Discovery+ Docuseries Six Degrees Highlights Critical Role of Oil and Gas

Former Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe is backing a new documentary airing on Discovery+, Six Degrees. In Six Degrees, Rowe delves into how many seemingly unrelated topics and inventions are actually intertwined and connected. The docuseries specifically highlights the interconnected role oil and gas plays in everyday life– something Gizmodo reporter Dharna Noor took issue with in a recent article and interview with host Mike Rowe. Noor takes aim at the show, calling it “big oil-funded propaganda.” While Rowe acknowledges industry sponsorships, he notes they had no control over script or editorial changes to the series.

Addressing Noor, Rowe explains the critical role the oil and gas industry has played for centuries:

“With respect, Dharna, your view of the energy industry seems awfully one-sided. Obviously, no one who lives on this planet wants to see it “fried,” including me. But no objective person can look at the history of fossil fuels, and not conclude that the petroleum-based products and natural gas have lifted more people out of poverty than any other product in the history of the world. I realize that’s a hard thing to admit, but the fundamental challenge of feeding a hungry planet could not be met without fossil fuels. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be moving toward cleaner alternatives with all due speed – we absolutely should, and from what I’ve seen, we absolutely are. But we shouldn’t deny the role that fossil fuels play in our daily life or try to divorce ourselves from oil and gas today. Doing so would destroy life as we know it. Agriculture, transportation, healthcare, clothing, textiles, space exploration…everything would be impacted.”

Rowe raises a valuable point that is often disregarded by the mainstream media: life as we know it would not exist without oil and gas. To watch Six Degrees, click here.