Discovery Channel Blows Its Top and Its Credibility

Free Market Project ^ | 04/11/2005 | Dan Gainor

[bigfootbob]

Don't you have biting Gila Monsters too?

[OldFriend]

LOL. Sounds a lot like the NYSlimes, and the rest of the MSM

[Kenny Bunkport]

Whew...Just checked. So far, we're safe:

[OldFriend]

Same reason Jennings did the alien show.

Because they could!

Part of the Art Bell KOOKS ARE US Brigade.

[nevergore]

Not only science fiction, but liberal science fiction.

High ranking cabinet level officers were portrayed as inept and callous.

And I wonder how many other folks heard the line that:

"Air Force One took the President to an Air Force base in Florida but the information was to remain confidential because "SHE" didn't want to appear as if she was running away."

NeverGore

[Uncle Fud]

You used "Tom Brokaw" and "credibility" in the same sentence.

[OXENinFLA]

Phoenix

You mean Pahonix?

[marvlus]

The first 2.5 hours was a movie, which was ok. The last half hour was Brokaw narrating the the facts and the scientists answers. It wasn't like this was presented as a man made disaster waiting to happen. I walked away thinking how volatile of a universe we live in. Our time on this planet is but a microcosm of what this whole universe is all about.

[Thrusher]

Seriesly, you guys -- this is hugh! My beeber is completely stuned!

[Vaquero]

It will happen again some day...but there is no sign that it will be anytime in the next bunch of lifetimes...

But I recommend we all go out and buy the biggest baddest SUV's on the market to fill the atmosphere with lots of greenhouse gasses so we can shorten the effects of the global winter that will ensue if Yellowstone blows its top again.....

[Double Tap]

You do realize that Yellowstone NP does in fact sit in a caldera that was formed by a supervolcano that has erupted at least three other times in the past? And that there is continuous volcanic activity in and under the park now?

While the show may have been a silly docu/drama, this supervolcano will erupt again. And it will kill a whole bunch of people. When it happens is not predictable, but it will happen.

[retrokitten]

It was entertaining if you like bad movies. Husband and I were making MST3K type comments through the whole thing.

I got a real good laugh out of my husband when I yelled, "She can't do it, captain! She won't hold!" when the Irish guy was telling the helicopter pilot to go faster so the ash cloud wouldn't get them.

There was one kind of cool part when the buffalo stampede out of the park. The scientist just stood there watching them. Maybe it's just me, but if I see an entire herd of anything running away for seemingly no reason I'm following them, cause nothing good is going to happen.

[Robert A Cook PE]

It was pretty good: Played the politician (coverup/minimize threat/keep public calm)-against-scientist (hedge bets/not sure what will happen/worst case = maybe/best case = might be/we don't know) interface with the news media pretty well.

A little dramatic (the underground lava-flowing scenes got tedious and weren't needed except at breaks), but overall reasonably but.

Yes. It WILL absolutely happen. We just don't know when.

I like the "interview-after-fact" style of "news show" format with the people who were playing the parts at the same time they were being interviewed. Well done. It made the red-shirt extra's predictable though: Who gonna die next? Who's gonna live through this scene?

The "timeline" was a bit short: Implying that a full volcano could flip up and erupt within a space of only 2 months is not likely: Over a two-three year period si reasonable.

---

Science questions: Wasn't the eruption and massive explosive volcanic release that blew the top off of Crater Lake even larger than Yellowstone?

Was the Crater Lake volcano over the same "hot spot" that is now heating up Yellowstone?

[TASMANIANRED]

At least it puts an end to global warming.

[HungarianGypsy]

A similar show was on National Geographic Channel a few months ago. I was thinking, "Yipes" when they talked about how it could effect the world. The scientisys also said it could happen tomorrow of thousands of years from now, so I figured it wasn't worth dwelling on.

[ko_kyi]

They also noted on the show that for every supereruption there are dozens of much smaller eruptions as well - something I have read before but is always left out of news/hype reports.

[Scythian]

Ya, did you watch the Earthquake/Tsunami show that was on just before that, about the Cascadia event. I have to admit they're fun watching, but you really gotta dream up some major disasters these days to get attention ...

[gridlock]

While Lowenstern was able to handle volcano questions during the chat, he was unable to answer the most basic and obvious question: “Does the U.S. have contingency plans for Cat 8 eruption?” (That was the size of the eruption in the movie.)

The US Government probably does not have a contingency plan for the Sun going Supernova or the Earth getting sucked into a Black Hole, either...

Put your head between your knees and kiss your sorry a$$ goodbye would pretty much sum up the plan.

[retrokitten]

Oh I forgot about that part! I'm surprised my eyeballs didn't dislodge from the sockets because of all the rolling.