Geographic Channel, for an even deeper look at some of the most urgent climate change problems threatening the planet, and at some very real solutions. From India and China, to Africa and the United States, Years tells important and compelling human stories about individuals, communities and governments facing critical choices that will impact the lives of millions for generations to come. This season's team of celebrity correspondents includes David Letterman in is first post-Late Show assignment, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sigourney Weaver, Gisele Bündchen Jack Black, Ty Burell, Cecily Strong, Ian Somerhalder, America Ferrara, Nikki Reed and Aasif Mandi.

Clips

Episodes

  • A Race Against Time

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    In the season opener, David Letterman travels to India, one of the most populous nation on earth. From expanding and repairing an inefficient energy grid to bringing electricity to more than 300 million people without power, the Indian government has committed to one of the most ambitious renewable energy plans on Earth. It's also pledging to double the amount of dirty coal the country already burns. Back in the U.S., Cecily Strong travels to Florida and Nevada, two sunny states where the future of solar is being decided by obscure public utilities commissions. She learns that powerful forces are flexing their muscles behind the scenes to block...

  • Gathering Storm

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    Miami could be underwater by the end of the century if nothing is done to curb emissions. Jack Black investigates if the city and other low-lying coastal areas can survive the rising seas. And Ian Sommerhalder takes an ocean voyage in search of clues from the past to hurricanes of the future. Diving into "blue holes," he shows how, because of climate change, we're heating the oceans up again. And this could mean giant storms for places like Miami.

  • Fueling The Fire

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    We are endangering planet earth and our climate future with two dangerous addictions: fueling the US military with oil and destroying forests to raise cattle. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gisele Bundchen travel to the oil-rich Middle East and the largest rainforest in the world, in Brazil, to investigate the problem and some solutions. Arnold wants to find out why the US military, the biggest consumer of fossil fuels in the world - is so slow to commit to renewables, even though there are alternatives and those inside and outside of the military pushing for change. Gisele travels to the Amazon rainforest, for her a place of wonder and enchantment,...

  • The Uprooted

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    Tens of thousands driven from their homes in Africa and sent on a desperate journey. A drought in California that is drying crops and threatening a way of life. Years of Living Dangerously investigates how climate change and extreme weather are altering lives across the globe, and what governments and people can do before it is too late. But it starts with recognizing the crisis as an international security issue. Don Cheadle and Tom Friedman investigate.

  • Safe Passage

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    Safe Passage: most Republicans in Congress reject man-made climate change, and have blocked legislation for years. But now, things could be starting to change. Bradley Whitford examines the grass-roots efforts to build consensus on Capitol Hill that global warming is a critical issue. On his journey, he learns how to lobby reluctant politicians. And, Ty Burrell takes to the open road to investigate the future of an American way of life, the automobile. Can electric, autonomous and shared-riding cars pave the way to a clean-energy future? Powerful forces are blocking the road.

  • Collapse of The Oceans

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    There is one place on Earth where the impacts of climate change are most profound and yet practically invisible: the oceans. The majority of the world's excess heat and almost half of the world's greenhouse gases are absorbed by the oceans. Joshua Jackson travels from his hometown of Vancouver to the Great Barrier Reef to the small fishing villages of the Philippines to see firsthand the effects of manmade climate change on the world's oceans. He witnesses up close the social and economic impacts that these changes can have on people around the world. On Years of Living Dangerously.

  • Priceless

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    Animal species around the world are disappearing at an alarming rate - and climate change is only worsening the trend. Aasif Mandvi sets off on a quest to understand just how much of a threat climate poses to endangered species. It's only a matter of time before the ripple effects reach us. But is there a big solution to climate change? Nikki Reed has found an answer: putting a price on carbon.

  • Uprising

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    Coal Wars: Burning coal is the #1 contributor to climate change. What are the world's two biggest emitters, China and the U.S., doing to end their dependence on this dirty energy? Sigourney Weaver travels to China, a country plagued by air pollution largely caused by the burning of coal. China is attempting to break its coal habit and reduce emissions with renewable energy and carbon pricing. And, as coal plants in the U.S. are closing, big coal is still hanging on. America Ferrera visits one small Midwestern city, Waukegan, IL, where citizens have become activists, joining together to try to close their century-old plant. Can the world's two...