I'm quickly becoming a huge fan of Planet Green television. The regular shows are pretty good, albeit similar to other Discovery Networks programming, but what got my attention tonight was the 2 part documentary Expedition Alaska. (Note: The link listed at the end of the show doesn't appear to work.)

If you saw this program tonight, then you'll understand why it fills me with an unhealthy level of anger about what's happening to our planet. I lived in Alaska for two years back in the early 90's. I've seen the beauty of Alaska up close and personal, walked on her frozen tundra, fished the streams, hiked through her forests, and what I saw tonight on Expedition Alaska is outrageous.

Two things bugged me the most as I was watching this show. First, was the methane bubbling up from the permafrost in Northern Alaska. I've walked on that ground, and looking down into the hole they dug and watching the methane bubbling to the surface from two feet down was like a kick in the teeth. That gas should be trapped, yet in the middle of a small lake, there was so much methane escaping from under the water it could be seen from the air.

And then there was the sea ice. I was simply flabbergasted that it was a 2 hour boat ride from shore just to find any sea ice at all, and even then there was very little. I remember seeing lots and lots of sea ice when I was in the Bering Sea, and it wasn't like we had to go looking for it. Usually it found us.

I'm not only furious because of the dramatic impact global warming is having on our planet; That in and of itself is bad enough. More than that, I'm angry because even though the stark evidence of the impact of global warming is right there, being broadcast directly into our homes, people I talk to every day will tell me climate change doesn't exist. I mean, you can see it right there with your own eyes in your own living room, yet there are still idiots and greedy corporations out there who are trying to convince people that it's not real, that it's just part of a natural cycle, or whatever the latest FUD is.

How they can say that in the face of such overwhelming visual evidence shoved right in their faces is truly beyond my ability to comprehend. It's just... astounding.

I suppose I shouldn't be so angry that I'm actually writing a rant about it, considering the climate change deniers wouldn't be caught dead watching a channel like Planet Green in the first place.