Global Warming

I recently watched a film called The Shock Doctrine, which is a movie based on the book The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein.  It poses the theory that the government uses times of crisis to pass normally unpopular policies. 

I believe this film used visuals and sound effectively.  The repeated use of the patient being violently shocked serves to show how the government “shocks” the public and then forces policies. 

Another example is of a plane flying into the World Trade Centers on 9/11.  The scene is at first serene, showing the plane peacefully gliding through the air behind a bright blue sky, when all of a sudden it crashes into the building causing a firey explosion.  The audience is shocked.  And on 9/11 the American society was shocked too.  Then we see a clip of George W. Bush and Milton Friedman.  Klein suggests that Iraq war, much like many other wars, and other unpopular policies have been forced on the public in a time of crisis.  By showing these images, Klein emphasizes that these political figures are to blame. 

Towards then end of the film, several wars, coups, and massacres are flashed across the screen in dark red.  With these facts and statisitcs popping up so fast its extremely difficult to keep tract of them all, creating the idea that this form of shocking and then pushing policies has happened too many times. 

I really enjoyed watching this film and thought Klein used images effectively.  I ended up showing this film on youtube to several of my friends and they also found it very interesting.  Be sure to check it out.

I went on the popular site Google today and saw that the search engine was dark.  I noticed that below there was a sentence that said “We’ve turned out the lights.  Now it’s your turn. - Earth Hour.”  Curious, I clicked on “Earth Hour” and saw that Google is “turning out their lights” for the day to “raise awareness of the worldwide energy conservation effort called Earth Hour.”  Tonight (Saturday, March 29, 2008) from 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm the World Wildlife Fun is inviting everyone to turn off their lights for one hour to help fight climate change.  I think this is a brilliant idea and to have Google back it will allow Earth Hour to reach an extremely large audience.

So don’t forget, tonight from 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm turn off your lights & join the fight against climate change!!

The Center for American Progress recently compiled a list of the top 100 effects of global warming.  These effects range from the extinction of Christmas trees to the end of baseball.  Christmas trees will cease to exist because the pine bark beetle, which is infamous for killing pine trees, is reproducing exponentially because of warmer temperatures and destroying entire forests in British Columbia.  Baseball bats will also become a thing of the past because the ash tree, which are used to make all baseball bats, are becoming extinct due to global warming. 

The effects of global warming are vast and frightening.  However, it is important that we acknowledge these effects because we need to know what is at risk if the public continues to not fight global warming.  To see the entire list go to http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/09/climate_100.html

Did you know that 75% of Americans believe that global warming is a real threat but only 33% of Americans believe that action needs to be taken now?  This is shocking considering individuals can take numerous steps to significantly reduce global warming.  You can easily reduce your global warming pollution.  Here are a few simple steps you can do everyday to help!

• Reduce electricity use
• Limit your automobile travel by taking the bus, car pooling, or riding a bike
• Recycle
• Save energy by unplugging appliances when they aren’t in use & turning off lights in empty rooms

These small changes can add up and make a big difference!

*For more ways to reduce your global warming pollution or to print out a pamplet of tips click here!

I think Al Gore’s use of visuals was very effective in An Inconvenient Truth.  The graphs and before and after pictures were especially effective in my opinion because they clearly displayed the seriousness of the situation.  The scissor lift in particular was a very effective way to show to shocking increase of carbon dioxide emmions.  In addition, the before and after pictures worked well because they served as proof that global warming is already causing dramatic damage and will only continue to do so in future years if it is not stopped.  My personal favorite visual was the map that displayed the cities and states that will be completely emerged in water in the next several decades if global warming continues at its current rate.  This really shocked me and basically sent the message home that if this issue is not stopped soon its effects will ruin the planet.

The following are powerful images that successful communicate the threat of global warming.

This is a picture comparing a coast in 1999 and 2004.  Global warming has caused severe storms and sea levels to rise and the result has been dramatic coastal erosion.  I like this picture because the change is clearly obvious when the two pictures are placed next to each other.  This is strong evidence for those that believe global warming won’t begin to affect the earth for centuries.

   This second image shows the increase in the earth’s average temperatures.  It’s scary to see how much temperatures have jumped in recent years.  Most of this jump in temperature can be blamed on the significant increase in CO2 in the atmosphere.  This is a good piece of risk communication because it is easy to understand and effectively shows how temperature have increased dramatically in recent years, which also emphasizes that we need to act now to stop temperatures from increasing even further in the future.

This third image was taken in Africa and shows a dead zebra who died from starvation.  This picture displays how wildlife is being impacted by global warming.  Global warming has caused devastating droughts and poor countries like Africa have suffered most from them.  In my issue analysis I mention some of the animals that are becoming exstinct and this is a good example of exactly how these animals are dying.  I believe if my audience sees how these animals are dying they will feel more obligated to work to stop global warming.

This is another commercial created by the Environmental Defense Fund that communicates the risk of ignoring the threats of global warming.  I think this is a great ad to show the public that even though the effects of global warming won’t become serious for several years, our children will suffer the consequences and need us to take a stand against global warming today in order for them to have a safe future.  Watch the commercial here! 

The other day while waiting for a bus inside Sutherland lounge, I saw this commercial.  It features young children urging adults to help fight global warming because if they don’t time will run out & these children will have to live in a world that has “massive heat waves, severe droughts, and devastating hurricanes.”  I think this is a really powerful example of risk communication, so check it out ..

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ghUVT_Z5oDs

I recently attended an event at the Pitt Student Union on National Security.  The panel, consisting of COL Mike Hoadley, COL John Cho, COL Thomas Evans, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Kelly, Lt. Col. Mike Sweeney, and COL Lora Tucker, discussed the current state of our military.  The event began a little shaky when protesters yelled at the panel to leave and to “stop killing innocent babies.”  Once the Pitt Police were called however, the protesters left and the event continued on.  COL Mike Hoadley from the US Army remarked, “we we’re invited here, so we will stay.”  After a brief introduction on each panel member’s expertise, the discussion was opened up to questioning. 

One audience member asked COL Thomas Evans from the US Army how long he thinks it will take for Iraqi Police to become independent.  Evans responded that it will most likely take awhile because the US is “changing the mindset of generations.”  He explained that in March 2003 there were zero Iraqi policemen because the police force had become the target of the Iraqi people after Saddam Hussein had been thrown out of power.  Under Saddam’s rule, he had ordered the police to suppress the Iraqi people, creating a strong hatred towards the Iraqi police, so once he was overthrown, the Iraqi people burned police stations and went after policemen.  However, the US Army has been able to train new policemen as there are currently 270,000 Iraqi policemen.  Evans notes that the crime rate has increasedby in Iraq since 2003, but believes that “Iraqi crime has not gone up, but rather the reporting of crime has.” 

Another question asked during the discussion was why Guantanamo Bay was opened in the first place.  COL Lora Tucker of the US Army responded to this question saying that it is the best strategic location to gather information.  She explained that confinement at sea and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas were the other options considered before choosing Guantanamo Bay.  Tucker continued on discussing the current debate in Supreme Court over whether detainees in Guantanamo Bay should have rights to US federal courts.  She said that this is a serious issue because anyone brought onto US soil has the right to courts, and since Guantanamo Bay is US leased land this issue is being hotly debated. 

 Another question asked was what is the biggest threat to national security.  Lt. Col. Mike Sweeney of the US Marine Corps said it is the energy issue.  He explained that India and China are emerging in the technology field and the US will soon be competing with them for energy, which has the potential to very problematic.  Sweeney suggested that the US invest in upcoming technology and nuclear power.  Lt. Col. Jeffrey Kelly of the US Air Force commented that the US needs to secure Iraq because its oil region will affect our future economy.  Tucker added that she believes there are several large threats to national security that include an asymmetrical extremist threat, global scanning, and the national debt.  Evans agreed with Tucker, saying that an asymmetrical extremist threat on the US soil is the biggest threat to national security. 

Mike Sweeney concluded the event while responding to the final question on nuclear weapons in the army.  He explained that “it is unlikely will we be able to solve problems with a treaty in the future” and warned that “we must keep all options on the table.”