The Ecopolitan

The Climate Crisis Hits Your Living Room

Climate change is already changing our planet. Bush fires regularly threaten Australian cities. English farmers are planting olive orchards. Himalayan glaciers are melting.

"Six Degrees Could Change the World"--a new documentary film airing Monday, Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. Eastern time (9 p.m. Pacific) on the National Geographic Channel--explores what happens to us as the earth heats up. It's a sobering but riveting look at what the future could hold in store if we don't take serious action about reducing levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

It's already .8 degrees Celsius hotter on average than at the start of the industrial revolution, and the pace of warming is accelerating. "The warmer it gets, the faster it gets warmer," explains James Hansen, the NASA scientist who first drew widespread public attention to the threat. What will an increase of six degrees (11 degrees Fahrenheit) mean?

*At a one degree Celsius increase, the Bay of Bengal in Asia faces continual flooding and drought conditions grip the Great Plains of the U.S.

*At two degrees, Greenland's glaciers begin to disappear and so do most coral reefs. The oceans begin to lose their capacity to absorb carbon, heightening the problem.

*At three degrees, the Arctic polar region is ice-free all summer and El Niño weather fluctuations become the norm.

*At four degrees, Bangladesh washes away and Egypt is inundated. New York is under assault from rising seas and super storms. British climate researcher and author Mark Lynas predicts, "We see a planet that is unrecognizable."

*At five degrees, there are 100 million environmental refugees seeking new homes. Social systems begin to break down.

*At six degrees, according to the filmmaker, "It's a doomsday scenario."

But it's not too late, the film reassures us. There is still plenty we can do to stop further global warming, from windmills to mass transit to energy conservation at home. And the powerful message of Six Degrees will make us all the more dedicated to make those changes.

© The Green Guide, 2008

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