“What titan built this wonder of the world? It was the Ifugao people of the Philippines working with not much more than their hands.”
That’s how Neil introduced Banaue Rice Terraces in his Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey Season1 Episode12. Yep, the ship of imagination has flown over the rice terraces of Banaue in Ifugao.
In this episode, Tyson discussed the effects of global warming. And it was in the last 5 minutes of the series where he tackled how our own ancestors had learned to adapt in a self-sustaining lifestyle by inventing Agriculture.
Excerpt from that particular episode I was referring to:
“What titan built this wonder of the world? It was the Ifugao people of the Philippines working with not much more than their hands. About 10,000 years ago, our ancestors all over the world took advantage of another form of climate change. The gentler climate of the intermission of the ice age. They invented agriculture. They gave up the ceaseless wandering, hunting, and gathering that had been their way of life for a million years or so to settle down and produce food. They found a way to harvest ten to a hundred times more solar energy than the environment naturally provided for their ancestors. People all over the world made the difficult transition from nomadic cultures to agricultural ones that used solar energy efficiently. It gave rise to civilization. We stand on the shoulders of those who did the hard work that such a fundamental transformation required. Now it’s our turn.”
After watching, I was like – OHEEMGEEE! I haven’t seen Banaue Rice Terraces yet 
So I made a promise to visit it soon. Luckily, I got the chance to see it up-close. I re-watched that episode yesterday, and boy it gives me more ahs and awes than the first time I saw it. Haha Perfectly explained the causes of global warming, the effects, and the solution. We Earthlings should be informed about this important issue and greatest challenge facing humanity today, a greatest challenge humanity has ever faced, and probably will ever face.
Watch it guys!! Here’s the link 😀 Cosmos A Spacetime Odyssey
Joan of Art's Ship of Imagination 