In 1990, the cartoon superhero Captain Planet swooped onto TV screens all over the world. He was the brainchild of media mogul Ted Turner, and in the face of impending ecological catastrophe, he had the lofty goal of turning kids into environmental warriors. In this episode, we’re going to look at how Captain Planet came to be, what he aspired to do, and how much he really got done. Captain Planet’s mission was noble, but was it also naive? How much of an impact can even the most well-meaning fictional superhero have on very real environmental disasters? And can we really entertain ourselves and our children into solving our hardest problems? This episode was reported and produced by Olivia Briley. It was edited by Evan Chung. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin, Evan Chung, Katie Shepherd and Max Freedman. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. In this episode you’ll hear from Nick Boxer, David Coburn, Marsha Goodman, and Illac Diaz. Thank you to Eugene Linden, Dr. Juliette Rooney-Varga, Mary DeMocker, Claire Reynolds, and Kelly Jones. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe and rate our feed in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And even better, tell your friends. If you’re a fan of the show, please sign up for Slate Plus. Members get to listen to Decoder Ring and all other Slate podcasts without any ads and have total access to Slate’s website. Your support is also crucial to our work. Go to Slate.com/decoderplus to join Slate Plus today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In the summer of 1988, something was going on with the weather around the world.
Scientists see a disturbing pattern.
Could today's developments create tomorrow's disasters?
40% of the US was facing a severe drought.
A wildfire in Yellowstone national park burned 800,000 acres.
The second biggest hurricane in the history of the Atlantic hit the Gulf of Mexico.
Acid rain was searing forests.
A hole was growing in the ozone layer.
And then there was the temperature.
1988 will probably be the hottest year of all.
On top of all of this, regular Americans were learning, many for the first time, that we might be responsible for all of it.
The world is in danger.
Scientists are now warning that the danger is from man himself.
Back then, this phenomenon was not called climate change.
It was referred to as the greenhouse effect or global warming.
And though there were many who took it seriously, there were others, including the federal government, who did not.
Environmental issues, are they as serious and as frightening as the activists in these areas would like us to believe?
I think not.
The past 25 years, it's warmed up.
By about 4/10 of a degree centigrade.