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Lesson 16

Global warming and climate change are real and caused by human activity according to the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. The film presents evidence from scientific studies and photographs from space showing shrinking glaciers and ice sheets. A "tipping point" may be reached in 10 years after which climate change becomes irreversible, destroying civilization and most species. The primary cause is burning fossil fuels, releasing carbon dioxide stored over millions of years. Immediate action is needed to transition to renewable energy and reduce emissions to halt and reverse global warming.

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rjay manalo
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159 views

Lesson 16

Global warming and climate change are real and caused by human activity according to the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. The film presents evidence from scientific studies and photographs from space showing shrinking glaciers and ice sheets. A "tipping point" may be reached in 10 years after which climate change becomes irreversible, destroying civilization and most species. The primary cause is burning fossil fuels, releasing carbon dioxide stored over millions of years. Immediate action is needed to transition to renewable energy and reduce emissions to halt and reverse global warming.

Uploaded by

rjay manalo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Environmental degradation directly affects human life and makes human prone to

suffering through illnesses, destroyed infrastructure and food insecurity, makes the natural
habitat intolerable to aquatic life, animals as well as plants, and most heavily impacts on the ice
on the surface of the earth affecting the weather and oceans. As a result of environmental
destruction, the earth’s atmosphere gets warmer which we call “Climate Change”. This leads to
melting of the Snowpack, glaciers and the ice in the poles. This thus raises the sea levels. Darker
ocean waters are exposed and these are better at absorbing heat from the sun resulting in
more heating, melting and evaporation of the ocean water. The increased evaporation
facilitates the occurrence of storms and extreme weather events like hurricanes and storms as
witnessed with the typhoon Ondoy in our country.

During the Typhoon Ondoy, so many people lost their lives from as many buildings got
submerged in the waters and buildings and other structures gave in to the raging waters. Many
people became homeless as many humanitarian agencies engaged in rescuing the survivors to
safer grounds. Properties were destroyed in the storm as many turned into beggars in the
streets. Even our house wasn’t able to escape from the typhoon. I remember when we
evacuated to the convention grandstand for us to survive and be safe at that time. This should
become a wakeup call for everyone to take action and mitigate the effects of climate change
through taking care of the environment. This is because clearly justice to the environment
translates to justice towards the entire globe. It is the only way to address the climate change
and the reward is a safer environment free from events like Hurricanes, Tsunamis, typhoons,
earthquake and other possible calamities that may arise.

Exercise 1.
Instructions: Watch Al Gore’s documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth (2006). Take down
notes while watching the documentary film. Does climate change really exist? Consider
arguments and evidence presented by scientists who are not convinced and those who
argue for the existence of climate change. What is your stand regarding the arguments?

Global warming and climate change is real. And it is caused by human activity.
Mankind and its governments must begin immediate action to halt and reverse it. If we do
nothing, in about 10 years the planet may reach a "tipping point" and begin a slide toward
destruction of our civilization and most of the other species on this planet. After that point is
reached, it would be too late for any action. These facts are stated by Al Gore in the
documentary "An Inconvenient Truth." Forget he ever ran for office. Consider him a concerned
man speaking out on the approaching crisis. "There is no controversy about these facts," he
says in the film. "Out of 925 recent articles in peer-review scientific journals about global
warming, there was no disagreement. He stands on a stage before a vast screen, in front of an
audience. The documentary is based on a speech he has been developing for six years, and is
supported by dramatic visuals. He shows the famous photograph "Earthrise," taken from space
by the first American astronauts. Then he shows a series of later space photographs, clearly
indicating that glaciers and lakes are shrinking, snows are melting, shorelines are retreating. He
provides statistics: The 10 warmest years in history were in the last 14 years. Last year South
America experienced its first hurricane. Japan and the Pacific are setting records for typhoons.
Hurricane Katrina passed over Florida, doubled back over the Gulf, picked up strength from
unusually warm Gulf waters, and went from Category 3 to Category 5. There are changes in the
Gulf Stream and the jet stream. Cores of polar ice show that carbon dioxide is much, much
higher than ever before in a quarter of a million years. It was once thought that such things
went in cycles. Gore stands in front of a graph showing the ups and downs of carbon dioxide
over the centuries. Yes, there is a cyclical pattern. Then, in recent years, the graph turns up and
keeps going up, higher and higher, off the chart. The primary man-made cause of global
warming is the burning of fossil fuels. We are taking energy stored over hundreds of millions of
years in the form of coal, gas and oil, and releasing it suddenly. This causes global warming, and
there is a pass-along effect. Since glaciers and snow reflect sunlight but sea water absorbs it,
the more the ice melts, the more of the sun's energy is retained by the sea.
Gore says that although there is "100 percent agreement" among scientists, a
database search of newspaper and magazine articles shows that 57 percent question the fact of
global warming, while 43 percent support it. These figures are the result, he says, of a
disinformation campaign started in the 1990s by the energy industries to "reposition global
warming as a debate." It is the same strategy used for years by the defenders of tobacco. My
father was a Luckys smoker who died of lung cancer in 1960, and 20 years later it was still
"debatable" that there was a link between smoking and lung cancer. Now we are talking about
the death of the future, starting in the lives of those now living.
"The world won't 'end' overnight in 10 years," Gore says. "But a point will have
been passed, and there will be an irreversible slide into destruction." What can we do? Switch
to and encourage the development of alternative energy sources: Solar, wind, tidal, and, yes,
nuclear. Move quickly toward hybrid and electric cars. Pour money into public transit, and
subsidize the fares. Save energy in our houses.

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