On Monday March 5 in the Boyd Science Center the Anthropology-Sociology Club, Common Ground, and NHPIRG sponsored the showing of the Academy Award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth so students and faculty could learn and grow from the ever controversial topic of global warming.
Al Gore, “the former next U.S. president,” narrated the film and gave insight and truth about global warming, along with statistical evidence and findings from scientists all over the world studying this epidemic.
The film not only talked about how global warming worked, but also how it effects the environment, the tragedies, and circumstances that have changed as a cause of the global warming epidemic.
Most countries all of the world have taken actions such as lowering fuel emissions, controlling population, conserving water, and lowering electricity rates, however in the U.S., many states aren’t required to do so.
Global warming takes place when carbon dioxide (CO2) gets trapped in our atmosphere and thickened by fossil fuels causing the earth’s average temperature to rise. This causes the polar ice caps to melt and warming of the ocean, which causes more hurricanes, typhoons, and tsunamis; this also heats up the earth making seasonal changes milder. We have seen this with our own past winter and the hurricanes of the 2005 season where we broke epic records for both tornadoes, and hurricanes.
This past winter, many wondered why it was still warm in December. Plymouth had record temperatures and didn’t get snowfall until mid-January. The snow that did fall fell hard with two blizzards within two weeks. For the skiers and snowboarders there were no complaints, but the dramatic climate and weather changes are effecting many people.
The summer of 2005 wasn’t any better, with the most record consecutive days of heat and heat rising to well over the hundred mark.
Al Gore talked about all of this in the documentary as well as what some scientists are doing. While some want to disregard the problem as a hoax, scientists are speaking out and doing research to solve the problem. One of the interesting ways that they predict why these things happen is by taking ice core samples of years past to study how much CO2 was in the air that year, and also what the temperature was the day that the snow fell.
He also brought up three factors as to why global warming has increased so much in the past fifty years. The first being population increases, which puts more pressure on the earth by producing more food faster, living, and the economy. The more people we have the more jobs we need to employ. Secondly is science; the more advances in science the more the earth needs to make up for it. Third of all, technology, because it’s growing more and more every day the more there is to test out, and that hurts the earth, especially with the advent of nuclear warfare.
There are some steps that every person can take to help stop global warming. Replace one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb and it could save 150lbs. of carbon dioxide per year. Or drive less; since gas is expensive and there is always a bike! Recycling is a must; it can save 2,400 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year by removing just half of household waste. Also, keep tires inflated properly and it can not only save gas mileage, but also every gallon of gas saved keeps 20lbs. of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Using less hot water will it will save energy. Try switching to a low flow showerhead, and washing clothes in cold water.
Avoid products with lots of packaging. It saves 1,200lbs of carbon dioxide if garbage is cut down by only 10%. Plant a tree! Trees like carbon dioxide and they will eat up about a ton of carbon dioxide in their lifetime. They will also pay back by giving oxygen. Obviously, turn off electronic devices when finished, it will save energy and also save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide each year. Adjust the thermostat 2 degrees up or down can save 2,000 lbs of carbon dioxide from being put into the air. Most importantly, spread the word!
For more information contact the Anthropology Sociology club, or pledge to help stop the global warming crisis.