BruceSixDegreesCouldChangeTheWorld

=Six Degrees Could Change the World= (2008) Director: Ron Bowman

Central Argument/Narrative
Global warming does and will have a large effect on planet Earth as we know it. Little actions are summing up to a big impact. "Positive feedback" loops are very close to taking effect: tress are out gassing carbon dioxide in hot climates; glacier water is quickly melting. One degree changes in global temperature have happened before (i.e. Cretaceous Period), but the rate is the important difference. Changes have occurred over thousands of years in the past; now the changes are occurring over decades.

Matrix of Sustainability Problems
This film does a superb job of illustrating the the matrix of sustainability problems. The increase of global temperature is affecting, has affected, and will continue to affect mankind across the world.

Melting icebergs in Greenland are damaging the culture of sled dogs prominent there. Without ice, sledding is impossible, and people must rely more on fishing than on hunting than they have in the past. As an additional problem, dogs are becoming unhealthy; in one area, five veterinarians are stressed to care for over 4000 dogs.

Summer heat waves in Paris, France became a medical issue in 2003. Metal rooftops are common in Parisian architecture and caused a great increase in temperature of homes. This greatly affected the elderly who are most at risk to high temperatures. Hospitals were overcrowded with the seniors with heat illnesses, and to compound the issue, the heat wave occurred when medical practitioners traditionally vacation.

The western United States is known as the "breadbasket of the world." Experts have projected that a combination of falling precipitation rates and poor agricultural practices will create desert conditions akin to the Dust Bowl era. Without the "breadbasket," a global food shortage, if not at least a national food shortage is imminent.

Persuasive & Compelling (and not)
The scene of Australian homeowners watering the rooftops of their house as a forest fire burns in the visible distance is frightening; it is easy for one to emotionally connect with them. It is also revealed that the overall carbon footprint of cheeseburger consumption in the U.S. is 200 million square meters. This is a sobering statistic.

Two examples that are not compelling are of the devastation of coral reefs and the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. These events are overplayed by the media and have little persuasive effect.

Environmental Educational Value
This film is frightening and sobering, yet it offers minimal solutions to all the sustainability problems it calls out. It does do a great job of relaying the need for urgency when dealing with these problems.

Seek Out New Information
The rise in global warming has pushed the zone for growing grapes and olives north so Great Britain's vineyard industry has skyrocketed. <[]>

Icebergs are melting and creating rivers that are hot spots for phytoplankton. <[]>