A LIVE Presentation of the Slideshow that is Changing America's Mind

 
 

Event Date: October 30, 2007

Event Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. ET

Target Grade Levels: Grades 10-12; Higher Education

Requirements for Participation: You must be a MAGPI member and have H.323 (IP) videoconferencing capabilities in order to participate in this event.

Description:

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. - From ClimateCrisis.net

With nationally-renowned environmental defender Dick Whiteford as your guide, explore the science and urgency behind the messages in last year's blockbuster documentary, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. Dick will take you and your students through the traveling global warming show developed and made famous by former Vice President, Al Gore.

 

 

  
  Carbon dioxide and other gases warm the surface of the planet naturally by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere. This is a good thing because it keeps our planet habitable. However, by burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil and clearing forests we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere and temperatures are rising.

The vast majority of scientists agree that global warming is real, it’s already happening and that it is the result of our activities and not a natural occurrence. The evidence is overwhelming and undeniable.

We’re already seeing changes. Glaciers are melting, plants and animals are being forced from their habitat, and the number of severe storms and droughts is increasing.

Participate in this exciting interactive event find out what you and your students can do to help.

Resources:

About AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH:

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.

About Dick Whiteford:

Richard Whiteford is an environmental activist and writer. Alarm over the massive loss of Earth’s variety of plants, creatures, and ecosystems, and over-pollution’s dangers to public health, compelled Mr. Whiteford to devote his life to fighting for environmental protection.

Mr. Whiteford has written well over 500 articles for newspapers, magazines, and other publications. His scientific and economic based articles educate the public and influence political decisions on environmental legislation. He wrote a three year series about endangered species that appeared on the cover of the Sunday comics in the Philadelphia Inquirer. In 2006 his book, “Wild Pennsylvania”, ISBN# 0-76032638-X. was published on Voyageur Press.

As an activist, Mr. Whiteford initiated the preservation of 3,000 acres of natural land. He helps initiate changes in township, state, and federal laws for stronger environmental protection. He lobbies Congress and works on legislative committees on issues like Off Road Vehicle destruction on public and private land, the Endangered Species Act, National Energy Policy, protecting Roadless Areas in National Forests, preventing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, stopping Mountain Top Removal coal mining methods, preventing residential development in Valley Forge National Park, and many other issues.

Due to Mr. Whiteford’s fifteen year activism and journalism activities, he is in demand as a teacher and speaker. He teaches environmental and writing subjects as a consultant at many universities and high schools. He’s a keynote speaker at many conferences, Earth Day events, and churches. In 1997 he was an honored guest at the United Nations for the Earth Day International celebration. The US Postal Service hired him to make media appearances to promote the Endangered Species collectible postage stamp series. In 2000 Honda America gave Mr. Whiteford the new electric hybrid Honda Insight for a week to use for promotional events in the Philadelphia market for the Earth Day millennia celebration. He has appeared on BBC and Korean television, NPR’s show, Justice Talking, and Art Fennell Reports on Cn8 TV about environmental issues.

In 1998 Mr. Whiteford won the Sierra Club Award for Environmental Activism. He was a consultant to Pennsylvania’s 21st Century Environmental Commission and went on to become a founding member and board member of the Pennsylvania Biodiversity Partnership.

From 1999 – 2001, he worked for the National Sierra Club as the Northeast Region Conservation Organizer. He served as the Outreach Coordinator for the Highlands Coalition, working to preserve 2 million acres of watershed area in the Highlands. He was also the Mid-Atlantic Campaign Manager for the Wilderness Society working on conservation appropriations legislation in Congress. In 2005, Mr. Whiteford worked as the Director of the Important Mammal Areas Project, a science based conservation project but lost this position when the grant funding was cut. He is currently the Outreach Representative for Pennsylvania and New Jersey for Defenders of Wildlife.

Mr. Whiteford organized the Chester County Sierra Club Committee and received the National Sierra Club, 2006 Environmental Hero Award. Mr. Whiteford completed Al Gore’s training and is a certified presenter for An Inconvenient Truth.

 

  
     
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