National Geographic: Six Degrees Could Change the World (2007)
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Starring: Alec Baldwin Director:
Ron Bowman Rating
Product Description |
U-Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_pb1G2wIoA
(1 Hr 36 Min)
Preview One Degree
(2:08 minutes) on Nat Geo Channel:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/videos/degree-one/
6o Film
Notes:
What does the film
state about Global Warming at the beginning?
Where are we at in
this Six Degrees (Celsius) (~11oF) Global Temperature rise?
What scenarios are
predicted with each degree rise in Global Temperature?
1 degree Celsius
One Degree of Warming
At
one degree of warming, the Arctic is ice-free for half the year, the South
Atlantic—typically void of hurricanes—experiences coastal hurricanes, and in
the western U.S. severe droughts are plaguing residents
More:
2 degree Celsius
Two Degrees of Warming
Polar
bears struggle to survive as glaciers increasingly melt away. Glaciers in
Greenland begin to disappear, while coral reefs are vanishing.
More:
3 degrees Celsius
Three Degrees of Warming
The
Amazon rainforest is drying out and El Niño’s intense weather pattern becomes
the norm. Europe repeatedly experiences searing summer heat that has rarely
happened before.
More:
4 degrees Celsius
Four Degrees of Warming
Oceans
could rise, taking over coastal cities. The disappearance of glaciers may
deprive many of fresh water. Northern Canada’s agriculture could boom and a
Scandinavian beach could be the next tourism hotspot. A part of Antarctica
could collapse, causing water to rise even further.
More:
5 degree Celsius
Five Degrees of Warming
Uninhabitable
zones could spread, snow pack and aquifers feeding big cities could dry up, and
climate refugees could run in the millions. Human civilization could begin to
break down with this drastic of changes to the climate. The poor would likely
suffer the most.
More:
6 degree Celsius
Six Degrees of Warming
At
six degrees, the oceans could be marine wastelands, the deserts could march
across continents, and natural disasters could become common events. The
world’s great cities could be flooded and abandoned. This could be “the
doomsday scenario.”
More:
What are the current
carbon dioxide levels and what is the critical point in parts per million?
The McMurry textbook,
p 462 Figure 16.3, states the current level (2011) is at 389 ppm. The film was
produced in 2007, so has the CO2 level of the atmosphere increased
or decreased in the last four years and by how much?
See the web page pasted at the end of this handout.
Why is the carbon
dioxide level important to Global Warming?
Trace the impact of a
cheeseburger on Global warming.
At the end of the
film are suggestions of how YOU can make a difference in Carbon emissions, List
as many as you can at the end of your paper with a pro/con comment.