Homework: Due Feb 1, 2007

This is the homework we discussed in class Thursday but just to reiterate:

1, Comment on the movie "An Inconvenient Truth" on this blog, basically your reactions to the movie (see others for example)

2, Write a letter to your Senator or Congressman and urge them to address
the crisis that is global warming. Letters should be 1 pg single space or
2 pages double spaced, typed. I'll collect them Feb. 1
*For the purposes of this class, this is a writing exercise only, but it'd be terrific if you
sent our your letters! If you disagree about global warming then this exercise will help you better understand the counter argument.

3, Read page 65 -75, "Arguments from the Heart," and be ready to talk about the ideas presented

4, Come up with 5 possible topics you'd like to write your research paper on.

*NOTE: There will be no class Tues, Jan 30th.
See you Thursday!

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CEOs: We Must Act on Emissions

From yesterday's Commercial Appeal
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/us/article/0,2845,MCA_25346_5298207,00.htmlCEOs:

We must act on emissions
Mandatory caps, market system needed, they say
By H. Josef HebertAssociated PressJanuary 23, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Chief executives of 10 major corporations urged Congress on Monday to require limits on greenhouse gases this year, contending voluntary efforts to combat climate change are inadequate.
The call for immediate action came on the eve of President Bush's State of the Union address in which he is expected to reiterate that the industry on its own is making progress in curtailing the growth of heat-trapping emissions without the need of government intervention.
But the executives and leaders of four major environmental organizations said in a letter to Bush that mandatory emissions caps are needed to reduce the flow of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere.
"We can and must take prompt action to establish a coordinated, economy-wide market-driven approach to climate protection," the executives, part of a coalition called the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, said in a letter to the president.
The executives, representing major utilities, aluminum and chemical companies and financial institutions, said the cornerstone of climate policy should be an economy-wide emissions cap-and-trade system.
At a news conference, the executives said mandatory reductions of heat-trapping emissions can be imposed without economic harm and would lead to economic opportunities if done across the economy and with provisions to mitigate costs.
Many of the companies already have voluntarily moved to curb greenhouse emissions, they said. But the executives also said they do not believe voluntary efforts will suffice.
"It must be mandatory, so there is no doubt about our actions," said Jim Rogers, chairman of Duke Energy. "The science of global warming is clear. ... We must act now."
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10 sign on
Signing the letter to President Bush were the chief executives of:
Alcoa Inc.
BP America Inc.
DuPont Co.
Caterpillar Inc.
General Electric Co. Duke Energy Corp.
Lehman Brothers PG&E Corp.
PNM Resources.
FPL Group.
Four leading environmental organizations also joined in the message to the president.
-- Associated Press
Copyright 2007, commercialappeal.com - Memphis, TN. All Rights Reserved

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ASSIGNMENT: An Inconvenient Truth

1, Write a blog with your reactions to the movie.

2, Write a letter to your Senator or Congressman urging them to address global warming.Due: Feb 1, 2007 for class only

An Inconvenint Truth

The Movie:

Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced. If that sounds like a recipe for serious gloom and doom -- think again.
From director Davis Guggenheim comes the Sundance Film Festival hit, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, which offers a passionate and inspirational look at one man's fervent crusade to halt global warming's deadly progress in its tracks by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. That man is former Vice President Al Gore, who, in the wake of defeat in the 2000 election, re-set the course of his life to focus on a last-ditch, all-out effort to help save the planet from irrevocable change. In this eye-opening and poignant portrait of Gore and his "traveling global warming show,"
Gore also proves himself to be one of the most misunderstood characters in modern American public life. Here he is seen as never before in the media - funny, engaging, open and downright on fire about getting the surprisingly stirring truth about what he calls our "planetary emergency" out to ordinary citizens before it's too late. With 2005, the worst storm season ever experienced in America just behind us, it seems we may be reaching a tipping point - and Gore pulls no punches in explaining the dire situation. Interspersed with the bracing facts and future predictions is the story of Gore's personal journey: from an idealistic college student who first saw a massive environmental crisis looming; to a young Senator facing a harrowing family tragedy that altered his perspective, to the man who almost became President but instead returned to the most important cause of his life - convinced that there is still time to make a difference.
With wit, smarts and hope, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH ultimately brings home Gore's persuasive argument that we can no longer afford to view global warming as a political issue - rather, it is the biggest moral challenges facing our global civilization. Paramount Classics and Participant Productions present a film directed by Davis Guggenheim, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. Featuring Al Gore, the film is produced by Laurie David, Lawrence Bender and Scott Z. Burns. Jeff Skoll and Davis Guggenheim are the executive producers and the co-producer is Leslie Chilcott.

This is from the movie's website at http://www.climatecrisis.net/