An episode on how lead was taken out of the environment told about how people now know that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, and explored but shoots down the possibility of the Earth being 6,000 years old.Cosmos also explored a fight that lasted decades between scientists, the government, and big corporations about the hazards of lead emissions in the environment. By telling the story of a scientist who stood up against corporations to defend his views on the dangers of lead emissions, the corporations looked greedy and selfish on the show, and Cosmos opened up a controversial topic; one that could potentially make big companies look bad.