David Suzuki - It's Only A Movie

[hatrack]

"A nifty little movie called The Day After Tomorrow looks like your standard Hollywood action-adventure fare, but at least the premise is interesting. It follows what could happen if the Earth's climate abruptly shifted, causing chaos worldwide.

While the movie is based on a real phenomenon — abrupt climate change — it is very much a work of fiction. It's a disaster film, and has no more grounding in reality than the director's last big movie, Independence Day, in which aliens invaded the Earth.

EDIT

The Pentagon recently took this scenario to an extreme degree and wrote a report that looked at what abrupt climate change would mean in terms of U.S. national security. It painted some pretty scary scenarios that involved major social upheavals. It concluded, "Disruption and conflict will be endemic features of life.... Once again, warfare would define human life." If that sounds pretty extreme, it is. The report was specifically written in a worst-case scenario, "what if," fashion. It was never meant to be taken as a likely prediction. Unfortunately, many news stories described the report as though it were "secret" and "leaked."

EDIT

The Day After Tomorrow's Web site is presented in a manner that will surely have all the people who think global warming is a myth in a tizzy. They will no doubt point to this movie as an example of how the whole idea of global warming is based on impossible doomsday scenarios that cannot be taken seriously. One can only wish that were true. Unfortunately, climate change really is one of the greatest challenges we face this century. It is expected to have serious consequences for humanity. But because it is taking place over decades, rather than overnight, it is not receiving the urgent attention it deserves."

EDIT

http://www.enn.com/news/2004-04-28/s_23125.asp