I may be wrong but the message from the future idea reminds me of Timescape by Gregory Benford. A message from Earth from deep space about events that appear to be in the future but are in the past to the sender, that can only hint at whats going to happen. Its sort of the same idea as a crime story instead of the environmental disaster theme. It translates to the crime/local disaster theme quite well and the characters are nicely down to earth, even rough and dis-likable, struggling with morals, guilt and unwillingness to accept what is happening compared to how American productions on TV would solve each scenario with a mighty leap, gunfire and a few explosions. One of the few British shows that I've watched for the last 4 years, so it must have made an impression.
