The Virtual Life of Fizzy Oceans Read Online Free PDF

consensus as part of a strategy to mislead the public,” he reiterates. “This campaign is presently financed—about ten million dollars—by the largest carbon polluters on earth, and meant to create the impression that there is disagreement within the scientific community. The truth is that there is virtually no disagreement. But because we now live in a world where the dispersion of propaganda has been elevated to an art form, the deception persists and is accepted by the uninformed.”
    A smattering of applause is heard throughout the audience in the VBV, and Adler waits until it is again quiet before continuing his speech.
    “After the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its report that determined the cause of global warming to be man-made, the corporate denizens offered ten thousand dollars to the writer of each article published (and it didn’t seem to matter where it was published) that disputed the consensus of the Panel and scientific opinion. In short, they are happy to make us—each and every one of us—the unwitting victims of their corporate agenda!”
    Again, applause is heard throughout the audience.
    Dr. Adler continues: “The flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade. I know this to be true not only from my research, but also from on-the-scene observation. At least two hundred species of plants and animals are already in retreat as a response to climate change. If the warming continues, we can expect disasterous consequences. The Arctic Ocean will be ice-free by the summer by 2050, or perhaps even sooner. Global sea levels will rise by as much as twenty-five feet, which will devastate coastal areas worldwide. But that’s not all… Intense heat waves will begin to scorch the more temperate areas of our planet. Droughts will deplete aquifers, and wildfires will claim our forests and grasslands. By the year 2050, more than a million species worldwide could be extinct. Yet, as dire as these predictions might seem, we can solve these problems with only the smallest changes to our daily routine. The time has come to wake up and get our heads out of the sand…”
    Again the speaker pauses for dramatic effect. It’s obvious he’s a real pro at public speaking, and at persuasion.
    “The European Union—and even China—are far ahead of the United States when it comes to fuel efficiency requirements. Both Ford and GM are filing suit against the State of California to stop stricter fuel efficiency standards. These standards are already in place in Europe and in China—and in may other parts of the world as well. American automobile manufacturers are struggling to compete with foreign-made vehicles. Why? It’s quite simple: they make cars that are illegal in the rest of the world!
    “Former vice president and Nobel Prize winner Al Gore has stated: 'With Hurricane Katrina the U.S. has entered a new and critical era.' Warmer oceans will mean more intense storms; and higher sea levels will threaten coastal populations from Shanghai to Amsterdam, from Indonesia to Florida.
    “The crisis I am talking about has been escalating for decades. We’ve known about it almost as long. And we’ve done nothing! I ask each and every one of you: Is life on our planet worth so little that we refuse to take the simple steps necessary to maintain a viable ecosphere?”
    At this point Jack Straw Huckleberry breaks in to guide Dr. Adler’s diatribe. “Dr. Adler,” he addresses, “what is your specific prognosis for Planet Earth in the coming years?”
    “I speculate that as we enter the twenty-first century we will slowly grow a little more crowded and a little more polluted, but civilization will continue in much the same way as it has in the past—for a while, anyway. That said, remember that any number of things could go wrong. A major volcanic eruption could disturb the growing cycle and cause widespread famine. Unchecked flooding could disperse refugees