For a weekend assignment, we watched An Inconvenient Truth, the award winning 2006 documentary made by Al Gore about global warming.
I'd watched it for the first time just two years ago, so it was just a refresher for me. It's a strong movie in that he frames the issue well and presents a lot of compelling evidence, even though I'm not a big Gore fan myself and think some parts of the movie can be a little corny. It certainly brought the issue front and center to the American public, and allowed for the issue to be debated, as to the nature, severity and cause of the problem, and what could be done to address it. Here's the answers to the questions we were asked about the movie (just keep in mind the data is from 2006, though most things still apply)
1.
What
image started the modern day environmental movement?
The picture of the Earth from the
Apollo 8 mission to the moon fueled the modern day environmental movement.
2.
What
is considered the most vulnerable part of the earth system?
The atmosphere, due to its
relatively small thickness and importance to the temperature of the
Earth
3.
Relatively
speaking, compared to the Earth, how thick is the atmosphere?
The atmosphere is very thin—a “coat
of varnish on a globe” as Carl Sagan once said.
4.
How
can trapping infrared radiation by the earth’s atmosphere be a GOOD thing?
Trapping some infrared radiation
keeps the temperature of Earth relatively constant and livable
5.
How
can trapping infrared radiation by the earth’s atmosphere be a BAD thing?
Too much infrared being trapped causes
the Earth’s temperature to rise
6.
What percentage of people depend on glacial
melt for their drinking water?
40% of people on Earth rely on
glacial melt for at least half of their drinking water supply
7.
Why
is studying ice cores important?
Bubbles of gas frozen inside ice
cores can tell you historical temperature and atmospheric composition data
8.
What
is the relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) and atmospheric
temperature?
Carbon dioxide and atmospheric temperature
are directly related. More CO2 corresponds with higher temperatures
9.
Over
what time period have the hottest 10 years on earth occurred?
The years from 1991 to 2005
contained the ten hottest years recorded on Earth through 2006.
10. As the water temperature under a
hurricane increases, what happens to the wind velocity of the
storm?
The wind velocity increases
proportionally with water temperature, therefore, worse storms could be caused
by an increase in ocean temperatures.
11. What has happened to Lake Chad
over the years?
Lake Chad has dried up to almost
nothing due to drought.
12. How much of the suns radiation
gets reflected by ice?
90% of the sun’s radiation that
hits ice is reflected. Water doesn’t reflect as much, so as the ice caps
diminish, the Earth absorbs even more light energy.
13. What redistributes energy from
the equator to the north and south poles?
Ocean and wind currents pump
energy from the equator to the north and south poles.
14. If the ice sheets of Western Antarctica were
to melt, approximately how much would sea level
rise?
The sea levels could rise 20ft,
causing the flooding of many coastal metropolitan areas.
15. List the three factors causing the collision
between civilization and earth
1. Population
2. Technology
3. The way people
think—resistance to change
16.
Approximately, what percentages of global carbon dioxide emissions come from
forest fires?
30% of global carbon dioxide
emissions come from forest fires.
17. What
country is the largest contributor of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere?
The U.S. was the largest
contributor of greenhouse gases as of 2006.
18.
Which country has the lowest government standards for gas mileage of
automobiles?
The U.S. has the lowest
automobile gas milage standards of any highly developed nation.
19.
Which two nations have not signed onto the Kyoto Protocol?
The U.S. and Australia (as of
2006) decided not to act on the Kyoto Protocol, which aimed at reducing
greenhouse gas emissions.
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