After the warming: James Burke documentary analysis and themes

¶ … Warming

The Fatal Flower

The onset of the Industrial Revolution in the 1750s in England radically and permanently altered the relationship between people and the climate

The steam engine was a key driver of the Industrial Revolution.

Interchangeable components and mass production allowed for a proliferation of technology.

This growing affluence resulted in population explosion. Railways were invented and lands around the world were colonized, bringing technology transfer and allowing for population explosions in those countries as well

In 1958 at Mauna Loa, HI, the first measurements of atmospheric CO2 were taken and since then CO2 has continuously increased.

By 1989 all models agreed that some level of action was required to avoid a global temperature rise of between 1.5C and 4.5C by 2050.

Part Two: Secret of the Deep

All over the world, people either live lifestyles that emphasize conspicuous consumption or aspire to living those lifestyles.

These consumption trends led to worse forecasts for the future

Divided opinions about action stalled progress towards solutions. One plan had a carbon budget allocated.

This plan led to the creation of the Planetary Management Authority in 2000, just in time for the grimmest forecasts yet.

Over time, this inaction resulted in substantial climate change, and dramatic alteration of human life.

Past human reactions to climate change are overviewed. These include droughts in Africa several million years ago that forced our ancestors out of the forests and into the grasslands. An Ice Age from 50,000 to 15,000 years ago caused migration from Siberia to the Americas, and from New Guinea to Australia. An increase in global temperatures 15000 years ago led to flourishing of the first human civilizations.

Modern examples are provided as well. Droughts in the Middle East around 3000 BC led to a tightly organized Egyptian society based on preserving scarce water -- mathematics were invented, as were calendars and irrigation. A global drop in temperature in 450 AD caused the Huns to migrate from Asia to Europe, bringing about the end of the Roman Empire.

The author asks students to consider how climate change is going to affect them.

The author asks what the risks of awaiting further research are, since we already know that our carbon emissions are changing the climate. The Dutch government report on carbon emissions trading is outlined. Students are asked what policies the U.S. government would have to introduce in order to implement such a plan are.

There is also an outline of developing nations (Morocco, Cuba, Pakistan) and their economic structures are compared with that of South Korea.