Six Degrees Could Change the World

Whether you call it “global warming,” “climate change,” or “lefty propaganda,” there’s no denying that the average temperature of the planet is on the rise. Despite the best efforts of scientists, activists, and politicians to explain the phenomenon, people in the United States still look out their windows as seasons change and wonder what all the fuss is about. Temperatures rise and fall dozens of degrees within a few days, but the Earth’s average temperature hasn’t even risen a full degree. Sadly, what these home-brewed experts don’t realize is that increases in the global average have far greater ramifications than the natural cycle of the seasons. After all, when the average global temperature was just six degrees lower than it is now, the planet was enveloped in a devastating ice age. Yep, the Ice Age.

In an effort to further educate the public on the dangers behind this hot-button issue, National Geographic has released ‘Six Degrees Could Change the World’ -- a 90-minute documentary that plots the events which scientists have calculated will accompany each increased degree of the planet’s average temperature. Hosted by Alec Baldwin, ‘Six Degrees’ begins with changes the globe has already experienced, continues with a series of discouraging events that are beginning to transpire, and concludes with a century of predictions tinted with Nostradamus-like doom-n-gloom.

’Six Degrees’ has a lot of interesting information presented in a way that will mainly appeal to those who have already accepted the pressing call for global change. Smartly paced and packed with more facts than I could process in one sitting, I was fascinated by the comparisons between natural climate changes and those induced by man. Furthermore, the visuals give a startling glimpse into the consequences of humanity’s inaction. Sometimes a visual presentation helps to clarify the reality of a situation -- in this regard, ‘Six Degrees’ will help boost the urgency of those who accept global warming as a warning to change our ways. While it doesn’t focus on the United States’ psychological and sociological resistance to planetary change, it consistently reminds its Western audience that indecision is a bigger enemy to mankind that the planet’s increasing temperature.

Unfortunately, ‘Six Degrees’ mainly preaches to the choir. It’s designed to win over those who refuse to accept the possibility of a global crisis, but it takes its case to such an extreme that many will brush it off as extremist propaganda. In fact, while I accept climate change as an imminent problem, I found the style and tone of the documentary to be terribly reminiscent of the killer-bee and ozone-hole docs that littered television when I was a kid. It would have been more effective if it contained a broad overview of the small changes every household can make to help reduce greenhouse emissions. As it stands, ‘Six Degrees’ presents a compelling and frightening case, but it makes climate change seem hopeless and inevitable. By the time the credits rolled, I began hoping scientists were wrong about global warming -- the geopolitical and sociological hurdles involved in averting such a dismal future struck me as insurmountable and inconceivable.

’Six Degrees Could Change the World’ is an engaging documentary that makes an urgent plea to anyone who hasn’t changed their lifestyle, habits, or behaviors. However, it also presents a demotivating case that reminded how unlikely it is that the globe will band together to halt global warming. I appreciated the filmmakers’ well-researched facts and compelling presentation, but the documentary left me feeling hopeless and helpless instead of driven and enthusiastic.