The+Environment+Strikes+Back

By 2005, a growin g concern arose within the scientific community that would affect the world. Studies had shown that the earth experienced a statistically increasing climate in the past few hundred years. The significance of this is as the earth’s climate changes, the weather, orbit and composition of the planet subsequently change. Some placed the responsibility of this climate change on human influence dating back two hundred years. They reported the burning of fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution and deforestation has led to an increase in “green house gases” trapped in the atmosphere. The prospect of the world spinning into a climate crisis had everyone questioning the impact man had on the planet. In the midst of this, former Vice-President Al Gore decided to do something about it. He organized a comprehensive presentation educating people on global warming, its possible affects, and man’s influence on it. He toured the country, imploring people to wake-up and realize the negative influence fossil fuels are having. He connected to people emotionally in his presentation that brought an issue not discussed to the forefront. Gore insisted global warming was a problem that had the utmost importance to society and future generations:

“You see that pale, blue dot? That's us. Everything that has ever happened in all of human history, has happened on that pixel. All the triumphs and all the tragedies, all the wars all the famines, all the major advances... it's our only home. And that is what is at stake, our ability to live on planet Earth, to have a future as a civilization. I believe this is a moral issue, it is your time to seize this issue, it is our time to rise again to secure our future.” In 2007, his presentation was adapted into a film that gained greater release and as serted itself culturally within society. People wanted to find a way to slow the process of global warming, and there was a surge to discover a new renewable resource to power the world. Later, Gore received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to save the planet.