The Philippine Online Chronicles

Former US Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Al Gore took the floor last June 8 (Tuesday, Manila time) to take his message of environmentalism and the dangers posed by climate change to an audience who were just months removed from the devastation of Typhoon Ondoy and Pepeng. The urgency to act on the pressing problems surrounding the changes in weather patterns definitely got a kick start when the country suffered first hand and saw the wrath and fury that nature could unfurl against civilization.

This article would gloss over the key talking points that Gore made in his speech.

For the most part, Gore basically repeated a lot of the points that he made during his land mark documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” that ended up winning an Academy Award for best documentary back in 2007. The imagery and the choice of visuals during his presentation were very provocative. Images of retreating glaciers and almost completely-thawed out sections of permafrost and tundra were heavily featured in his talk.

Gore started off by showing a photo that has been seen by a majority of people in the world. “Earthrise” is the first photograph of the Earth as it rises out of the shadow of the moon. It was taken by Bill Anders during the Apollo 8 mission and for a long time has become an enduring image for astronomers and environmentalists alike.

He then continued with the laying of the context by describing the atmosphere – the very thing that has allowed life to flourish and thrive in our planet. The sky and the heavens may seem like a vast expanse littered with clouds but it’s really a thin film that separates us from the harshness of space. The scientific jargon was even pushed further when he proceeded to discuss the similarities and the differences of the Earth with its twin planet Venus. Just like the Earth, Venus has an atmosphere but due to the composition of gases on the planet (one that is heavy with carbon compounds), the pressures and in turn; the temperatures on the surface of Venus are the hottest among all the planets in the Solar System.

This phenomenon of having increased temperatures due to the presence of carbon-based gases on the atmosphere has been popularized in our everyday lives as the “greenhouse effect”. Due to the trapping of heat by the gases suspended in the atmosphere, the temperature increases. This effect is demonstrated in the same way with the glass panes that serve as walls in a normal greenhouse.

Roger Revelle was a professor at the University of California at San Diego was the first person to share to Gore the data that supports the hypothesis that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere has been on an upward trend since the industrial revolution. This was done through examining the gases trapped in core samples from the ground. The graph doesn’t only show that the amount of carbon dioxide is increasing; it also shows that the rate of the ascent has been picking up in recent centuries. The projections have been on the money for the past fifty years.

The small variations is said to be accounted for by the different seasons that most of the landmasses in the northern hemisphere has. Autumn and winter would mean that a lot of the trees would lose their leaves and in the process, the trees and plants would not be able to pull in the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Once spring comes around, the level of carbon dioxide concentration dips again in concert with the return of the leaves to their usual photosynthetic rates.

This alarming trend is what set the stage for the creation of the Kyoto Protocol. This agreement has been signed by almost all countries of the world with the thrust to cap and limit the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Gore was quick to extend his regret that his own country refuses to be a signatory in the treaty despite being the number one producer of greenhouse gases per capita in the world. Despite the position that the United States has taken on the Kyoto Protocol, Gore added that there are over a thousand cities that support the international treaty. In fact, the city of Seattle in Washington State leads the list of American cities that are in favor of the agreement.

Gore then proceeded to show pictures of glaciers taken from the 1970s and at present. The locations were quite varied. The Pastoruri glacier was the first one shown. This is a circue glacier in southern Peru near the first few mountains of the Andes mountain range. The glacier has receded significantly in the past thirty years.

It may be easy to dismiss glaciers as just huge chunks of ice that are running down the slopes of tall peaks but it is not as simple as that. All of the great rivers of the Asian continent originate from the glaciers of the Himalayas. The Ganges, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy and Yangtze are supposedly in danger of being lost. Gore adds that over 40 percent of the population of the world depends on these freshwater sources considering that these rivers run through the two most populous countries in the entire world – India and China.

This claim by Gore is one that has been repeatedly slammed by critics and for some reason; Gore didn’t feel it was warranted for him to respond to the strong rebuttals against the very creed that he is preaching. For the most part, people who pay good money to hear him talk about climate change and the extreme weather conditions that continue to prop up. At this point, Gore has already reached enough cult status that most people wouldn’t think twice about believing whatever he says since he has seemingly been validated by institutions like the Nobel and mainstream media.

With many reports of droughts and warm spells in recent years, Gore also felt it was proper to cite that the hottest years in recorded history. Again, this claim is also something that has been contested by many other scientists who think that the science behind the assertion isn’t sound. Gore may have something to stand on though – several towns and cities in the Indian Subcontinent have recorded the highest temperatures ever in recorded history. Most critics claim that the sample size is too small to even consider the change to be a trend.

Gore then talked about the water temperature and how it reacts with the atmospheric temperature. The rise in temperature is said to disrupt the natural variability of the water temperature in the world’s oceans. While this doesn’t cause more typhoons to be formed in the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific, Atlantic and the Indian Oceans; the likelihood of the generated storms to be very strong hurricanes is definitely enhanced. Gore used the examples of the series of strong hurricanes that hit Louisiana, Haiti and even the Philippines as proof that the supposedly rare varieties of weather disturbances are becoming more and more common due to the changes happening in the climate.

An increase in temperature would also make the evaporation of water from the world’s oceans and other bodies of water. This trend would of course cause more rain and as direct result would cause devastation in the form of flash floods, landslides and even the formation of sinkholes like the one that appeared in one intersection in Guatemala City after Hurricane Agatha. The shock and awe that came from the audience at the venue made me realize just how clueless a lot of Pinoys are when it comes to world news. The shocking photo of the sinkhole has been around for over a week and yet it seemed like a lot of people were seeing it for the first time.

Gore then shows aerial photos of the ice sheets in the Arctic Circle and the South Pole. He likens the Arctic ice sheet as something similar to the heart of the planet because the gradient in temperatures allows for the circulation of the air masses around the world to properly regulate the temperature. Images seem to show that the ice sheet is rapidly melting into the sea and this would severely hamper the function of the so-called pump. The melting of this ice also released the trapped carbon based oxides trapped within. Gore showed dramatic footage of how people would light up flues right next to drilled hose in ice lakes and other bodies of frozen water. Along the melting of the ice comes the instability of the structures that were built on top of tundra. Bridges have collapsed in areas where this phenomenon has happened and considerable damages were also seen with buildings and some plant life.

According to Gore, the project three degree Celsius rise in average global temperature would trigger a somewhat minimal one degree rise in the tropics but would translate to a dramatic 12-point spike at the poles. This would clearly cause havoc as far as the integrity of the icebergs is concerned. If the whole theory of the poles being the “heart” of the earth is concerned, this can certainly not bode well for the human species. The difference between the tropical and polar temperature would drop and it would be quite likely that the mechanisms governing the pole’s ability to transfer and diffuse the heat of the tropics would be diminished or at least altered.

This would cause a shift in seasons that would make it hard for the farmers in many developing nations to predict when to best plant their crops. These shifts in the weather systems would certainly have gross economic costs. If it happens at a larger scale, it would be possible that entire batches of crops could be lost starting what could be a very catastrophic food shortage.

There is a severe toll on biodiversity and ecosystems dues to the challenges of climate change. Opportunistic species have now been seen supplanting the local species in many areas of the world. Gore claims that a mass extinction is at hand if not enough steps are done to ensure that the brakes on climate change are applied. Aside from influencing the life cycles and allowing certain species to thrive in favour of those more used to the pre-climate change conditions, an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere makes the water more acidic and hence less able to contain dissolved oxygen that submarine animal life could then use for respiration.

Gore is adamant in saying that up to one hundred million would have to become climate change refugees with a one meter rise in the sea level. Certain countries like the Maldives for instance whose highest elevation is a mere 12 feet above sea level is very vulnerable to these changes. To further prove a point, cabinet members from the Maldives actually conducted a meeting underwater – with the participants in scuba gear – further emphasize the plight of the archipelago in the face of threats that endanger its very existence.

The three things that Gore has specifically zeroed in on as the causes for the changes that we have been seeing in recent memory are the following:

An increased population

Due to the higher survival rates of children, longer life spans and better medical sciences, it’s fairly clear that the rate of population growth has contributed to amount of food, energy and resources that the human race has needed throughout the years. In a graph shown by Gore than mirrors the amount of people on Earth against a timeline, it is apparent that the Earth has almost quadrupled its population in the past century.

The number of the people has also caused some strain on the environment. With more people comes the need to clear more forested land for more building materials and living space. The countries of Brazil and Indonesia lead the world in deforestation statistics and with the cutting of these mighty poplars come the release of even more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Farming of animals also releases a lot of carbon into the atmosphere. Aside from the obvious clearing of forests required to create grazing fields for cattle and sheep, the animals themselves also generate immense amounts of methane gas.

Technological advances

Clearly, the creation of the automated assembly line, the advent of modern machines and other technologies are the real reasons why humans have started polluting the Earth at increased rates. Due to man’s desire to build things bigger and faster, the entire race has pooled to put its once simple tools into gigantic versions. The modern earthmovers of today are definitely way different from the shovels and spades they used to maximize back in the day.

Development was the goal of everyone and nobody really thought about the after effects and the consequences of such actions. This is also the reason why a lot of developing countries were initially averse to the idea of signing any protocol that would force them to arrest their development. The developed countries like the United Kingdom and the United States didn’t have the rest of the world pressuring them to keep their businesses clean during the industrial revolution.

People’s perceptions

Certain people just don’t see the problem clearly enough or are fazed by the sheer scale of the solution that needs to be undertaken. He finally lashes out on the critics of the climate change in this part of his speech and frankly, he could have done this the entire way. The hall was filled with people who were already believers of his stand considering that most people had to buy relatively expensive tickets just to hear him speak.

The wrap up

This is where Gore really upped the ante and drew the battle lines. In a move almost reminiscent of how George Bush characterized the critics of the Iraq and Afghan wars. In stunning and totally unexpected fashion, Gore tried to appeal to the spirituality of the people as opposed to simply letting them see the empirical data that he has so systematically caked on his 90-minute speech.

Gore would further stress the importance of having the right technologies to combat the perils of climate change. He showed numerous pictures of projects all over the world that display great leaps and advances in renewable energy. He would also play to the crowd as he emphasized the great efforts that the country has taken in promoting geothermal energy.

He was hopeful though that the people’s mindsets have changed and become onboard with the idea of cutting emissions and putting a cap on the amount that companies could release into the atmosphere. With a cap-and-trade setup that would allow more efficient firms to sell credits to those who have yet to come up with less polluting plants, a more meritocratic and financially-reliable way of enforcing the model could be done.

Aside from cleaner technologies, Gore also advocated the use of clean sources of energy that would not produce as much carbon as the other technologies. Despite the current cost of investment required to start a wind, solar, geothermal or nuclear power plant, the amount of emissions is considerably smaller compared to that created by a coal or gas fired power plant. Gore claims that increased investment in these products and technologies would eventually bring the prices of these goods down in pretty much the same way that investment in the computer industry has pulled prices down to current levels.

To close, Gore emphasized the urgency of the problem and the need of everyone to do their own part in making sure that the fate of the world changes and deviates from the doom and gloom that the projections he showed suggested. He hearkened back to the Ozone depletion stories of the 90s to show that with enough awareness and political will, things could definitely be done. Despite seemingly gigantic scale that the

Political will is a renewable resource and with the right advocacies and the right leaders, it would be possible for a country to make a responsible decision not only for this generation but also for the next one as well.

Photo: "Graphic displaying carbon dioxyd concentrations as measured from Hawaii, 1958-2006." from the US Public Domain

Photo: “Al Gore: An Inconvenient Truth” by Juampe López, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved.