0:00:09.510,0:00:15.733 Last Chance Films 0:00:17.233,0:00:20.515 In association with 0:00:21.905,0:00:26.466 Event Horizon Productions 0:00:26.816,0:00:29.327 Presents 0:00:29.707,0:00:36.640 ARCTIC DEATH SPIRAL[br]AND THE METHANE TIME BOMB 0:00:42.140,0:00:47.233 Emergency Broadcast System 0:00:49.054,0:00:51.159 We interrupt our programming. 0:00:51.319,0:00:54.800 THIS IS A NATIONAL EMERGENCY.[br]Important details will follow. 0:00:54.969,0:00:58.399 The emergency alert "system" has been activated. 0:01:08.100,0:01:10.408 Ladies and gentleman. 0:01:10.528,0:01:15.520 The very word secrecy is repugnant,[br]in a free and open society. 0:01:15.700,0:01:17.982 We decided long ago, 0:01:18.132,0:01:23.474 that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted[br]concealment of pertinent facts 0:01:23.614,0:01:28.278 far outweigh the dangers[br]which are cited to justify it. 0:01:28.418,0:01:30.552 But I am asking your help, 0:01:30.682,0:01:35.276 in the tremendous task[br]of informing and alerting the American people. 0:01:35.506,0:01:39.990 For I have complete confidence, in[br]the response and dedication of our citizens. 0:01:40.130,0:01:42.618 Whenever they are fully informed. 0:01:42.928,0:01:48.339 Many rivers and the air in many cities,[br]remain badly polluted. 0:01:48.859,0:01:53.980 And our citizens, suffer,[br]from breathing that air. 0:01:54.440,0:01:59.359 We lived with conditions like these[br]for many many years. 0:02:00.028,0:02:04.108 But much that we once accepted as inevitable, 0:02:04.288,0:02:08.668 we now find absolutely intolerable. 0:02:08.907,0:02:11.245 Each of us all across this great land 0:02:11.355,0:02:15.542 has a stake in maintaining[br]and improving environmental quality, 0:02:15.712,0:02:19.570 clean air and clean waters,[br]the wise use of our lands, 0:02:19.710,0:02:24.740 the protection of wildlife and [br]natural beauty, parks for all to enjoy. 0:02:24.930,0:02:28.339 These are part of the birthright of every American. 0:02:28.499,0:02:33.480 To guarantee that birthright,[br]we must act, and act decisively. 0:02:33.669,0:02:36.419 It is literally now, or never. 0:02:36.869,0:02:41.039 Our program will emphasize conservation. 0:02:41.229,0:02:45.159 The amount of energy being wasted,[br]which could be saved, 0:02:45.320,0:02:51.140 is greater than the total energy[br]that we are importing from foreign countries. 0:02:51.310,0:02:54.620 We will also stress development[br]of our rich coal reserves. 0:02:54.800,0:02:57.379 In an environmentally sound way. 0:02:57.709,0:03:03.009 Now it seems to me that if, we would concentrate[br]on resolving the problems, 0:03:03.199,0:03:06.552 uh... of the automobile, the combustion engine, 0:03:06.732,0:03:09.965 thee, the pollution factor[br]and we've gone a long way in that, 0:03:10.345,0:03:14.189 I think of myself as an environmentalist.[br]I uh... 0:03:14.189,0:03:18.769 I don't wanna see all this beauty[br]around us wiped out and destroyed. 0:03:18.930,0:03:23.750 We all know that human activities[br]are changing the atmosphere 0:03:23.930,0:03:28.580 in unexpected, and in unprecedented ways. 0:03:28.919,0:03:34.899 I recommend that we adopt a BTU tax[br]on the heat content of energy, 0:03:35.070,0:03:38.379 as the best way to provide us[br]with revenue to lower the deficit, 0:03:38.539,0:03:42.978 because it also combats pollution,[br]promotes energy efficiency, 0:03:43.118,0:03:46.095 promotes the independence[br]economically of this country, 0:03:46.215,0:03:48.392 as well as helping to reduce the debt. 0:03:48.502,0:03:53.030 And it is environmentally responsible.[br]It will help us in the future, 0:03:53.160,0:03:55.750 as well as in the present with the deficit. 0:03:55.900,0:03:59.030 The United States is committed[br]to strengthening our energy security 0:03:59.150,0:04:01.370 and confronting global climate change. 0:04:01.500,0:04:05.150 And the best way to meet these goals is for[br]America to continue leading the way 0:04:05.280,0:04:09.700 toward the development of cleaner, [br]and more energy efficient technology. 0:04:09.850,0:04:12.119 We're gonna leave this planet... 0:04:12.479,0:04:16.770 At least as good as the, planet we inherited,[br]from our parents 0:04:16.950,0:04:20.880 but, we've got... we've got a[br]bigger problem with climate change. 0:04:21.020,0:04:24.280 We sent, we sent a billion dollars to foreign nations, 0:04:24.450,0:04:27.629 many of them hostile, and in the...[br]because of our addiction to oil, 0:04:27.759,0:04:30.689 and in the bargain[br]we're melting the polar ice caps. 0:04:32.059,0:04:34.829 Changing the weather patterns[br]all around the globe... 0:04:35.010,0:04:39.870 The science is clear that man-made emissions[br]of air pollution and global warming gases 0:04:40.010,0:04:42.860 are changing our atmosphere.[br]- Anthropogenic global warming is still an issue 0:04:42.990,0:04:45.590 that the scientists are still debating[br]and you know it and I know it. 0:04:45.649,0:04:48.700 The debate on the causes of Climate Change[br]are far from settled. 0:04:48.830,0:04:51.540 Well the climate's always changing.[br]That's not the fundamental question. 0:04:51.659,0:04:55.619 The fundamental question is whether man-made[br]activity, is the, is what's contributing most... 0:04:55.739,0:05:00.279 I think CO2 Is a problem, and therefore[br]I don't think it needs to be regulated. 0:05:00.409,0:05:03.060 We all breathe CO2, climate changes, 0:05:03.240,0:05:08.910 but there's no evidence at all that it's man-made[br]CO2 that causes the climate to change. 0:05:09.079,0:05:14.299 The idea of human induced global climate change is... 0:05:14.510,0:05:17.960 one of the greatest hoaxes perpetrated 0:05:18.089,0:05:20.979 out of the scientific community.[br]It is a hoax. 0:05:21.159,0:05:25.139 I'm only concerned about the,[br]incredible frenzy and hype 0:05:25.279,0:05:27.289 for something that's a total myth. 0:05:27.430,0:05:32.000 It's AMAZING to me how aaah,[br]upset so many people are... 0:05:32.180,0:05:37.300 The existence of all these billions of people[br]on earth, have all influenced the climate of earth. 0:05:37.479,0:05:42.870 but NONE of it, is of significance, uhh...[br]and thank goodness, 0:05:43.040,0:05:45.148 things are doing just fine. 0:05:45.358,0:05:50.039 The question is the degree to which man influences[br]the climate and whether actually we can... 0:05:50.249,0:05:53.540 ...this is anything we should worry about[br]or whether we should be... 0:05:53.700,0:05:56.990 bombing the global economy into the [br]dark ages to try and stop it. 0:05:57.160,0:06:00.283 Ya know, the greatest hoax[br]I think has been around, 0:06:00.453,0:06:03.136 in many many years,[br]if not hundreds of years 0:06:03.266,0:06:06.530 has been this hoax on the environment[br]and global warming. 0:06:06.669,0:06:08.709 You notice they don't call it global warming[br]anymore. 0:06:08.709,0:06:10.000 No no no. It's because it's getting cooler! 0:06:10.000,0:06:10.790 It's "Weather Control". 0:06:10.790,0:06:14.540 Yeah! It's getting cooler, you can't call[br]it global warming anymore. 0:06:14.540,0:06:17.650 So what we need, what the world needs is more[br]fossil fuels. 0:06:17.649,0:06:22.579 The evidence we have, is not just that fossil[br]fuels aren't ruining our planet. 0:06:22.579,0:06:23.918 They're making it much better... 0:06:23.918,0:06:26.329 Climate related deaths are going down. 0:06:26.329,0:06:29.519 And, so, what we need is many many [br]more fossil fuels. 0:06:29.589,0:06:32.579 So that people can eat.[br]And they can have food. 0:06:32.579,0:06:35.979 Through the years of high school, [br]"Aqua Net" hair spray use have done 0:06:35.979,0:06:39.520 more damage to the ozone[br]than any global warming scam has. 0:06:39.520,0:06:41.020 Aqua. I remember Aqua Net. 0:06:41.020,0:06:42.489 Aqua Net. 0:06:42.489,0:06:43.418 (Laughter)[br]Every every, every. 0:06:43.433,0:06:45.010 I remember Brill creme. 0:06:45.010,0:06:47.040 But I don't think that had anything to do[br]with the climate change. 0:06:47.029,0:06:49.115 "A little dab'll do ya" Remember that?[br]That's it! 0:06:49.115,0:06:52.800 There´s more![br]The CO2 can also go... 0:06:52.800,0:06:56.710 (Crazy Gestures & Comic Sounds) 0:06:56.709,0:07:00.899 At times when CO2 was rich in the atmosphere, 0:07:00.899,0:07:06.859 there was... greater growth of farms, vineyards[br]and so forth. 0:07:06.860,0:07:10.139 Uh, I guess in England,[br]there was a time when 0:07:10.139,0:07:14.449 growth of vineyards was so great[br]there was this wine all over the place and... 0:07:15.560,0:07:19.839 But I'm still open to the possibility. So[br]if there's anyone from Exxon-Mobile here... 0:07:19.839,0:07:25.129 I've got a bank account and routing number[br]available for you. (Laughter) 0:07:25.240,0:07:27.519 One could argue from an economic point-of-view... 0:07:27.519,0:07:32.300 We should be burning fossil-fuels like "Gangbusters"[br]to generate as much wealth as we can. 0:07:32.300,0:07:37.899 Divert some of that into alternative energy research[br]and we might get to those alternative energies 0:07:37.899,0:07:40.549 faster, than if we...[br]starve poor people 0:07:40.549,0:07:45.709 and ruin the world's economies,[br]and reduce CO2 emissions. 0:07:45.709,0:07:47.009 (Applause) 0:07:47.009,0:07:50.116 Now, as we agreed, you owe me two beers. 0:07:50.116,0:07:51.633 (Laughter) 0:07:51.633,0:07:59.180 "Scientific American" editorialized on the[br]escalating ugliness of climate denier tactics and rhetoric. 0:07:59.180,0:08:03.490 The editors wondered if we are a people[br]increasingly estranged from critical thinking, 0:08:03.490,0:08:07.989 divorced from logic,[br]alienated from objective truth. 0:11:59.488,0:12:02.048 Now to the big headline from [br]"Climate Scientists" tonight. 0:12:02.148,0:12:05.116 The UN International Panel on Climate Change[br] 0:12:05.216,0:12:09.857 says we are hurdling toward the day when [br]Climate Change could be irreversible, 0:12:09.967,0:12:12.778 with catastrophic consequences they say. 0:12:12.888,0:12:16.419 It's only going to get worse if we don't take[br]drastic measures. 0:12:16.559,0:12:21.020 We've seen an increasing number of regions[br]over the decades, starting to lose ice, 0:12:21.140,0:12:23.799 but this is the first time we've seen it[br]ALMOST globally. 0:12:23.900,0:12:26.109 Most ominously, the report says 0:12:26.249,0:12:29.689 we are in REAL danger of[br]exceeding our carbon limit of one-trillion tons. 0:12:29.799,0:12:33.840 Scientists say that would warm the earth more[br]than three and a half degrees Fahrenheit, 0:12:33.940,0:12:37.119 making the impacts of climate change[br]MUCH more dangerous... 0:12:37.249,0:12:40.989 And that's the worry.[br]Many of the worlds cities are in the crosshairs. 0:12:41.090,0:12:43.410 Most of the people around the world [br]live in coastal areas, 0:12:43.530,0:12:46.509 it's where most of your major cities are [br]because that's where ports are. 0:12:46.589,0:12:48.199 And they are at sea level. 0:12:48.269,0:12:52.720 So even small changes in sea level rise can[br]displace millions of people. 0:12:52.800,0:12:58.310 Scientists fly over a giant chunk of Antarctic[br]ice as it cracks and collapses. 0:12:58.640,0:13:02.660 The chunk is enormous.[br]About seven times the size of Manhattan 0:13:02.780,0:13:04.980 160 Square Miles. 0:13:05.080,0:13:07.099 It was part of the Wilkins Ice shelf. 0:13:07.199,0:13:12.532 The biggest on Antarctica yet, scientists[br]say to fall victim to Global Warming. 0:13:12.665,0:13:15.309 Watching Wilkins ice shelf disappear at the moment, 0:13:15.389,0:13:18.699 we learn a lot more about [br]how Ice responds to climate change. 0:13:18.829,0:13:22.459 The Ice is just a small fraction of the[br]Antarctic ice sheet. 0:13:22.549,0:13:25.449 But it broke off well before scientists predicted. 0:13:25.560,0:13:30.290 A sign they said that Climate Change may be[br]happening faster than expected. 0:13:30.390,0:13:32.770 One expert told us last year: 0:13:32.909,0:13:39.309 "I think what we, what we do know is that[br]ice, uhh, uh, is probably our best sensor, 0:13:39.480,0:13:42.480 of these large scale changes taking place.[br] 0:13:42.580,0:13:46.249 And in many ways I think we're in[br]unchartered territory." 0:13:46.709,0:13:51.619 Ice plays a vital role in cooling the Earth's[br]temperature and regulating sea levels. 0:13:51.789,0:13:57.228 As it´s lost, the planet gets warmer, [br]sea levels rise and more ice is threatened. 0:13:57.338,0:13:59.728 A vicious environmental circle. 0:13:59.838,0:14:03.799 There are glaciologists now[br]who are getting very worried. 0:14:03.929,0:14:08.059 But they haven't really come out [br]and said what they think. 0:14:08.219,0:14:11.772 Take a good look at it, [br]because it won't be there for long. 0:14:11.922,0:14:14.345 It's cracking and it's breaking up. 0:14:14.485,0:14:17.649 And it's only one of dozens[br]of Antarctic ice shelves 0:14:17.769,0:14:20.738 collapsing faster than anyone predicted. 0:14:20.848,0:14:25.269 I would say the vast majority of we we're[br]looking at back there is broken up this year. 0:14:25.410,0:14:27.649 It was a cool summer right? Chicago, New York, 0:14:27.769,0:14:30.300 places like that, so. [br]How could it be Global Warming? 0:14:30.410,0:14:32.499 This is how.[br]Look at the context. 0:14:32.619,0:14:35.889 These blue dots over North America represent[br]below average temperatures 0:14:36.019,0:14:39.709 for the Summer... June, July, August.[br]What we call "Climate Logical Summer". 0:14:39.839,0:14:44.340 But look at the context. They're lost in a sea of red dots across much of the rest of the globe. 0:14:44.469,0:14:46.938 Just a couple other blue dots here and there. 0:14:47.059,0:14:49.790 Those red dots are above-average temperatures. 0:14:49.910,0:14:54.099 What that translates to in terms of a ranking[br]for this summer and for August 0:14:54.229,0:14:58.979 globally, second warmest on record. Period of record going back a little more than a century. 0:14:59.139,0:15:02.279 June through August globally.[br]The third warmest on record. 0:15:02.420,0:15:06.230 The oceans which had cooled for a couple years[br]now recovered with a vengeance. 0:15:06.389,0:15:11.129 August the warmest on record. June through August also the warmest on record. 0:15:11.608,0:15:16.169 Now, if the scientists are anywhere near correct, 0:15:16.340,0:15:20.689 then this is the greatest challenge[br]facing humanity today. 0:15:20.849,0:15:24.449 It is the greatest challenge[br]humanity has ever faced, 0:15:24.588,0:15:27.399 and probably WILL ever face. 0:15:27.530,0:15:30.550 If someone asks me,[br]if the climate system were changing. 0:15:30.710,0:15:33.249 I would say, look at the data. 0:15:35.419,0:15:40.528 The Arctic is, is experiencing, uh.. [br]I would say a crisis. 0:15:42.288,0:15:46.939 The meltdown is changing long held beliefs[br]about the Arctic and it's weather patterns. 0:15:47.089,0:15:50.619 As well as being blamed for[br]affecting conditions around the globe 0:15:50.779,0:15:54.109 and triggering a rise in global sea levels. 0:15:59.330,0:16:02.050 From all these collective studies of the whole[br]Arctic region, 0:16:02.180,0:16:06.170 you can see that it's warming much faster[br]than the rest of the planet. 0:16:06.360,0:16:09.209 In 2012, we had the new record set 0:16:09.339,0:16:12.458 in terms of melting [br]over the Greenland ice sheet. 0:16:14.728,0:16:17.149 But here, amid this snow and ice 0:16:17.280,0:16:20.950 It's hard to believe that the ice sheet is[br]melting as fast as scientists say. 0:16:21.089,0:16:22.400 But it is. 0:16:22.580,0:16:27.470 Scientists say, we are watching the polar[br]regions melt right before our eyes. 0:16:28.640,0:16:31.929 So you can tell, there's a stream, here. 0:16:32.099,0:16:36.389 And then there's a bunch of flow [br]coming down on this right side. 0:16:37.809,0:16:43.799 Interpreting the info that comes from satellites[br]called "The Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment". 0:16:43.969,0:16:46.948 In science circles, it's called "GRACE". 0:16:47.088,0:16:50.918 "GRACE" can detect the most subtle minute[br]changes in land ice, 0:16:51.048,0:16:53.988 down to the width of a human hair. 0:17:09.989,0:17:13.039 The faster speeds that we're seeing uhh... 0:17:13.179,0:17:15.968 In Greenland are not going to slow down. 0:17:16.108,0:17:18.689 That's not the way, uh, ice sheets behave. 0:17:52.489,0:17:56.239 Ooohohohooooo![br]Aaaaaah! 0:17:56.439,0:18:00.649 Ouch! Oh my God! 0:18:01.549,0:18:05.256 "Here comes the water... 0:18:05.996,0:18:08.503 Uh ohoo." 0:18:12.413,0:18:14.430 "Look at that." 0:18:18.900,0:18:22.033 "ohoo, ohoo..." 0:18:29.943,0:18:32.646 Woooooow! 0:18:38.356,0:18:41.290 So how big, was this calving event that we[br]just looked at? 0:18:41.440,0:18:45.990 We'll resort to some illustrations again to[br]give you a sense of scale. 0:18:48.880,0:18:52.990 It's as if the entire lower tip of Manhattan[br]broke off. 0:18:53.129,0:18:56.219 Except that...[br]the thickness, the height of it 0:18:56.380,0:19:01.190 Is equivalent to buildings that are two and[br]a half or three times higher than they are. 0:19:15.759,0:19:20.829 That's a magical, miraculous[br]horrible, scary thing 0:19:21.460,0:19:26.180 I don't know that anybody's really seen the[br]miracle and horror of that. 0:19:28.679,0:19:34.039 It took a hundred years for it to retreat[br]eight miles, from 1900 to 2000. 0:19:34.259,0:19:37.800 From 2000 to 2010, it retreated nine miles. 0:19:37.950,0:19:42.900 So in ten years, it retreated more than it[br]had in the previous one-hundred. 0:19:47.000,0:19:50.509 First of all, we're going to look at the 0:19:50.969,0:19:56.359 runaway behavior, that is actually happening,[br]to the Arctic system. 0:19:56.819,0:19:59.109 Going almost exponential. 0:19:59.269,0:20:04.390 We saw the rate of change of ice area, accelerating. 0:20:04.590,0:20:08.350 We saw the change in ice mass, or thickness 0:20:08.490,0:20:14.530 also accelerating and moving towards zero,[br]over the next two or three years. 0:20:15.290,0:20:17.270 And taken all together, 0:20:17.340,0:20:24.329 we have the unmistakable footprint of a system[br]in, what we call, self-amplification 0:20:24.439,0:20:26.709 or, "Runaway Behavior". 0:20:26.870,0:20:29.790 Uhh, you may remember that in 2007, [br]there was a, uh, 0:20:29.930,0:20:32.180 a big study that came out [br]from this group called 0:20:32.330,0:20:35.118 "The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change". 0:20:35.248,0:20:42.518 And, they looked at computer models of how[br]rapidly Arctic ice would go away. 0:20:42.750,0:20:47.908 And, as of early 2007,[br]this is what they were telling us. 0:20:48.058,0:20:49.830 That, aahm... 0:20:49.970,0:20:56.130 We would see, gradual drop in Arctic... ice minimum. 0:20:56.410,0:21:01.770 going down to where we probably still have[br]a fair amount of ice left in the year 2100. 0:21:01.920,0:21:04.630 Worst case, maybe by 2070, 0:21:04.819,0:21:10.689 we would see open water, in the Arctic, [br]in the Summertime. 0:21:11.669,0:21:13.979 That very same year, 0:21:14.989,0:21:22.559 we saw, in the actual observations, a[br]huge drop in the Arctic ice. 0:21:22.910,0:21:26.710 And, that drop has continued so that in 2012, 0:21:26.870,0:21:28.680 this is now where we are. 0:21:28.820,0:21:34.309 So we're something like fifty years ahead[br]of the worst case scenarios, 0:21:34.479,0:21:38.819 that the scientists were giving us [br]just five years ago with Arctic Ice. 0:21:39.609,0:21:46.538 I'm actually in agreement with many climate[br]change deniers, in that the IPCC is wrong. 0:21:46.770,0:21:50.849 But I think, they're actually wrong, because[br]they're too conservative. 0:21:51.009,0:21:54.630 And they haven't really been telling the story[br]of what really could happen... 0:21:54.779,0:21:57.789 Can you summarize the effect[br]of an ice-free Arctic on the world. 0:21:57.970,0:22:01.669 Yes, the effect of an ice-free Arctic on the[br]world is a very large one, 0:22:01.889,0:22:05.049 because it goes way beyond the Arctic itself. 0:22:05.238,0:22:07.999 Because once thee sea ice has disappeared, 0:22:08.140,0:22:12.980 firstly, that produces a decrease[br]in the global albedo, 0:22:13.140,0:22:16.630 the amount of radiation reflected by the earth. 0:22:16.790,0:22:22.030 And has a knock-on effect in the sense that[br]the warmer air masses in the Arctic in summer, 0:22:22.210,0:22:24.610 cause a retreat of the snowline, 0:22:24.749,0:22:30.309 and the snow-line decrease has just as big[br]an effect on the albedo as the sea ice decrease has. 0:22:30.549,0:22:35.520 So as global albedo change, which affects[br]thee temperature of thee entire planet, 0:22:35.670,0:22:37.430 it warms it all up. 0:22:37.598,0:22:41.029 Uh, and then, there's the fact[br]that as the sea ice retreats 0:22:41.179,0:22:46.759 it allows the water masses around[br]the shelves of the Arctic to warm up. 0:22:46.929,0:22:52.789 And that warms up the seabed and releases[br]more Methane from the sub-sea permafrost 0:22:52.909,0:22:55.180 which is melting away. 0:22:55.320,0:22:59.798 And, that methane itself[br]is a very very powerful greenhouse gas. 0:22:59.978,0:23:04.848 So we're having a methane kick, uh,[br]coming in from the retreat of the sea ice, 0:23:05.018,0:23:09.980 which again, is a global effect rather than[br]simply an Arctic effect. 0:23:10.580,0:23:13.088 When the IPCC is uh... 0:23:13.298,0:23:15.899 It's not a whole load of people agreeing. 0:23:16.049,0:23:19.740 It's a load of people saying, oh, it's this,[br]it's this, it's this. 0:23:19.880,0:23:24.530 It's just that, nearly, everybody thinks that[br]we are warming the planet, 0:23:24.720,0:23:27.940 they, disagree about how fast it'll happen. 0:23:28.120,0:23:33.370 They disagree about whether negative or positive[br]feedbacks are going to be more important. 0:23:33.689,0:23:37.819 This is one of the more conservative scientific[br]bodies on the planet. They work by consensus, 0:23:38.049,0:23:40.658 and, after the scientists reach consensus... 0:23:40.788,0:23:44.159 they then, vet they're report through the[br]political process. 0:23:44.329,0:23:48.279 So politicians have to sign off on the IPCC's[br]assessment before it's released. 0:23:48.460,0:23:51.840 And they conclude that, that we've reached[br]"Runaway", 0:23:52.159,0:23:54.619 in the absence of Geo-engineering. 0:23:55.099,0:23:57.248 And, this is not in the model. 0:23:57.388,0:24:00.058 The models don't show this happening.[br]This IS happening. 0:24:00.209,0:24:06.278 So what happens when we update the models,[br]so that it does reflect that the Arctic is melting? 0:24:07.208,0:24:09.259 So we're seeing effects. 0:24:09.439,0:24:13.519 And, one of thee primary effects, that, uh... 0:24:14.499,0:24:18.729 grabs most peoples attention is[br]what's happening with the Arctic sea ice, 0:24:18.890,0:24:24.150 the ice that's floating on the Arctic ocean,[br]that covers usually most of the Arctic Ocean. 0:24:24.330,0:24:32.040 Last year 2012 was the record low as lowest,[br]Arctic summer ice that we have seen 0:24:32.140,0:24:34.790 ever since we've been observing it. 0:24:34.959,0:24:37.990 Whereas the rest of the globe has cooled,[br]since 1997, 0:24:38.150,0:24:44.329 temperature in the Arctic has started to increase [br]and increase, increasingly rapidly. 0:24:44.449,0:24:47.538 The hotter it gets, the faster it gets hotter. 0:24:47.708,0:24:53.830 2007 alone, in one year, it melted more in[br]the previous year 0:24:53.970,0:24:57.990 by an area equal to [br]three times the size of California. 0:24:58.390,0:25:02.420 And it will be all gone, in five or ten years. 0:25:02.630,0:25:08.250 It's pretty clear from the death spiral,[br]that's the way in which the volumes of ice 0:25:08.399,0:25:12.529 in the summer are zeroing in towards[br]uh, towards zero, 0:25:12.699,0:25:17.089 that the ice can't last more[br]than a couple more years. 0:25:19.510,0:25:25.640 There's no way... that ice mass,[br]of the end of September, 0:25:25.920,0:25:31.520 can continue going round this circle, [br]for the next five decades. 0:25:32.109,0:25:36.269 It's moving very rapidly[br]into the zero point in the center. 0:25:36.869,0:25:40.620 It's been decreasing for several decades. 0:25:40.790,0:25:43.839 In fact, way back into the nineteen-sixties[br]and seventies, 0:25:44.019,0:25:49.680 we have a trend pattern of decreasing area of sea ice,[br]particularly at it's minimum. 0:25:49.850,0:25:55.009 and the minimum sea ice occurs in September[br]at the end of the summer warming. 0:25:55.458,0:25:59.940 But, do have a look at the last few years,[br]from 2007 onwards. 0:26:00.120,0:26:05.019 The data points have been pulling way down[br]below the straight line. 0:26:05.769,0:26:11.259 It becomes more and more obvious that straight[br]line representations are no longer 0:26:11.449,0:26:17.140 the appropriate statistical tool for demonstrating what is[br]going on in the Arctic. 0:26:17.360,0:26:24.396 Then we see it looks like the end of the[br]Arctic sea ice area 0:26:24.866,0:26:28.362 in September, by about 2015. 0:26:28.532,0:26:33.080 So we're seeing a temperature rise, this is[br]the NASA temperature graph, 0:26:33.219,0:26:38.089 going back to 1880 when we feel[br]we have good global coverage with instruments. 0:26:38.229,0:26:40.710 We can take it back much further. 0:26:40.880,0:26:45.049 In fact, a very significant paper came out,[br]just this past Spring, 0:26:45.239,0:26:51.050 which looked at a number of different... [br]temperature Proxies, as we call them, 0:26:51.210,0:26:57.119 like tree rings and corals [br]and stalactites in caves and things like that. 0:26:57.279,0:27:00.619 And we pushed back the temperature record[br]eleven-thousand years... 0:27:00.788,0:27:02.749 And what you've got is this, uhn...[br] 0:27:02.880,0:27:05.650 you've got us coming out [br]of the ice age, back here, 0:27:05.790,0:27:11.260 and then we've got a slow, slow, slow gradual,[br]gradual decline, until the last century. 0:27:11.509,0:27:13.959 And then, this is us.[br]Here. 0:27:14.300,0:27:19.179 So, we're... we're... we're pretty clear that,[br]that, uhh... 0:27:19.669,0:27:22.619 something's changed [br]in the last two-hundred years 0:27:22.769,0:27:27.288 and the only thing that we've been able to track down[br]that really answers it is the... uhn 0:27:28.728,0:27:32.089 greenhouse gases [br]that human beings have been putting out. 0:27:32.810,0:27:39.620 What's going on in the Arctic area at the[br]moment is, probably, the fastest moving response, 0:27:39.850,0:27:44.340 to Global Warming and Climate Change [br]anywhere on the planet. 0:27:46.830,0:27:52.250 In 1859, the English physicist John Tyndall,[br]using equipment of his own design, 0:27:52.480,0:27:58.000 showed that certain gases in the atmosphere blocked[br]and absorbed long wave or heat radiation. 0:27:58.000,0:28:02.379 Four decades later, Svante Arrhenius, [br]with thousands of manual calculations, 0:28:02.379,0:28:10.110 made an estimate of the global warming power of CO2,[br]that was very close to today's best models. 0:28:10.109,0:28:14.270 In the 1950's, american Charles Keeling[br]began to measure accurately 0:28:14.308,0:28:17.558 the steady increase of CO2 in the atmosphere. 0:28:17.558,0:28:23.190 Spectrographic analysis soon showed that the[br]new carbon was, without a doubt, man-made. 0:28:23.190,0:28:24.929 So it's a rare gas. 0:28:24.929,0:28:27.890 The atmosphere is almost all, Nitrogen and[br]Oxygen. 0:28:27.890,0:28:32.059 But you see here that, [br]out of a million molecules of air in 1958, 0:28:32.058,0:28:36.940 about 314 of them would be [br]carbon dioxide molecules. 0:28:36.940,0:28:42.570 And you see the graph there at the lower left,[br]tracing the first few years. 0:28:42.569,0:28:45.879 So, you can see a lot of things on this graph[br]just, right away. 0:28:45.880,0:28:48.870 First of all, it's increasing with time. 0:28:48.869,0:28:52.289 And here's what the Keeling curve,[br]which is the popular name for this, 0:28:52.289,0:28:53.730 [br]looks like today. 0:28:53.730,0:28:56.980 And you can see that what was 314 then,[br] 0:28:56.980,0:29:01.759 is now 395 or so, [br]pushing 400 today. 0:29:01.759,0:29:05.179 That's a remarkable story right there. 0:29:05.179,0:29:08.820 Because that increase is something like 25%. 0:29:08.819,0:29:14.528 Mankind is changing the chemical composition[br]of the atmosphere in important ways. 0:29:14.528,0:29:18.190 And, the greenhouse effect had been understood[br]for a long time. 0:29:18.190,0:29:25.190 The fact that Carbon Dioxide, and other molecules[br]trap infrared energy, they trap heat essentially, 0:29:25.339,0:29:29.449 had been known to experimental physicists[br]in the middle 1800's. 0:29:29.449,0:29:32.750 John Tyndall, in London,[br]put Carbon Dioxide in a tube 0:29:32.750,0:29:38.240 and measured how it could absorb[br]infrared energy, which he could shine on it. 0:29:38.240,0:29:46.270 The first attempts to understand the implications[br]of this for climate date back to the 1890's. 0:29:46.270,0:29:49.499 So, in a sense, the science was there, 0:29:49.958,0:29:54.111 connecting Carbon Dioxide amounts of the atmosphere[br]to Climate Change 0:29:54.111,0:29:58.924 until we had the measurements[br]showing that the CO2 was actually increasing 0:29:58.924,0:30:02.419 and increasing much more quickly than had[br]been foreseen in the nineteen century. 0:30:02.419,0:30:06.900 There were more people using more coal and[br]oil and natural gas, 0:30:06.900,0:30:11.859 and the rapidity of the growth of CO2 was[br]a surprise to everyone. 0:30:12.619,0:30:17.339 Popular mechanics magazine [br]wrote about this in 1953. 0:30:17.339,0:30:24.339 The products of research were showing us that[br]if we continue to add Carbon Dioxide to the atmosphere, 0:30:24.359,0:30:28.158 by burning fossil fuels,[br]we're going to see a rise in temperature 0:30:28.278,0:30:34.288 This was the work of Doctor Gilbert Plas, who[br]published a very significant paper on this. 0:30:34.288,0:30:41.288 This had been an issue that had been kicked[br]around for the previous hundred years or so, 0:30:41.538,0:30:49.358 but, it was this research that really kind[br]of nailed it in so far as making the science clear. 0:30:50.020,0:30:55.520 Yet it's taken us this long to really even[br]begin to get through to the public dialogue 0:30:55.519,0:30:57.069 on how important this is. 0:30:57.069,0:31:02.509 The amount of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere[br]is what matters to the climate. 0:31:02.509,0:31:07.418 Climate just reacts to how many and what kinds[br]of heat trapping gases are there. 0:31:07.419,0:31:10.510 The more there are of an important gas, [br]like CO2 0:31:10.510,0:31:13.389 which is by far the most important man-made gas, 0:31:13.390,0:31:14.520 the warmer it gets. 0:31:14.519,0:31:18.109 Now, on this graph is temperature and Carbon[br]Dioxide. 0:31:18.109,0:31:21.298 Let's look at the black line first.[br]That's Carbon Dioxide. 0:31:21.298,0:31:23.409 1880 on the left,[br]the present on the right, 0:31:23.490,0:31:28.519 and so, we know that it was rising gradually[br]before Keelings measurements began. 0:31:28.519,0:31:33.009 And that, in the times before the 1800's, 0:31:33.009,0:31:36.980 when human activities presumably had no strong[br]effect on climate, 0:31:36.980,0:31:42.210 It was near a value of 280[br]and these same units of molecules per million molecules. 0:31:42.210,0:31:48.490 So CO2 has been rising, but[br]in all the years before the 1930's, 0:31:48.490,0:31:51.048 you might say, every year [br]was below that average, 0:31:51.048,0:31:53.829 and in recent years, [br]every year's been above it. 0:31:53.829,0:31:58.839 Again, the natural variability is due to factors[br]like El Nino and the occasional strong Volcano, 0:31:58.839,0:32:02.099 which temporarily cools the climate [br]for a year or two. 0:32:02.099,0:32:07.480 And uh, so these things here are some of the[br]strongest El Nino's on record. 0:32:07.480,0:32:10.000 But that there's a warming now [br]and that this period is different 0:32:10.000,0:32:13.240 from this period,[br]isn't in doubt at all. 0:32:13.240,0:32:16.130 So the question that [br]people typically ask is... 0:32:16.130,0:32:18.699 How do we know this isn't just[br]some kind of a normal cycle? 0:32:18.699,0:32:21.859 OK. It's getting warmer but, [br]It's been warmer in the past. 0:32:21.859,0:32:24.089 It's been colder in the past. 0:32:24.089,0:32:26.959 How do we know this is[br]different from the past? 0:32:26.960,0:32:27.840 Well. 0:32:27.839,0:32:33.269 We can measure what's coming into and out[br]of the planet by satellite, 0:32:33.269,0:32:35.908 and the satellites do[br]a pretty good job of this. 0:32:35.909,0:32:41.559 We know, that, the planet is in energy imbalance. 0:32:41.558,0:32:48.130 We know that that energy imbalance is completely[br]consistent with the predictions 0:32:48.130,0:32:51.470 that have been made[br]about greenhouse gases. 0:32:51.470,0:32:54.339 And we know that[br]that's quite a big energy imbalance. 0:32:54.339,0:32:55.798 It's not small. 0:32:55.798,0:33:02.798 In fact, it's equal to about 400 thousand[br]Hiroshima nuclear bombs exploding everyday. 0:33:03.409,0:33:05.880 That's about four or five [br]every second or so. 0:33:05.880,0:33:11.110 That's how much energy is being trapped,[br]primarily in the ocean 0:33:11.110,0:33:14.990 because the ocean is [br]the biggest heat sink, by far. 0:33:14.990,0:33:20.690 So, natural sources are in balance between[br]emission and absorption. 0:33:20.690,0:33:23.970 The oceans are actually net absorbers but... 0:33:23.970,0:33:26.370 Human beings. It's one-way traffic. 0:33:26.369,0:33:30.019 So it's only us that can be causing the increase. 0:33:30.019,0:33:34.148 Everything else, even volcanoes,[br]is balanced by uptake. 0:33:34.148,0:33:37.599 So, it's only us,[br]that can be causing the increase. 0:33:37.599,0:33:41.089 From here you are in the early [br]nineteen hundreds til today. 0:33:41.089,0:33:44.479 Blue is cooler than average, and yellow and[br]orange are warmer than average 0:33:44.479,0:33:47.339 and you can see here,[br]it's still some blue areas and so on. 0:33:47.339,0:33:53.688 But starting in the 1970´s, you start to see[br]the yellow and orange colors predominating. 0:33:53.688,0:33:57.508 By the time this ends in 2010 or so, 0:33:57.508,0:34:01.119 you can see what the world looks like[br]today in this picture. 0:34:01.119,0:34:02.429 There's warming everywhere. 0:34:02.429,0:34:05.370 There's more warming over the continents [br]than over the oceans. 0:34:05.369,0:34:07.609 There's more warming in the North[br]than in the South. 0:34:07.609,0:34:09.690 And there's the strongest warming in the Arctic. 0:34:09.690,0:34:13.369 This is a Mercator projection so it exaggerates[br]the area of the Arctic. 0:34:13.369,0:34:16.460 But the warming is strongest in high Northern[br]latitudes. 0:34:16.460,0:34:19.688 And that's because of a number of feedbacks[br]that we think we understand 0:34:19.688,0:34:23.818 of which the most important is that, [br]when warming occurs in the far North, 0:34:23.818,0:34:26.119 the ice and snow melt ,[br]as we've seen. 0:34:26.119,0:34:31.277 And, the ice and snow having melted revealed[br]darker water and darker land that was under them, 0:34:31.940,0:34:34.789 which reflect less sunlight and therefore[br]absorb more sunlight. 0:34:34.789,0:34:39.228 So the chain of events is [br]Carbon Dioxide causes the warming, 0:34:39.228,0:34:40.777 the warming melts snow and ice, 0:34:40.777,0:34:44.277 the melted snow and ice make the surface darker, 0:34:44.277,0:34:46.829 the darker surface absorbs more sunlight, 0:34:46.829,0:34:48.829 and that adds to the warming. 0:34:48.829,0:34:51.649 The human trigger is now almost irrelevant. 0:34:51.648,0:34:54.748 The feedbacks have taken over. 0:34:54.748,0:34:57.298 The mirror that's at the top of the world[br]is gonna be gone. 0:34:57.298,0:35:01.579 It won't be gone in the wintertime but the[br]Sun's not shining on it in the wintertime. 0:35:01.579,0:35:03.640 So, it matters in the summertime. 0:35:03.639,0:35:10.400 One of the key effects that this has is that[br]when all of these Northern areas are covered 0:35:10.400,0:35:13.619 with white reflective snow and ice, 0:35:13.619,0:35:17.249 it bounces most of the Solar energy off, 0:35:17.248,0:35:19.838 bounces it back off into space. 0:35:19.838,0:35:22.419 But, when we are seeing[br] 0:35:22.419,0:35:27.368 more and more open water, dark soil [br]and dark surfaces, 0:35:27.369,0:35:29.749 then the solar energy [br]tends to get absorbed. 0:35:29.748,0:35:32.208 So instead of reflecting 90% of all the energy, 0:35:32.208,0:35:35.228 you're absorbing 90% of all the energy. 0:35:35.228,0:35:39.919 So, this is what scientists call:[br]"A Positive Feedback", 0:35:39.920,0:35:43.278 and they don't mean that it's good. 0:35:43.278,0:35:47.708 It's not a positive thing for us because,[br]it's more like a vicious cycle, 0:35:47.708,0:35:50.939 more heat equals less ice,[br]and less ice equals more heat 0:35:50.939,0:35:54.759 and it just sort of [br]continues on in a spiral. 0:35:54.759,0:35:56.909 And that's what we're seeing in the Arctic. 0:35:56.909,0:36:02.690 And that's why the Arctic is warming at about[br]twice the rate of the rest of the planet. 0:36:02.690,0:36:07.619 And that means that Sun's energy is being[br]absorbed into the tundra, 0:36:07.619,0:36:15.589 the frozen areas of the Northern continental[br]masses and into the open ocean where the ice was. 0:36:16.219,0:36:21.630 So that the whole system is now accelerating[br]and accelerating and accelerating 0:36:21.630,0:36:24.479 and the hotter it gets[br]the faster it gets hotter. 0:36:24.528,0:36:26.900 The faster it gets hotter,[br]the more water vapor. 0:36:26.900,0:36:29.209 The more water vapor, [br]the faster it gets hotter. 0:36:29.208,0:36:31.199 The faster it gets hotter, [br]the less ice. 0:36:31.199,0:36:35.009 The less ice, the less reflection[br]so the faster it gets hotter... 0:36:35.009,0:36:36.798 You begin to get the idea? 0:36:36.798,0:36:38.920 It has to be a downward curving, 0:36:38.920,0:36:42.979 what we call exponential decay. 0:36:42.978,0:36:49.379 And you project that line forward[br]as is done in this particular setting of the equations 0:36:49.380,0:36:52.588 and understanding of Arctic ice mass loss, 0:36:52.588,0:36:59.588 then, once again, it shows [br]zero ice floating on the Arctic ocean... 0:36:59.599,0:37:02.870 by the end of Summer... 2015. 0:37:03.309,0:37:11.259 Which confirms precisely, my own work[br]on the decay of Arctic ice area to the same date. 0:37:11.789,0:37:17.099 Mind you, at the same time, the thickness of the ice[br]has also been diminishing. 0:37:17.099,0:37:20.079 The ice in the Arctic now [br]is thinner than it used to be, 0:37:20.079,0:37:22.610 thus more vulnerable to melting. 0:37:22.949,0:37:25.528 And just to give you an example of what's[br]happening 0:37:25.528,0:37:28.059 just in this past season... 0:37:28.059,0:37:30.450 This is from March 0:37:30.449,0:37:33.760 March and April of 2013. 0:37:33.760,0:37:39.679 Looking at this area above Alaska. 0:37:39.679,0:37:44.690 We had a cyclone going on, up in this area,[br]that was moving, causing some torque on this ice 0:37:44.690,0:37:50.179 and the ice just started to fracture and[br]break up, in a manner that was very very unusual. 0:37:50.179,0:37:53.798 I talked to scientists at[br]the National Snow and Ice Data Center, 0:37:53.798,0:37:59.650 and they said: "What you're seeing here is happening[br]because this ice would've been maybe 0:37:59.650,0:38:04.349 twenty feet thick thirty years ago, [br]and now it's only three feet thick." 0:38:04.349,0:38:07.430 And so it´s getting pushed around[br]and broken up. 0:38:07.430,0:38:13.690 And much of this did in fact refreeze,[br]but it refroze in a manner that was much thinner,[br] 0:38:13.690,0:38:20.339 much more fragile, and it´s now being pushed around,[br]deformed much more easily 0:38:20.339,0:38:23.639 and melted much more quickly [br]then it would've been fifty years ago. 0:38:23.639,0:38:28.978 When our people think about Climate Change,[br]they think in 2100. 2100! 0:38:28.978,0:38:32.099 We might have two feet of more sea level. 0:38:32.099,0:38:34.320 Gee, well, I can kinda deal with that... 0:38:34.320,0:38:38.190 We're talking about 2010.[br]2020. 0:38:38.639,0:38:40.978 It's gonna be really serious impacts. 0:38:40.978,0:38:45.578 If any of these things happen[br]which could happen... anytime. 0:38:45.579,0:38:49.519 It's like playin Russian Roulette [br]with kind of a few bullets in the chamber. 0:38:49.518,0:38:52.028 As the temperature starts to increase [br]more quickly, 0:38:52.028,0:38:56.650 then other feedbacks are also[br]brought into play, 0:38:56.650,0:39:00.698 and more powerfully[br]then they had been previously. 0:39:03.028,0:39:07.199 The sixth consequence concerns[br]what's happening to the Greenland icecap. 0:39:08.689,0:39:13.749 Now, it sits there as a one-and-a-half mile[br]thick 0:39:14.889,0:39:19.139 layer of ice [br]across a large piece of land mass. 0:39:20.268,0:39:22.938 Once upon a time,[br]15 000 years ago, 0:39:22.938,0:39:28.768 we had great ice sheets, [br]covering our most populous zones 0:39:29.998,0:39:31.588 in the Western hemisphere. 0:39:31.588,0:39:39.148 Those ice sheets retreated, very rapidly when[br]the climate and the oceans switched. 0:39:39.179,0:39:46.869 And what we're getting here now is a rate[br]of retreat that, I believe, is unprecedented 0:39:46.998,0:39:49.929 in terms of the last ten-thousand years. 0:39:49.929,0:39:54.949 Earlier this month, the surface of the ice sheet[br]covering Greenland melted more widely 0:39:54.949,0:39:58.498 than has been seen in thirty-three years [br]of satellite imagery. 0:39:58.498,0:40:01.338 We got some reports that there was melt going[br]on around Greenland. 0:40:01.338,0:40:04.659 Literally, like so much water running off[br]that it was washing out bridges and things. 0:40:04.659,0:40:07.578 That there were runways that were on the snow[br]that were having problems. 0:40:07.579,0:40:09.609 You just had to be here, 0:40:09.608,0:40:16.248 this time last year, to watch this bridge,[br]completely wash-out. 0:40:16.248,0:40:21.399 The discharge of the river, at the point[br]was... 0:40:21.400,0:40:23.889 basically two-hundred times that of the Thames. 0:40:23.889,0:40:28.699 The effect is small, so far... 0:40:28.699,0:40:34.079 but, Greenland's mass loss has doubled over[br]the last decade. 0:40:34.079,0:40:39.690 And if that pattern of doubling continues[br]over coming decades, 0:40:39.690,0:40:45.029 then we're gonna have to rewrite some of the[br]predictions that we've made 0:40:45.029,0:40:48.259 about how rapidly [br]this is gonna happen. 0:40:48.259,0:40:52.989 The bed of the ice sheet and the interior[br]ice sheet is frozen to it's base. 0:40:52.989,0:40:54.478 And it's starting to slip. 0:40:54.478,0:40:59.679 This is the bedrock. OK? 0:40:59.679,0:41:01.588 And this is your ice. 0:41:01.588,0:41:06.139 And this is your water. 0:41:06.139,0:41:11.978 And that this water suddenly and violently[br]drains through this channel. 0:41:11.978,0:41:16.948 Then suddenly you have a change in direction[br]but it goes very fast. 0:41:16.949,0:41:19.349 We're focusing on this little lake over here, 0:41:19.349,0:41:25.009 you can see these mountain water lakes popping[br]up across the surface of the ice sheet 0:41:25.009,0:41:28.420 as the weather gets[br]warmer and warmer. 0:41:28.420,0:41:32.179 So, what you'll see here is this meanders along,[br]it meanders along 0:41:32.179,0:41:36.150 until it goes down,[br]into the ice, right there. 0:41:36.150,0:41:37.989 And as it goes down, 0:41:37.989,0:41:42.219 it's delivering all that heat[br]down into the deep levels of the ice. 0:41:42.219,0:41:45.659 So now the heat goes down here and,[br]just like a stick of butter, 0:41:45.659,0:41:48.409 the ice sheet begins to get soft. 0:41:48.409,0:41:52.689 It begins to move faster and that water goes[br]down to the bottom 0:41:52.689,0:41:55.778 and, because it's an incompressible fluid, 0:41:55.778,0:41:58.248 It will support, even a kilometer of ice. 0:41:58.248,0:42:03.948 It will lubricate even a huge volume of ice[br]and make it move faster over that rocky surface. 0:42:03.949,0:42:08.068 So that accelerates the process as well. 0:42:08.068,0:42:13.170 The water across the surface of this ice sheet[br]is rampant, 0:42:13.170,0:42:19.400 and it's causing untold damage to the base[br]of the ice sheet, 0:42:19.400,0:42:24.430 and it's doing that in deep interior regions[br]that never before, 0:42:24.429,0:42:30.948 not least in the last ten-thousand years,[br]have been susceptible to that warming. 0:42:30.949,0:42:32.809 That water input. 0:42:32.809,0:42:36.609 That water draining down into the ice [br]is relatively warm. 0:42:36.608,0:42:43.950 The average temperature of the ice sheet, at depth,[br]is several degrees below the freezing point, 0:42:44.119,0:42:48.659 whereas the water that's draining in is right[br]at the freezing point. 0:42:48.659,0:42:55.629 So this is relatively warm water that drains[br]in and it heats the ice sheet, internally. 0:42:55.630,0:42:59.789 Warmer ice deforms more easily than cold ice. 0:42:59.789,0:43:05.469 So, an increase in melt water draining in[br]to the ice sheet has a softening effect, 0:43:05.469,0:43:08.509 especially when the amount of melt water is[br]increasing. 0:43:08.509,0:43:11.599 You know, Greenland is 23 feet of sea level. 0:43:11.599,0:43:14.890 7.3 meters, if it all melts. 0:43:14.889,0:43:18.288 And the history is very clear. 0:43:18.289,0:43:21.019 When it was warm, there's no ice on Greenland. 0:43:21.018,0:43:23.899 When it's cold, there's lots of ice on Greenland. 0:43:23.900,0:43:28.118 And so it's very clear Greenland is very tightly[br]tied to temperature 0:43:28.118,0:43:30.889 and if it gets too hot[br]it goes away. 0:43:30.889,0:43:36.409 And too hot is not very many degrees above[br]where we are now... 0:43:36.409,0:43:38.788 And this is the Ilulissat glacier. 0:43:38.789,0:43:43.160 This is the calving front of Ilulissat glacier[br]that we flew along on the first day. 0:43:43.159,0:43:46.308 This is the fastest moving ice stream[br]in the world. 0:43:46.309,0:43:47.959 It's 400 feet high. 0:43:47.958,0:43:53.948 The water is coming down under the ice and[br]squirting out down here, below the water line, 0:43:53.949,0:43:55.748 like... a Jacuzzi. 0:43:55.749,0:43:59.090 And it's creating circulation down here 0:43:59.090,0:44:05.969 and it's drawing warm ocean water[br]in underneaththe the water line here. 0:44:05.969,0:44:10.329 And it makes it accelerate the calving off[br]of the giant glaciers. 0:44:10.329,0:44:14.109 And this whole bay here is just full of gigantic[br]glaciers. 0:44:14.109,0:44:16.589 As that movement accelerates... 0:44:16.588,0:44:20.588 the ice upstream begins [br]to crack and deform, like this, 0:44:20.588,0:44:26.078 and, you can see, as it cracks, that water begins[br]to collect in those cracks. 0:44:26.079,0:44:31.919 And that water begins to absorb more heat[br]and, because water is heavier than ice, 0:44:31.919,0:44:37.469 it actually begins to hydro fracture it's way, [br]down into the ice sheet. 0:44:37.469,0:44:40.659 accelerating the movement even further. 0:44:40.659,0:44:45.448 So what you're seeing is that,[br]at every stage,[br] 0:44:45.448,0:44:51.984 there is a different kind of a process that,[br]not only feeds on itself, 0:44:51.984,0:44:56.220 but feeds into all[br]the other processes in the cycle. 0:44:57.480,0:45:00.048 On the ice sheet, [br]if you wanna know what's happening, 0:45:00.048,0:45:03.529 you need to just follow the water [br]and see what it's telling you. 0:45:03.588,0:45:05.858 And this is the story that it's telling us. 0:45:05.858,0:45:10.218 This is why scientists [br]are starting to feel that 0:45:10.249,0:45:18.905 Greenland and ice sheets across the planet[br]have the capacity to move much faster 0:45:18.905,0:45:26.021 then what they have[br]during human experience. 0:45:27.051,0:45:34.499 So, the big concern is that we don't tip ourselves[br]into some kind of an event like that 0:45:34.630,0:45:40.899 where the ice sheets begin to move at a pace that[br]is really beyond human capacity to keep up with. 0:45:42.139,0:45:48.228 As we move to acceleratingly[br]increasing temperature change, 0:45:48.228,0:45:54.868 as the waters all around Greenland are no[br]longer covered with floating ice, 0:45:55.678,0:46:00.969 and as the temperature of those waters around[br]begins to increase, 0:46:00.969,0:46:06.368 so, of course the air over Greenland is hotter. 0:46:07.838,0:46:10.588 The waters around it are hotter. 0:46:11.598,0:46:14.458 The ice surface begins to melt, 0:46:15.578,0:46:17.449 right across the dome. 0:46:17.880,0:46:24.060 Well, last year in this place [br]where we actually flew into, Kangerlussuaq, 0:46:24.060,0:46:26.209 this is what the river looked like there.[br] 0:46:26.209,0:46:28.818 It was overflowing,[br]this bridge was washing out, 0:46:28.818,0:46:31.059 giant machinery was being swept away 0:46:31.059,0:46:38.448 because we were seeing melting that was happening[br]over the entire surface of the ice sheet. 0:46:41.829,0:46:46.789 They had never seen this kind of water flow[br]there in that river. 0:46:47.449,0:46:52.920 So. The consequences for the Greenland ice[br]cap are massive. 0:46:53.940,0:46:58.869 And as it melts, it adds fresh water to the[br]global ocean, 0:46:59.639,0:47:01.989 and starts to raise the sea level... 0:47:02.909,0:47:11.099 If it goes quickly then we can expect[br]2, 3, 5, 7 meters of sea level change... 0:47:11.509,0:47:13.558 right across the world, 0:47:13.559,0:47:16.099 to happen, on a decadal basis. 0:47:16.099,0:47:18.560 i.e., within 10 to 20 years. 0:47:19.579,0:47:24.269 That would be catastrophic for civilization, 0:47:24.268,0:47:30.658 many of whose urban centers would be below[br]sea level, in the new situation. 0:47:31.409,0:47:35.028 Actually, the Greenland ice sheet is de-glaciating. 0:47:35.028,0:47:36.958 It's retreating... 0:47:36.958,0:47:39.848 but it's retreat is dynamic. 0:47:39.849,0:47:47.559 It's drawing down the interior of the ice[br]sheet, faster than the models assume at present. 0:47:47.818,0:47:51.838 And hence, the ice sheet and it's interior[br]is accelerating, 0:47:51.838,0:47:55.198 and the melt of the margin is enhanced, 0:47:55.198,0:48:01.088 and I think that means that this ice[br]sheet is ... actively de-glaciating. 0:48:01.699,0:48:07.319 And that's... a pretty serious problem, [br]for sea level rise. 0:48:09.489,0:48:11.970 Let's move on now to the fourth consequence. 0:48:11.970,0:48:15.350 And that is the impact on the tundra. 0:48:16.719,0:48:21.378 Those land masses,[br]that border onto the Artic ocean, 0:48:22.048,0:48:26.249 now have a warmer, open sea coast, 0:48:26.969,0:48:32.339 and the warmer air and the warmer temperatures[br]are being fedback over the land mass. 0:48:32.998,0:48:38.799 And of course what that does is increase the[br]rate of melting of the tundra permafrost, 0:48:38.799,0:48:44.338 and we get this depth of permafrost melt,[br]which we call the cast, 0:48:44.338,0:48:46.789 increases year on year. 0:48:47.699,0:48:50.359 That also has consequences. 0:48:51.579,0:48:58.519 For instance, there's a lot of biological[br]material in the deep freeze of the tundra, 0:48:58.518,0:49:03.310 and as that thaws out, it begins to decay,[br]the microbes have a field day 0:49:03.310,0:49:08.679 and out comes more carbon dioxide[br]and more methane from the rotting vegetation. 0:49:09.659,0:49:12.688 So, methane is being released into the atmosphere... 0:49:12.688,0:49:19.018 not only from the ocean floor, but also, as[br]I said, from the melting of the tundra. 0:49:19.688,0:49:22.468 And the more methane there is in the atmosphere, 0:49:22.469,0:49:24.929 as this next slide shows, 0:49:24.929,0:49:28.769 the greater the greenhouse effect, [br]and methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas. 0:49:29.279,0:49:31.969 When the permafrost thaws, 0:49:32.220,0:49:36.919 the organic matter in the permafrost thaws as well[br]and begins to decay. 0:49:36.919,0:49:39.380 The microorganisms start to eat it. 0:49:39.380,0:49:43.528 If there's no oxygen,[br]the microorganisms make methane. 0:49:43.528,0:49:49.789 If there's oxygen,[br]the microorganisms make carbon dioxide. 0:49:50.869,0:49:54.129 Ahh, permafrost.[br]Right here. 0:49:54.569,0:49:57.560 Frozen dirt. 0:49:57.560,0:50:01.588 We found, as far as[br]the organic matter coming out of this hill slope, 0:50:01.588,0:50:03.859 is that it's much more bio-available, 0:50:03.859,0:50:08.269 meaning it's yummier for the microbes that[br]are decomposing it, 0:50:08.799,0:50:12.939 than carbon, or organic matter[br]near the surface today. 0:50:12.938,0:50:14.899 So that has climate implications. 0:50:14.900,0:50:17.969 Because that means that this organic matter[br]is processed quicker, 0:50:17.969,0:50:21.229 it's return to the atmosphere is[br]carbon dioxide and methane, 0:50:21.228,0:50:24.058 and can feed back on climate that way. 0:50:24.058,0:50:29.458 Sites like this where the permafrost is releasing[br]organic matter act as accelerators. 0:50:29.458,0:50:32.919 They speed up the process of human caused[br]climate change. 0:50:32.920,0:50:36.079 So it's uh, it's a large amplification of[br]what we're doing. 0:50:36.079,0:50:38.089 It feeds back on to our impact. 0:50:38.088,0:50:42.338 It's important to realize that the scale and[br]rate of change that we're talking about now 0:50:42.338,0:50:46.360 is several degrees, two to five degrees in[br]just a hundred years. 0:50:46.360,0:50:50.648 So this is much faster than has happened in[br]the last 50 million years. 0:50:50.648,0:50:55.209 We're talking about unprecedented climate change [br]and a very rapid abrupt response 0:50:55.209,0:50:57.670 from this eco-system. 0:50:57.670,0:51:01.379 There have been changes in the Arctic, in[br]the permafrost, 0:51:01.379,0:51:03.629 in terms of the temperature overtime, 0:51:03.630,0:51:07.059 not only in the shallow layers near the surface, 0:51:07.059,0:51:09.829 but at 10, 20 and 50 meter depths. 0:51:09.829,0:51:12.699 You're seeing changes that are even more rapid. 0:51:12.699,0:51:14.930 That indicates that not only is there heating[br]near the surface, 0:51:14.929,0:51:19.649 but that this heat [br]is being transported to depth, very efficiently. 0:51:21.950,0:51:26.188 The permafrost stores methane. 0:51:26.188,0:51:29.059 As Richard was talking about, [br]it's currently melting. 0:51:29.369,0:51:33.099 It's warmer up there. It's like, 5 degrees warmer[br]up in the Arctic than it is... 0:51:33.099,0:51:35.118 The average temperature of the world[br]is only up a degree 0:51:35.118,0:51:37.409 but in the Arctic it's up five degrees. 0:51:37.409,0:51:44.409 And it's releasing 50 million tons per year,[br]which is a billion tons of CO2. 0:51:44.518,0:51:46.428 And it's obviously rising. 0:51:46.428,0:51:49.689 If it all went, we'd basically all be dead.[br]I mean. 0:51:49.689,0:51:52.588 And, it's happening now. 0:51:52.588,0:51:55.028 And the problem here is it's accelerating. 0:51:55.028,0:51:59.728 Once it starts generating, through this process[br]or any of the other ones I talk about, 0:51:59.728,0:52:04.149 once those processes [br]generate more CO2 than we do, 0:52:04.149,0:52:08.629 it won't matter if we stopped completely, 0:52:08.629,0:52:10.088 it's gonna keep going. 0:52:10.088,0:52:12.018 These are positive feedback loops. 0:52:12.018,0:52:16.338 And by the way, it's not in the models. 0:52:24.088,0:52:31.528 The fifth implication of the Arctic dynamics[br]concerns the feedback of the methane release. 0:52:32.219,0:52:37.159 It is probably one of the most important[br]issues that we have to examine. 0:52:37.159,0:52:40.479 We will be in danger of destabilizing these[br]things called methane hydrates 0:52:40.479,0:52:43.739 which store a lot of methane[br]on the bottom of the ocean, 0:52:43.739,0:52:46.399 in a kind of frozen form, 0:52:46.399,0:52:48.099 10 000 billion tons of this stuff. 0:52:48.099,0:52:51.559 And they are known to be destabilized by warming. 0:52:51.559,0:52:55.420 This chunk of ice may look pretty unremarkable[br]at first glance, 0:52:55.420,0:52:59.579 but put a match to it [br]and something amazing happens... 0:52:59.579,0:53:03.189 As reported in this month's issue of the Atlantic,[br]it's called methane hydrate, 0:53:03.188,0:53:05.389 and it's actually not unusual at all. 0:53:05.389,0:53:10.659 In fact, there are more than one-hundred thousand[br]trillion cubic feet of it on Earth. 0:53:10.659,0:53:13.578 Volume wise, that's like the size of the Mediterranean[br]sea. 0:53:13.579,0:53:19.729 And it has a greater energy capacity than[br]all the coal, oil and natural gas on Earth combined. 0:53:19.729,0:53:22.308 And well methane burns clean. 0:53:22.309,0:53:24.590 Unburned methane is[br]a potent greenhouse gas,[br] 0:53:24.590,0:53:27.188 and if it leaks,[br]it can be devastating to the environment. 0:53:27.188,0:53:32.179 The USGS is confident leakage won't be a problem,[br]as long as proper precautions are taken. 0:53:32.179,0:53:36.989 There are potential irreversible effects of[br]melting the sea ice. 0:53:36.989,0:53:45.899 If it begins to allow the Arctic ocean to[br]warm up and warm the ocean floor, 0:53:45.908,0:53:49.368 then, we'll begin to release methane hydrate. 0:53:49.368,0:53:56.028 About 80 years ago, we switched to studying[br]the East Siberian Arctic shelf. 0:53:56.028,0:54:00.909 And actually, we've been studying it for[br]the last 80 years. 0:54:00.909,0:54:03.608 Continuously, year by year by year. 0:54:03.608,0:54:08.969 Conducting one or two expeditions a year. 0:54:08.969,0:54:15.969 That hydrocarbons are produced within the[br]sedimentary drape, was sealed 0:54:17.119,0:54:20.818 and prevented the methane escape into the atmosphere. 0:54:20.818,0:54:27.818 That is why we're telling that this should[br]be the largest hydrocarbon stock in the world. 0:54:27.969,0:54:28.949 Over there... 0:54:28.949,0:54:33.269 There is a potential risk that, [br]if warming continues, 0:54:33.269,0:54:37.199 the larger and, maybe, great and massive[br]amount of methane 0:54:37.199,0:54:39.849 could be released[br]from this Arctic shelf. 0:54:39.849,0:54:41.789 Of course there is a potential risk. 0:54:41.789,0:54:48.640 And in terms of potential risk, I would say[br]that this Siberian Arctic shelf has the most potential. 0:54:48.778,0:54:54.528 Because, as I said, the carbon pool is huge[br]and the wall of the shell is very shallow 0:54:54.528,0:55:01.159 and the warming occurs stronger than in different[br]areas of the worlds ocean. 0:55:01.159,0:55:03.800 And of course it is a potential risk. 0:55:04.780,0:55:07.849 So the methane in the atmosphere, 0:55:07.849,0:55:11.739 the amount, the total amount of methane in[br]the atmosphere, 0:55:11.739,0:55:13.499 in the current atmosphere, 0:55:13.498,0:55:16.368 it's about five Gigatonnes. 0:55:16.369,0:55:22.548 The amount of carbon preserved in the form[br]of methane in this East Siberian Arctic shelf, 0:55:22.548,0:55:24.509 is approximately... 0:55:24.509,0:55:27.608 from hundreds to thousands of Gigatonnes. 0:55:27.608,0:55:32.879 And of course it's only one percent of that[br]amount is required 0:55:32.879,0:55:36.410 to double the atmosphere burden of methane. 0:55:36.410,0:55:40.449 But to destabilize one percent of this[br]carbon pool, 0:55:40.498,0:55:44.868 I think it's not much effort needed, 0:55:44.869,0:55:51.390 considering that the state of permafrost[br]and the amount of methane currently involved. 0:55:51.389,0:55:58.699 Because what divides this methane from the[br]atmosphere is a very shallow water column, 0:55:58.920,0:56:01.390 and a weakening permafrost, 0:56:01.389,0:56:03.759 which is losing it's ability to seal, 0:56:03.759,0:56:06.108 to serve as a seal. 0:56:06.108,0:56:10.598 And this is, I think it's a matter of... 0:56:10.599,0:56:14.889 it's not a matter of thousands of years,[br]it's a matter of decades, I think. 0:56:14.889,0:56:19.298 Maybe, at most, hundred years but[br]I think, 0:56:19.298,0:56:21.708 matter of decades. 0:56:21.708,0:56:25.214 (It could happen any day) 0:56:25.214,0:56:28.722 It might potentially happen because, 0:56:32.759,0:56:40.260 I would list many factors that might, that are very convenient .. convincing for us. 0:56:40.920,0:56:45.709 So that might happen. 0:56:45.708,0:56:48.748 Not anytime. 0:56:48.748,0:56:51.889 Anytime sounds like it might happen today. 0:56:51.889,0:56:53.708 It might happen tomorrow. 0:56:53.708,0:56:56.321 The day after tomorrow.[br](It might!) 0:56:56.494,0:56:58.608 You think so? 0:57:01.759,0:57:08.289 Igor is very convinced person [br]because he spend a lot of time over there. 0:57:08.739,0:57:15.739 And where the ice should be about two meters[br]thick, it was 40 centimeters thick... 0:57:17.088,0:57:20.298 That means that the processes... 0:57:20.298,0:57:25.728 All the processes that serves the stabilization[br]of everything... 0:57:25.728,0:57:32.038 of the sea ice, of the water column,[br]of the currents increasing, 0:57:32.039,0:57:36.499 (the currents, I mean the movement of water[br]beneath the sea ice increased). 0:57:36.498,0:57:43.399 So everything, everything looks anomalous.[br]Even from our experience from this ten years, 0:57:43.400,0:57:45.338 everything looks anomalous. 0:57:45.338,0:57:51.068 And this is what makes him thinking that... 0:57:51.068,0:57:58.068 making him think that the worst thing might[br]happen... 0:58:08.010,0:58:11.920 Shortly speaking, we do not like what we see[br]there, 0:58:11.920,0:58:14.659 absolutely do not like. 0:58:14.659,0:58:17.009 Uh, look at this. 0:58:17.009,0:58:21.129 In a matter of days...[br]just days, 0:58:21.199,0:58:25.269 we're having this huge, this huge area... 0:58:25.268,0:58:27.659 look at this.... 0:58:27.659,0:58:32.629 going almost exploding with methane. 0:58:32.630,0:58:38.949 The only way this is possible is by melting[br]of methane clathrate. 0:58:39.308,0:58:42.068 It´s just the only explanation 0:59:24.258,0:59:27.468 Hi, uhm... how long do you think we have[br]before it becomes 0:59:27.468,0:59:30.938 socially and otherwise [br]unacceptable to emit carbon. 0:59:30.938,0:59:34.288 and, I mean, how radically do you think we[br]need to act consensually? 0:59:34.289,0:59:36.839 Right, well I mean... 0:59:36.838,0:59:43.548 I think, it's, the more we act, the better[br]things will be for future generations. 0:59:43.548,0:59:47.920 I don't, yeah, I mean there's all sorts of[br]estimates. 0:59:47.920,0:59:49.139 And um... 0:59:49.139,0:59:54.679 Basically, if we do a huge amount within the[br]next ten years, 0:59:54.679,0:59:57.798 we will still face quite an uncomfortable[br]future, 0:59:57.798,1:00:01.208 and the less we do, the worse it will get. 1:00:01.208,1:00:04.879 How much of it we can prevent,[br]depends on how bold we are, 1:00:04.880,1:00:10.749 how much we're prepared to do, and that in[br]turn is going to depend on changing social opinions. 1:00:13.360,1:00:16.088 What are the implications of all this, 1:00:16.088,1:00:18.318 for global dynamic behavior, 1:00:18.318,1:00:23.409 both in climate, and indeed, [br]for humanity as a civilization, 1:00:23.409,1:00:27.208 and the biosphere of which we are a part? 1:00:28.758,1:00:34.139 Well obviously, the Arctic is connected to[br]the rest of the world, it is part of the world, 1:00:34.139,1:00:40.719 and what happens in the Arctic inevitably[br]has implications and consequences and spin-off 1:00:40.719,1:00:43.318 for the rest of the planet. 1:00:43.318,1:00:49.929 Socially, we know we will be beginning to[br]remove some of the aerosols, 1:00:49.929,1:00:52.688 these particulates in the atmosphere that,[br]at the moment, 1:00:52.688,1:00:56.829 are reflecting much of the solar energy[br]back into space. 1:00:57.369,1:01:04.369 We also know that much energy is being taken[br]up by heating of the deeper ocean, at the moment. 1:01:05.568,1:01:09.529 And, as the effects of carbon dioxide,[br]and the other greenhouse gases 1:01:09.529,1:01:15.678 and the global behavior as a whole, [br]begin to come back on stream, 1:01:15.679,1:01:22.679 so, global temperatures will begin to respond[br]much as Arctic temperatures did. 1:01:23.159,1:01:26.828 Co2 begins to increase temperature, 1:01:26.829,1:01:29.910 increased temperature drives water vapor feedback, 1:01:29.909,1:01:33.188 water vapor feedback accelerates heating.... 1:01:33.868,1:01:38.759 And then we begin to get hotter conditions[br]for some of the tropical forests, 1:01:38.759,1:01:44.158 we get burn and dieback[br]and increased release of carbon dioxide 1:01:44.158,1:01:47.618 from the bio-mass of the planet. 1:01:47.619,1:01:52.759 It's a different set of feedbacks from that[br]operating in the high Arctic, 1:01:52.759,1:01:55.278 but it is nonetheless potent. 1:01:56.318,1:02:02.528 And as in the Arctic, so tomorrow, in the[br]world, as a whole. 1:02:03.619,1:02:10.619 And if the implications of jet-stream behavior[br]and food production and Arctic dynamics spin-off 1:02:11.989,1:02:17.398 into our survival as a species, into our economics,[br]into our food production, 1:02:18.208,1:02:22.088 into the abandonment of the poor, 1:02:22.088,1:02:29.088 and the inability to sustain a population[br]of eight, nine, ten billion people, 1:02:30.418,1:02:32.268 so, also... 1:02:32.268,1:02:36.639 The increasing acceleration of global behavior... 1:02:36.639,1:02:39.788 which will inevitably follow... 1:02:39.789,1:02:45.900 unless we are able to intervene,[br]to slow it down... 1:02:45.900,1:02:48.359 bring it to a halt...[br]and reverse it, 1:02:50.208,1:02:53.049 then, without that intervention... 1:02:53.049,1:02:58.528 global dynamics hold a dark future for humanity... 1:02:59.478,1:03:04.869 a dark future for the biosphere of which we[br]are a part. 1:03:04.869,1:03:07.838 It is time to take action... 1:03:07.838,1:03:11.528 Not only for the Arctic... 1:03:11.528,1:03:16.748 but for the global crisis in which we are[br]all placed. 1:03:16.748,1:03:21.528 There's not agreement on how much we need[br]to do, how fast. 1:03:21.528,1:03:25.528 To be honest, I don't think there needs to[br]be, because the one thing I am certain of is 1:03:25.528,1:03:31.698 that we will not do as much as the scientists[br]say we need to do. 1:03:31.778,1:03:36.748 That's why I've never sort of looked that[br]closely at that particular question because, 1:03:36.748,1:03:40.178 what the scientists say we need to do[br]is over here... 1:03:40.179,1:03:44.099 what we're currently doing is way over here.... 1:03:44.099,1:03:48.759 and what various global agreements have tried[br]to get us to do, and often failed, 1:03:48.759,1:03:50.579 is somewhere over here... 1:03:50.579,1:03:52.818 So the gulf is so enormous... 1:03:52.818,1:03:57.528 that um, I yeah, I mean, it's a perfectly[br]fair question.... 1:03:57.528,1:04:01.958 but for that reason I've never really looked[br]at it in much detail. 1:04:01.958,1:04:06.159 But I do believe that [br]the more people believe this... 1:04:06.159,1:04:10.618 that the more likely they are to act, so I[br]suspect that there's... 1:04:10.618,1:04:13.298 also denial can operate on many levels... 1:04:13.298,1:04:20.298 You can sort of believe something factually,[br]but not believe it deep down in your heart, 1:04:20.329,1:04:23.150 and so, if you say: [br]"Oh, yes, I accept climate change", 1:04:23.150,1:04:28.408 but, but you just won't allow yourself,[br]on an emotional leve,l to think about 1:04:28.408,1:04:31.578 what is gonna happen [br]to the planet in the future, 1:04:31.579,1:04:34.258 and you can sort of separate[br]your everyday life 1:04:34.258,1:04:38.828 from what you believe, [br]in the more academic side of your mind. 1:04:38.829,1:04:42.089 So, I think that uh...[br]in many ways, 1:04:42.089,1:04:47.179 changing social opinion is the[br]most important thing we can do at present... 1:04:47.179,1:04:49.869 to deal with this problem, because then... 1:04:49.869,1:04:54.119 people might start moving towards what the[br]scientists are saying we need to do. 1:04:57.049,1:05:00.269 We've got a lot of work to do [br]and not much time to do it. 1:05:00.268,1:05:04.189 Um, as I Iook at the world,[br]which is sort of where I start. 1:05:04.189,1:05:06.630 Um... 1:05:06.630,1:05:09.749 We've gotta cut carbon emissions fast. 1:05:09.748,1:05:16.418 Then it becomes clear, we need to cut carbon[br]emissions 80%, not by 2050, but by 2020. 1:05:16.418,1:05:22.728 For decades now, we environmentalists have[br]been talking about the need to save the planet. 1:05:22.728,1:05:27.568 But as I think about it, the planet's gonna[br]be around for a long time to come... 1:05:27.568,1:05:31.778 What we need to save now is civilization itself... 1:05:31.778,1:05:34.760 This is, this is what's at stake... 1:05:36.150,1:05:39.499 Coming up here today, I have no hidden agenda. 1:05:39.498,1:05:42.338 I am fighting for my future. 1:05:42.338,1:05:46.688 I am here to speak for all generations to[br]come. 1:05:46.688,1:05:53.688 I am here to speak on behalf of the starving[br]children around the world whose cries go unheard. 1:05:54.298,1:05:58.498 I am here to speak for the countless animals,[br]dying across this planet, 1:05:58.498,1:06:02.688 because they have no where left to go... 1:06:02.688,1:06:09.458 And now we hear of animals and plants going[br]extinct, everyday, vanishing forever... 1:06:09.458,1:06:16.308 All this is happening before our eyes and[br]yet we act as if we have all the time we want 1:06:16.309,1:06:18.719 and all the solutions. 1:06:18.719,1:06:22.659 You don't know how to fix the holes in our[br]ozone layer. 1:06:22.659,1:06:27.068 You don't know how to bring the salmon back[br]up in a dead stream... 1:06:27.068,1:06:30.668 You don't know how to bring back an animal[br]now extinct. 1:06:30.668,1:06:37.389 And you can't bring back the forest that once[br]grew where there is now a desert... 1:06:37.389,1:06:39.489 If you don't know how to fix it, 1:06:39.489,1:06:43.278 please... stop breaking it. 1:06:43.278,1:06:46.559 I'm only a child yet I know[br]we are all in this together, 1:06:46.559,1:06:51.269 and should act as one single world[br]towards one single goal. 1:06:51.268,1:06:57.889 If a child on the streets who has nothing[br]is willing to share 1:06:57.889,1:07:02.048 then why are we who have everything still so greedy? 1:07:03.088,1:07:08.418 I am only a child yet I know[br]if all the money spent on war 1:07:08.418,1:07:14.064 was spent on finding environmental answers, [br]ending poverty and finding treaties,[br] 1:07:14.064,1:07:17.610 what a wonderful place this earth would be. 1:07:17.610,1:07:21.488 At school, even in Kindergarten, 1:07:21.489,1:07:25.228 you teach us how to behave in the world. 1:07:25.228,1:07:31.409 You teach us, not to fight with others...[br]to work things out, 1:07:31.409,1:07:33.259 to respect others, 1:07:33.259,1:07:34.918 to clean up our mess, 1:07:34.918,1:07:37.429 not to hurt other creatures, 1:07:37.429,1:07:40.039 to share,[br]not be greedy. 1:07:40.130,1:07:46.139 Then why do you go out and do the things you[br]tell us not to do? 1:07:46.139,1:07:49.969 You are deciding what kind of a world we are[br]growing up in. 1:07:49.969,1:07:53.588 Parent's should be able to comfort their children[br]by saying 1:07:53.588,1:07:57.859 "Everything's going to be alright, it's not[br]the end of the world, 1:07:57.859,1:08:00.940 and we're doing [br]the best that we can..." 1:08:00.940,1:08:04.709 But I don't think you can say that to us anymore... 1:08:04.708,1:08:08.578 Are we even on your list of priorities? 1:08:08.579,1:08:09.849 My dad always says 1:08:09.849,1:08:14.099 "You are what you do, not what you say." 1:08:14.099,1:08:18.960 Well, what you do makes me cry at night. 1:08:18.960,1:08:21.408 You grown-ups say you love us. 1:08:21.408,1:08:26.518 But I challenge you, please,[br]make your actions reflect your words. 1:08:26.518,1:08:29.058 Thank you.