Custom «Six Degrees Could Change the World» Essay Paper Sample

The 'Six Degrees Could Change the World' is a National Geographic film which is based on Mark Lynas's novel Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet. The documentary is narrated by Alec Baldwin. By combining climatic models and scientific research, the film addresses changes that are alarming which are speculated to affects the world by the year 2100. The film is thought provoking due to the effects of that greenhouse gases has continued to cause. There are warnings from the scientists that there could be rise in global temperatures of six degrees Celsius come the next century. This would change the whole world radically as the documentary assesses every effects of each degree temperature rise on the planet geographically, biologically and socially. In a situation where greenhouse gases emissions would stop immediately, there would still be a rise in temperature of about zero point five to one degrees Celsius due to the gases that are already present in the atmosphere (Baldwin, 00:02).

Each degree rise in temperature would not result to gradual changes. There would be disappearance of low islands s and glaciers in the Greenland for a rise of one degree. The Australian forests would disappear and there would be increased coral bleaching resulting to a desert in the whole of North America (Baldwin 00:03). At two degrees, the acidity of the ocean would rise and there would be shortages of water in South America and China and Extreme monsoons in India (Baldwin 00:24). At three degrees rise in temperature would mean that during summer, the arctic would not have any ice (80% loss) in it with floods in New York City and higher risks of heat waves and fires in Southern California. The forests such as The Amazon would go dry and disappear due to the extreme climatic conditions (Baldwin 00:44). At the forth degree Celsius the oceans would rise drastically due to permafrost melting with adverse effects in Florida. Further rise in temperature to five degrees higher would be devastating resulting into expansion of deserts in Africa with human residing in Antarctica. It would also result to uninhabitable word even in the temperate regions and the remaining resources would cause instability as human struggle for them to survive. At six degrees rise in temperature, it will be the doomsday because the scenario would be unthinkable. There would be an explosion of the carbon cycle, the big oceans would dry out to become marine wet lands while more and more deserts would come in to being with increase in catastrophes (Baldwin 00:81).

Global warming is a very sensitive issue as portrayed in the film "It is a matter of life or death" (Baldwin 00:05). Every individual has a responsibility to ensure that the issue is dealt with seriously. The speculations that the global temperature would rise up to six degrees is a complete nightmare. By addressing the effects that global warming has and continues to result to, one is able to get insight on the effects that man's activities such as use of energy resources would eventually lead to his tragedy. Other than speculations in the film, the facts are clear that man has continued to destroy the environment especially facilitated by the process of industrialization. It his sole responsibility to apply technology and other means possible to prevent planet earth, his only home, from overheating due to green house gases. The massive changes such as extreme temperatures, ocean rising, disappearance of cities, massive fires among others that six degrees rise in temperature would lead to may seem exaggerated but when its carefully thought of, the planet will be inhabitable come the next century.

The effects of temperature rise would start within North America where fossil energy consumption is at its best and in South America due to great population and human activities. This is not a time to be shortsighted, at least not after watching the film. Strategic planning is needed to contain the climatic changes. Practical efforts such as planting trees, and use of alternative source of energy such as corn ethanol which has less emission of carbon dioxide would reduces chances of endangering the lives of human, animals, and plants with war and famine and catastrophes.