The Verisimilitude of an Inconvenient Truth Essay Example

a leading scientist who is the Swedish leader of the International Siberian Shelf Study. In the report which was published in (The Independent) of Sept. 23. It stated that a substantial amount of methane gas was released into the sea and rose to the surface via methane bubbles (Dyer, 2008).

Why is this significant? Essentially, methane gas is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a warming agent (Dyer, 2008).

Further, there are thousands of megatons of methane stored underground in the Arctic region, trapped there by the permafrost (permanently frozen ground) that covers much of northern Russia, Alaska and Canada and extends far out under the seabed of the Arctic Ocean (Dyer, 2008). If the permafrost melts and methane escapes into the atmosphere on a large scale, it would cause a rapid rise in temperature - which would melt more permafrost, releasing more methane, which would cause more warming, and so on.

Consequently, the first sign of the permafrost melting is the mass escape of methane gas, the research ship "Jakob Smirnitskyi" has just found: areas of the Arctic Ocean off the Russian coast where "chimneys" of methane gas are bubbling to the surface (Dyer, 2008). Giving the facts of the aforementioned methane gas dispersion coupled with the recent increased intensity/frequency of hurricanes one can deduct that An Inconvenient Truth is not the result of exaggeration, political interest, or the suppression of the economic growth of another country.

It is real and each passing day more and more physical evidence is being discovered to corroborate its veracity.

Are Governments And Industry Leaders Being Honest About Pollution? There is a great deal of scientific evidence that

illustrates the correlation of CO2 emission with global warming. Likewise, there are an abundance of corporate lobbyists decrying scientific data that substantiates global warming. Towing the line of public perception are the many politicians that give affirmations of how the government will lead the fight against the threat of global warming.

However, when the facts are reviewed they paint a different view of the truthfulness of the corporations and politicians. A recent report from the Department of Energy stated that many researchers expected U.S. carbon output to fall last year—as it had in 2006—but in fact the report shows the opposite with American CO2 emissions reaching a new record. Meanwhile globally atmospheric carbon dioxide levels increased 2. 2 parts-per-million (PPM) to 383 (PPM) (Hance, 2008).

To add insult to injury 28 new coal plants are currently under construction in the U.S. Consequently, until public perception is changed, neither the government nor the corporations have any incentive (positive or punitive) to be truthful regarding global warming. Should the United Nations (UN) Police The International Community on Pollution? The short answer is No.

The UN in its current state does not have the political will to act on the behalf of the environment. In a perfect world, the concept of the United Nations would lead the charge in the fight of global warming. However, recently the United Nations have been ssuing resolutions without any punitive actions because of deep conflict of interests between the governing countries. For example China is a rapidly developing nation and is number one in CO2 emissions (Auffhammer, M.& Carson, R. T, 2007). Yet historically China does not vote against its own self interests as

chronicled in the Iran nuclear proliferation case that has been prolonged due to China for several years. Ultimately the UN ceded to China and Russia and passed the resolution without adding any additional sanction (McFarquhar, 2008).

Enforcement without penalty is the equivalent of being bitten by a toothless dog, which renders the UN as all bark with no bite. What International Public Policies Should be in Place to Prevent Revolutionary and Economic Uprisings? There are two distinct international public policies that could be used to curtail revolutionary and economic uprisings.

First, a comprehensive and all inclusive energy plan that would phase out CO2 emitting fossils fuels. This plan should emphasize biodiesels, while supplementing extra energy demand with electric, hydro, wind, hydrogen, and solar power.

For example Brazil emerged from the 1973 oil crisis and launched their ethanol-based fuel for transportation by 1980 (Han, 2008). As a consequence of their early sacrifices they are 100% independent of foreign fuels. The most important aspect of Brazil’s energy independence is their willingness to share. They are now championing a new paradigm of cooperation by establishing joint research and development ventures between nations in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa (Han, 2008).