Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow

"Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow" (a.k.a "Today") is the eighth episode of the Season Nine of South Park

Synopsis
A state of emergency is declared in South Park after it is announced that global warming is coming.

Plot
In this episode, Stan and Cartman accidentally crash a boat into the world's largest beaver dam, flooding the town of Beaverton. While Stan and Cartman try to hide their involvement, people are stuck on their roofs and the media begins reporting horrific scenes of violence and even cannibalism in the city, though they haven't actually seen these things happening and their statistics of deaths are in the 100s of millions, despite knowing the town only has a population of 8000. Nobody really tries to help the situation, but would rather figure out who to blame (George W. Bush, terrorists, FEMA, etc.). The scientists in town, called in to examine the phenomenon, decide (based on no evidence) that the disaster is the result of global warming, which will hit two days before the day after tomorrow... the present day. "The end of the world will come Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow... good God thats...TODAY!!!"

The declaration of the scientists causes mass hysteria, and everybody runs from the "global warming," crowding in the South Park community center, believing that global warming is causing an ice age outside that would kill them if they left. A reporter reports that 600 billion people have died in Chicago alone (even though the world population was just under 6.5 billion at the time). Stan, after admitting to Kyle that he was the cause of the Beaverton flood, leaves with him and Cartman to rescue the people by boat. The attempt is a disaster in itself: they wind up crashing into an oil refinery, compounding the problems of the stranded people who now must deal with drowning and fire. Randy, Gerald and Stephen brave the supposed ice age to find their sons, dressed in multiple coats despite the fact that the sun is out (they end up collapsing in the street due to hyperthermia, which they think is hypothermia). Meanwhile, Pentagon scientists declare they found the true source of the flood.

At this point the Army comes to rescue the boys, but Cartman tries to stop Kyle at gunpoint, demanding he give up his "Jew gold" so that Cartman can be rich for the rest of his life. Cartman had claimed throughout the episode that all Jews secretly hoarded gold while Kyle consistently denied it. It turns out Cartman is right, and Kyle not only has a bag of gold, but a decoy bag as well, which he gives to Cartman. Cartman calls his bluff, and Kyle throws a bag away (which may or may not have held the supposed Jew gold), and they all leave the building and board the helicopter. Back at the town, everyone exits the shelter, and the Army reveals the real cause of the flood &mdash; Crab People. Stan finally admits that he broke the dam, but the people of the town think he means that it is everybody's fault &mdash; they all begin to admit "I broke the dam," while Stan tries unsuccessfully to explain that he actually did it.

References to Hurricane Katrina
This episode parodies the response to Hurricane Katrina, particularly the various ad hoc explanations for the increased level of suffering from the hurricane and its aftermath, including accusations that global warming may have been a cause of violent hurricanes. Similarly, the episode seems to parody the misplaced anger and unwillingness to negotiate between all the parties in the Katrina relief effort, the distorted media coverage that occurred during the hurricane's aftermath, and the Houston mass evacuation during Hurricane Rita.
 * When the people conclude that George Bush was the cause of the beaver dam being broken, someone saying "George Bush doesn't care about beavers!" is a parody of Kanye West saying "George Bush doesn't care about black people."
 * In the scene where citizens are evacuated by helicopter, only white people are rescued, while a black man can be seen left stranded. This is based on accusations of selectively racist rescue efforts and media coverage during the Hurricane Katrina crisis.
 * The giant penis Randy Marsh draws on the map of America is most likely based on a real National Weather Service wind distribution map for Hurricane Rita, which bore a resemblance to a giant penis.
 * When the townspeople are scrambling around in the town, a man is seen rushing a cart full of beer, which is a reference to an infamous photograph of a man stocking up on beer during Hurricane Katrina.
 * When news reports state that rape, looting and cannibalism are occurring it is revealed that nobody has seen this and that they are just reporting it.

References to pop culture

 * The panic scene after the announcement that global warming caused the flood parodies similar scenes in many disaster movies such as War of the Worlds, Independence Day, Godzilla, and The Day After Tomorrow.
 * The final scene where everyone says "I broke the dam" is a reference to Spartacus where the title character comes forward as Spartacus, and the crowd all stand saying the same in an effort to protect him.
 * The scene where Cartman forces Kyle to hand over his "Jew-gold" at gunpoint is very similar to the finale of Marathon Man.