Wednesday, May 4, 2011

video reflections: climate change

In the environmental documentary An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore explore the causes and effects of global warming. Even though climate change is such a heavy topic, Gore presented the issues clearly and the film was extremely informative and eye-opening. The short animations made the presentation easier to take in, although I found some parts to be pretty emotional (poor little polar bears).

Gore explains that it is unethical human behaviour that has raised the CO2 levels in the atmosphere and within 50 years it will be off the charts. It was shocking to see how the effects of global warming on natural landmarks like Mt Kilimanjaro and the Himalayas. It was also shocking to understand that so many natural disasters occurred as a result of the changes in the earth's atmosphere, particularly in the example of Hurricane Katrina. Human behaviour is destroying the earth and as a result we are destroying ecological niches as well as each other.

Ultimately, it is a change in human behaviour that needs to be addressed, we need to move away from the habits of unrestricted burning of fossil fuels and land clearing. We seem to be slipping into a downward spiral, and people need to be educated on the matter; I thought it was ridiculous when it was highlighted that there are skeptics that believe the notion of global warming is a hoax. It is this type of ignorant behaviour that needs to end, industrial designers need to be conscious of these important issues to ensure a step in the right direction.

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