To date, the rebooted Cosmos series has unabashedly tackled such "controversial" topics as evolution and industry-funded science denial. But as this preview of the next episode shows, Neil deGrasse Tyson — along with his adorable dog — are heading straight into climate change country.


In the clip, de Grasse Tyson takes the time to distinguish between weather and climate change — a common mistake made by those who wish to use the day's weather report as evidence against global warming and other impacts of excessive carbon emissions.

On Sunday, Cosmos will devote an entire episode to the topic. Here's how National Geographic (a co-producer of the series, along with Fox) describes it:

Our journey begins with a trip to another world and time, an idyllic beach during the last perfect day on the planet Venus, right before a runaway greenhouse effect wreaks havoc on the planet, boiling the oceans and turning the skies a sickening yellow. We then trace the surprisingly lengthy history of our awareness of global warming and alternative energy sources, taking the Ship of the Imagination to intervene at some critical points in time.


Carl Sagan would be proud.