Jack Bauer to Strangle Climate Change
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07.26.07
Press release: "24," the Emmy Award-winning series from Imagine and Twentieth Century Fox Television, will strive to become the first television production ever to save enough energy and reduce enough carbon emissions over the course of a season to render its entire season finale "carbon neutral,"....."When appropriate, [24 will] incorporating the issue of global warming and the importance of carbon emission reduction into storylines"
The phone rang. It was Chloe. "Jack! The Vice President is conspiring to keep gas flowing in the US by nuking the Alberta oil sands!
Jack jumped out of his bamboo sheets, turned on his CFLs, poured fair trade coffee into his Sigg and hopped on his bicycle to race to CTU.
We could go on, with jokes about "alternative sets of procedures" involving hemp rope or green electricity, or how they will have to change the name to "36" if they get rid of all the fast cars, but will stop there. It just seemed so odd, such a message from a show replete with helicopters, racing SUVs and enough electronics to run Google. But the people behind the show are serious.
From the press release:
In addition to making significant changes to its own production practices, the series aims to educate and inspire it its millions of viewers to take climate change and the fight against global warming seriously and personally, before it's too late, said executive producer/show-runner Howard Gordon and Twentieth Century Fox Television Chairmen Dana Walden and Gary Newman.
"We care deeply about this issue at '24,' and we wanted to do our own small part to be part of the solution," commented Howard Gordon. "We looked at how we produce the show, and realized that there were some substantive changes we could implement which would make a real difference. But even more importantly, we hope to inspire our audience to look at what they can do in their own lives to help stem global warming. We think this will be the beginning of a conversation with our millions of viewers that will hopefully inspire them to take action around the world."
It is also true that Kiefer Sutherland comes from a long line of very persuasive and politically active leaders. Watch him do a PSA about global warming here.
Oh, we wish them well and hope they succeed. The show talks to an audience that could use the message. ::24
So let me see if I understood this right. They are going to save enough energy and carbon emission over the course of filming 24 episodes to render the last episode carbon neutral? If I'm doing my math right that is a whopping 4% reduction. And how exactly are they measuring this? Is it compared to last season? Or perhaps compared to how much the planned on consuming? Sounds like greenwashing to me.
I think they could have a much bigger impact if they highlighted the use of really cool LED lighting at CTU and other green technologies throughout the show.
Surprised their overlords at news corp didn't stop this.
isnt 24 run by neoconservatives? as in run by fox?
with the whole imagery of a mushroom cloud looming over los angeles, something the republicans have used to scare americans to keep us from questioning a war that had nothing to do with people that wanted to get/had nuclear weapons, or gave us any reason for us to think of them as a threat?
and last i checked neoconservatives ENJOY dumping toxic waste into lakes and melting glaciers. and encouraging people to burn as much CO2 as possible. sounds like... whats the term... greenwashing.
fox should be hunted down by hounds and recycled.
Yes, I'd love to see a show go after white-collar and environmental crimes. Corporations are committing environmental terrorism at home. The first episode they can make: confronting the mountain-top removal mining corporations in the Appalachia and Montana.
>> The show talks to an audience that could use the message.
You said it.
This is *exactly* the kind of thing that will help prevent the problem of global warming.
Although I read and hear a lot about global warming, personally I've never been motivated to take any kind of action. Al Gore's film was certainly entertaining, but coming from someone I knew little about (I'm an Australian, I don't follow American politics much) it certainly didn't influence me enough to warrant any kind of lifestyle change.
I'm a big fan of 24, so when I heard this message coming from Jack Bauer (aka Kiefer Sutherland), it hit home in a way that Al Gore (or public education campaigns) never could.
This is an extremely powerful and effective way to connect with people in my generation (late teens) -- or any generation for that matter.
It is the massive fan base that puts 24 (and other popular tv shows) in the unique position to influence a very large number of people like this.
Don't usually respond to these kinds of things - but to the spyofcharles - have you ever watched the show? I am certainly no conservative, am all for climate change, and can't stand the fox news channel -- but 24 really doesn't have a neo-con agenda whatsoever. Let's see:
- 2 presidents were african americans
- the next seasons' pres will be a woman
- they ran an entire series on the problems of stereotyping middle easten people as potential terrorists - when it turned out the blond cute girl next door was the terrorist
- lots more ..
Don't forget that Fox is also part of 20th century entertainment - as in 20th Century Fox. 20th Century has historically been led by a Jewish executive team - not really known for their collective support of the neo-conservative dogma.
Anyway - I digress -- didn't mean to jump on you - but I like the show and have quasi-politically-informed friends that offer the same arguement as you presented re: my enjoyment of the show. Point --- Counter-Point.
Ask all the 24 viewers to turn off their TV's for 60 minutes during the show - that's millions of TV's turned off...that would save power and have less co2 emitted.
Hate to rain on you morons parade, but the millions of televisions tuned to this disgusting propaganda turd every week spew much more carbon tonnage than these dip shit producers could ever save.
As usual, the man made global warning church is lacking in even the most basic math or science skills.
Man made global warming is nothing more than a political weapon that missed it's chance to take root in the minds of those that can make a difference.
Time to find another bogey man, manbearpig is ROAD KILL......