Now It's Fiction, Tomorrow It's Real
Prof. Hall: We found evidence of a cataclysmic climate shift, which occurred 10,000 years ago.
The concentration of these natural greenhouse gases in the ice cores indicates that runaway warming pushed earth into an ice age which lasted 2 centuries.
Delegation: I'm confused.
I thought you were talking about global warming, not an ice age.
Prof. Hall: Yes, it is a paradox, but global warming can trigger a cooling trend. Let me explain.
The Northern Hemisphere owes its climate to the North Atlantic Current.
Heat from the sun arrives at the equator and is carried north by the ocean.
But global warming is melting the polar ice caps and disrupting this flow.
Eventually it will shut down.
And when that occurs, there goes our warm climate.
Delegation: Excuse me, when do you think this could happen, professor? When?
Prof. Hall: I don't know. Maybe in 100 years, maybe in 1,000.
But what I do know is, that if we do not act soon, our children and grandchildren will have to pay the price.
Vice President: And who's going to pay the price of the Kyoto Accord?
It would cost the world's economy hundreds of billions of dollars.
Prof. Hall: With all due respect, Mr. Vice President, the cost doing nothing could be even higher.
Our climate is fragile.
At the rate we're burning fossil fuels and polluting the environment, the ice caps will soon disappear.
Vice President: Professor Hall, our economy is every bit as fragile as the environment.
Perhaps you should keep that in mind before making sensationalist claims.
Prof. Hall: The last chunk of ice that broke off was about the size of Rhode Island.
Some people might call that pretty sensational.
Tom: I know you're good at rubbing people the wrong way,
but why would you aggravate the vice president?
Prof. Hall: Because my 17-year-old kid knows more science than he does.
Tom: Perhaps. But your 17-year-old kid does not control our budget.
Prof. Hall: What about the North Atlantic Current?
Tom: What about it?
Prof. Hall: I got a call last night from Professor Rapson at the Hedland Center.
He thinks the current has changed.
Science Officer: Oh, come on, Jack, how could that be?
Prof. Hall: The current depends upon a balance of salt and freshwater.
Tom: We all know that.
Prof. Hall: Yes, but no one knows how much freshwater has been dumped into the ocean because of melting polar ice.
I think we've hit a critical desalinization point.
Janet: It would explain what's driving this extreme weather.
Prof. Hall: Hedland had some pretty convincing data.
They've asked me to feed it into my paleoclimate model to track the next events.
Tom: Are you suggesting these weather anomalies are gonna continue?
Prof. Hall: Not just continue. Get worse.
I think we're on the verge of a major climate shift.
Prof. Hall: We just got these results from our simulation model.
They explain what's causing this weather.
Vice President: I'll read it later. I have a meeting with the director of FEMA right now.
Prof. Hall: This is very urgent.
Our climate is changing violently. It will happen over the next 6 to 8 weeks.
Vice President: You said this wouldn't happen for another 100 years or so.
Prof. Hall: I was wrong.
Vice President: Well, suppose you're wrong this time.
Prof. Hall: I wish I were, but you're aware of what's happening all around the world.
Vice President: We're making all the necessary preparations for this storm.
What more do you expect?
Prof. Hall: You have to start thinking about large-scale evacuations right now.
Especially in the northern states.
Vice President: Evacuations? Have you lost your mind, Hall?
I have to go.
Prof. Hall: Mr. Vice President, if we don't act now, it's going to be too late.
[over the phone]
Prof. Rapson: What I'm about to say is supposed to be confidential.
Several hours ago, 3 helicopters went down over Scotland.
They crashed because the fuel in their lines froze.
Prof. Hall: At what temperature does...
Prof. Rapson: Negative 150 degrees Fahrenheit. We had to look it up.
The temperature dropped phenomenally fast.
On the ground, people froze before they could get out of their cars even.
When this storm is over, we'll be in a new Ice Age.
~Jack Hall
Prof. Hall: What can we do?
Prof. Rapson: Save as many as you can.
Thanks for coming back for me.
It was really brave.
~Laura Chapman
Sam: What is going on out there, Dad?
Prof. Hall: Sam, listen to me carefully.
Forget what I said about trying to head south, it's too late for that.
The storm is gonna get worse.
It's gonna turn into a massive blizzard with an eye in the center, like a huge hurricane.
Only the air will be so cold, you could freeze to death in seconds.
Sam: What should we do?
Prof. Hall: Do not go outside. Burn whatever you can to stay warm, and try to wait it out.
I will come for you. Do you understand me? I will come for you.
Sam, as Laura hugs him: What are you doing?
Laura: I'm using my body heat to warm you.
If we let the blood from your arms and legs rush back to your heart too quickly, your heart could fail.
Sam: Where do you learn that?
Laura: Some of us were actually paying attention in health class.
Prof. Hall: The basic rule of storms is they continue until the imbalance that created them is corrected.
In this case, we're talking about a global realignment.
This superstorm will last 7 to 10 days.
When it's over, ice and snow will cover the entire northern hemisphere.
The ice and snow will reflect sunlight.
The earth's atmosphere will restabilize with an average temperature close to that of the last Ice Age.
General: What can we do about this?
Prof. Hall: Head as far south as possible.
Vice President: That is not amusing, professor.
Secretary: Where do you suggest they go?
Prof. Hall: The farther south they go, the safer they'll be.
Texas. Parts of Florida that aren't flooded. Mexico would be best.
Vice President: Mexico? Maybe you should stick to science and leave policy to us.
Tom: We tried that approach.
You didn't want to hear about the science when it could have made a difference.
President: What exactly are you proposing, professor?
Prof. Hall: Evacuate everyone south of that line. [draw the line on the map]
President: What about the people in the north?
Prof. Hall: I'm afraid it's too late for them.
If they go outside, the storm will kill them.
At this point, their best chance is to stay inside, try to ride it out, pray.
Vice President: We can't evacuate half the country because one scientist thinks the climate is shifting.
Secretary: Every minute we delay costs lives.
Vice President: What about the other half of the country?
Secretary: If Professor Hall is right about this storm patterns,
sending troops north will create more victims.
We need to save the people we can right now.
General: We take the same approach in triage on the battlefield.
Sometimes it's necessary to make difficult choices.
Vice President: I don't accept abandoning half the country as necessary.
Tom: Maybe if you listened to him sooner, it wouldn't be.
Vice President: Bullshit! It's easy for him to suggest this plan, he's safely here in Washington.
Tom: His son is in Manhattan.
I thought you should know that before you start questioning his motives.
Tina: What have you got there?
Bernie: A Gutenberg Bible. It was in the rare books room.
Tina: You think God's gonna save you?
Bernie: No, I don't believe in God.
Tina: You're holding onto that Bible pretty tight.
Bernie: I'm protecting it.
This Bible is the first book ever printed. It represents the dawn of the age of reason.
As far as I'm concerned, the written word is mankind's greatest achievement.
[Tina smirks]
You can laugh.
But if western civilization is finished, I'm gonna save at least one little piece of it.
Jason: What do you think's gonna happen to us?
Prof. Hall: What do you mean?
Jason: I mean us, civilization, everybody.
Prof. Hall: Mankind survived the last Ice Age.
We're certainly capable of surviving this one.
All depends on whether or not we're able to learn from our mistakes.
These past few weeks have left us all with a profound sense of humility in the face of nature's destructive power.
For years, we operated under the belief that we could continue consuming our planet's natural resources without consequence.
We were wrong. I was wrong.
The fact that my first address to you comes from a consulate on foreign soil is a testament to our changed reality.
Not only Americans, but people all around the globe are now guests in the nations we once called The Third World.
In our time of need, they have taken us in and sheltered us.
And I am deeply grateful for their hospitality.
~President
*****
Prof. Hall: We found evidence of a cataclysmic climate shift, which occurred 10,000 years ago.
The concentration of these natural greenhouse gases in the ice cores indicates that runaway warming pushed earth into an ice age which lasted 2 centuries.
Delegation: I'm confused.
I thought you were talking about global warming, not an ice age.
Prof. Hall: Yes, it is a paradox, but global warming can trigger a cooling trend. Let me explain.
The Northern Hemisphere owes its climate to the North Atlantic Current.
Heat from the sun arrives at the equator and is carried north by the ocean.
But global warming is melting the polar ice caps and disrupting this flow.
Eventually it will shut down.
And when that occurs, there goes our warm climate.
Delegation: Excuse me, when do you think this could happen, professor? When?
Prof. Hall: I don't know. Maybe in 100 years, maybe in 1,000.
But what I do know is, that if we do not act soon, our children and grandchildren will have to pay the price.
Vice President: And who's going to pay the price of the Kyoto Accord?
It would cost the world's economy hundreds of billions of dollars.
Prof. Hall: With all due respect, Mr. Vice President, the cost doing nothing could be even higher.
Our climate is fragile.
At the rate we're burning fossil fuels and polluting the environment, the ice caps will soon disappear.
Vice President: Professor Hall, our economy is every bit as fragile as the environment.
Perhaps you should keep that in mind before making sensationalist claims.
Prof. Hall: The last chunk of ice that broke off was about the size of Rhode Island.
Some people might call that pretty sensational.
Tom: I know you're good at rubbing people the wrong way,
but why would you aggravate the vice president?
Prof. Hall: Because my 17-year-old kid knows more science than he does.
Tom: Perhaps. But your 17-year-old kid does not control our budget.
Prof. Hall: What about the North Atlantic Current?
Tom: What about it?
Prof. Hall: I got a call last night from Professor Rapson at the Hedland Center.
He thinks the current has changed.
Science Officer: Oh, come on, Jack, how could that be?
Prof. Hall: The current depends upon a balance of salt and freshwater.
Tom: We all know that.
Prof. Hall: Yes, but no one knows how much freshwater has been dumped into the ocean because of melting polar ice.
I think we've hit a critical desalinization point.
Janet: It would explain what's driving this extreme weather.
Prof. Hall: Hedland had some pretty convincing data.
They've asked me to feed it into my paleoclimate model to track the next events.
Tom: Are you suggesting these weather anomalies are gonna continue?
Prof. Hall: Not just continue. Get worse.
I think we're on the verge of a major climate shift.
Prof. Hall: We just got these results from our simulation model.
They explain what's causing this weather.
Vice President: I'll read it later. I have a meeting with the director of FEMA right now.
Prof. Hall: This is very urgent.
Our climate is changing violently. It will happen over the next 6 to 8 weeks.
Vice President: You said this wouldn't happen for another 100 years or so.
Prof. Hall: I was wrong.
Vice President: Well, suppose you're wrong this time.
Prof. Hall: I wish I were, but you're aware of what's happening all around the world.
Vice President: We're making all the necessary preparations for this storm.
What more do you expect?
Prof. Hall: You have to start thinking about large-scale evacuations right now.
Especially in the northern states.
Vice President: Evacuations? Have you lost your mind, Hall?
I have to go.
Prof. Hall: Mr. Vice President, if we don't act now, it's going to be too late.
[over the phone]
Prof. Rapson: What I'm about to say is supposed to be confidential.
Several hours ago, 3 helicopters went down over Scotland.
They crashed because the fuel in their lines froze.
Prof. Hall: At what temperature does...
Prof. Rapson: Negative 150 degrees Fahrenheit. We had to look it up.
The temperature dropped phenomenally fast.
On the ground, people froze before they could get out of their cars even.
When this storm is over, we'll be in a new Ice Age.
~Jack Hall
Prof. Hall: What can we do?
Prof. Rapson: Save as many as you can.
Thanks for coming back for me.
It was really brave.
~Laura Chapman
Sam: What is going on out there, Dad?
Prof. Hall: Sam, listen to me carefully.
Forget what I said about trying to head south, it's too late for that.
The storm is gonna get worse.
It's gonna turn into a massive blizzard with an eye in the center, like a huge hurricane.
Only the air will be so cold, you could freeze to death in seconds.
Sam: What should we do?
Prof. Hall: Do not go outside. Burn whatever you can to stay warm, and try to wait it out.
I will come for you. Do you understand me? I will come for you.
Sam, as Laura hugs him: What are you doing?
Laura: I'm using my body heat to warm you.
If we let the blood from your arms and legs rush back to your heart too quickly, your heart could fail.
Sam: Where do you learn that?
Laura: Some of us were actually paying attention in health class.
Prof. Hall: The basic rule of storms is they continue until the imbalance that created them is corrected.
In this case, we're talking about a global realignment.
This superstorm will last 7 to 10 days.
When it's over, ice and snow will cover the entire northern hemisphere.
The ice and snow will reflect sunlight.
The earth's atmosphere will restabilize with an average temperature close to that of the last Ice Age.
General: What can we do about this?
Prof. Hall: Head as far south as possible.
Vice President: That is not amusing, professor.
Secretary: Where do you suggest they go?
Prof. Hall: The farther south they go, the safer they'll be.
Texas. Parts of Florida that aren't flooded. Mexico would be best.
Vice President: Mexico? Maybe you should stick to science and leave policy to us.
Tom: We tried that approach.
You didn't want to hear about the science when it could have made a difference.
President: What exactly are you proposing, professor?
Prof. Hall: Evacuate everyone south of that line. [draw the line on the map]
President: What about the people in the north?
Prof. Hall: I'm afraid it's too late for them.
If they go outside, the storm will kill them.
At this point, their best chance is to stay inside, try to ride it out, pray.
Vice President: We can't evacuate half the country because one scientist thinks the climate is shifting.
Secretary: Every minute we delay costs lives.
Vice President: What about the other half of the country?
Secretary: If Professor Hall is right about this storm patterns,
sending troops north will create more victims.
We need to save the people we can right now.
General: We take the same approach in triage on the battlefield.
Sometimes it's necessary to make difficult choices.
Vice President: I don't accept abandoning half the country as necessary.
Tom: Maybe if you listened to him sooner, it wouldn't be.
Vice President: Bullshit! It's easy for him to suggest this plan, he's safely here in Washington.
Tom: His son is in Manhattan.
I thought you should know that before you start questioning his motives.
Tina: What have you got there?
Bernie: A Gutenberg Bible. It was in the rare books room.
Tina: You think God's gonna save you?
Bernie: No, I don't believe in God.
Tina: You're holding onto that Bible pretty tight.
Bernie: I'm protecting it.
This Bible is the first book ever printed. It represents the dawn of the age of reason.
As far as I'm concerned, the written word is mankind's greatest achievement.
[Tina smirks]
You can laugh.
But if western civilization is finished, I'm gonna save at least one little piece of it.
Jason: What do you think's gonna happen to us?
Prof. Hall: What do you mean?
Jason: I mean us, civilization, everybody.
Prof. Hall: Mankind survived the last Ice Age.
We're certainly capable of surviving this one.
All depends on whether or not we're able to learn from our mistakes.
These past few weeks have left us all with a profound sense of humility in the face of nature's destructive power.
For years, we operated under the belief that we could continue consuming our planet's natural resources without consequence.
We were wrong. I was wrong.
The fact that my first address to you comes from a consulate on foreign soil is a testament to our changed reality.
Not only Americans, but people all around the globe are now guests in the nations we once called The Third World.
In our time of need, they have taken us in and sheltered us.
And I am deeply grateful for their hospitality.
~President
*****
