March 6, 2017
By Moisha Blechman, Co-Chair, Climate Crisis Committee
If you were watching television in 1958, you might have seen “The Unchained Goddess," a film written and co-produced by the legendary Frank Capra. He brilliantly explained how our industrial culture was changing the climate. Interviews with scientists, along with animation, revealed the consequences of increasing warmth, sea-level rise, and inundation of New York City and the Eastern seaboard.
The film was commissioned by Bell Laboratories, and was one segment in an educational series devoted to science. The series was distributed to high schools and colleges around the nation. It would have been hard to miss by any of the fossil fuel corporations.
In 2015, the Union of Concerned Scientists released a report, “The Climate Deception Dossiers,” demonstrating that the fossil fuel industry, led by ExxonMobil - - including BP, Chevron, Conoco, Peabody Energy, Phillips, and Shell - - had been waging a campaign of deception on climate change for more than three decades. Internal documents dating back to 1977 show a series of carefully planned disinformation campaigns organized by fossil fuel companies and by trade groups formed by the industry.
The recent revelation of ExxonMobil’s internal communications in 1977 prove that they were aware of global warming and its causes. But, we can assume that ExxonMobil was well aware of it in 1958. In 1958 there were just 312 parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere - - only 32 ppm (10%) above the pre-industrial 280 ppm, considered a benchmark planetary ideal. But today the atmosphere is at 406 ppm, a frightening 126 ppm (40%) above the pre-industrial average. The rate of emissions has sped up tremendously over the past 40 years. One half of all the CO2 ever released by humankind has occurred since 1988.
2016 was the hottest year ever recorded. Everywhere, weather and whole ecosystems are reacting to the added heat. The West Antarctic Ice Shelf is due to calve from its moorings. At almost 2000 square miles in area it will be one of the largest icebergs ever created. It is not yet known how much it will contribute to sea level rise.
We know that warming seawater causes corals to bleach every year, finally making it impossible for them to recover. Corals are the fish nurseries of the world. One third of all fish species spend part of their lives in coral reefs, and many more are dependent on the coral ecosystem. For us, it is not just the loss of fish. It is the loss of their beauty. But there is another important problem.
Warm water does not hold as much dissolved gas, including oxygen. That is why the great fisheries have always been in the oxygen-rich north seas. As these seas rise in temperature their oxygen content lowers. The loss of a critical amount of oxygen causes some fish to suffer cardiac arrest. They cannot breathe fast enough to compensate for less oxygen. As each species reaches its thermal limit due to diminishing oxygen, it will either move northward to cooler waters or go extinct. Less than one degree of change, and the threshold is breached. Extinction quickly follows for those fish who do not migrate.
Water temperature impacts photosynthesis
The temperature of water also directly affects phytoplankton physiology. Through photosynthesis, plankton contribute about 50% of the oxygen to the atmosphere, the remainder coming from our diminishing mature forests, shrubs and grasses. The rate of oxygen production depends on water temperature. As the oceans warm, the production of phytoplankton is reduced. Phytoplankton are also said to utilize the sun and nutrients from the sea in the process of photosynthesis to release oxygen into the water itself.
Krill depend on phytoplankton and ice-algae for food. Global warming has reduced both food sources. As a result, the amount of krill has dropped about 80% since the 1970s. Krill are the foundation of the oceanic food chain. With their loss, penguins starve and whales suffer.
Increased CO2 promotes leaf growth. One result is the increase of leaf size due to more CO2 in the atmosphere. That results in a corresponding reduction of protein available to those who eat the leaves. This is a nutritional change. It means that inchworms, butterflies and other insects are unable to complete their normal life cycles, and will go extinct. It is the same for deer, cattle, and sheep. They must eat more vegetation each day to meet their basic nutritional needs.
At the same time that we document how all life systems are changing and at risk of survival, we have a government that denies this truth. We must never accept the denial of global warming as a “belief.” It is an agenda. It is an agenda born of corporate greed. It is the most destructive agenda in the history of our planet.
Footnote: Frank Capra had a degree in chemical engineering from the California Institute of Technology, the university that became the world center of carbon dioxide science. He was a prolific writer and director of many films including It’s a Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and Arsenic and Old Lace.
Citations: Internal messages from 1977 reveal ExxonMobil’s awareness of Global Warming. This information was first researched and published in 2015 by the Climate News and the Los Angeles Times.
Frank Capra filmography Wikipedia gives entire list of Capra films. The Chained Goddess can be found at the year 1958.
Moisha Blechman co-chairs the Chapter’s Climate Crisis Committee.