'Frontline' heats up the climate change debate - The Boston Globe

"Heat," the "Frontline" documentary that premieres tonight at 9 on Channel 2, functions as a big wet blanket, a sad reminder that, in this country and many others, the sort of change the planet needs has never come easily. This is an in-depth look at the impediments to climate change solutions, with a focus on the political system that has, so far, resisted anything more than tiny, piecemeal efforts.

The story is told by "Frontline" correspondent Martin Smith, who begins with some sobering facts and apocalyptic images. Glaciers are melting. Rivers are drying up. Industrial growth in the developing world isn't helping matters. (The process of making cement, he reports, is the third-largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. These days, China and India are making a lot of cement.)