Carbon Dioxide Emissions In The Film Back To The Future

In the classic American film Back to the Future, main character Marty McFly asks, “What happens to us in the future?” (Zemeckis). By simply using electricity to watch this movie or drive automobiles to go about daily business, all the people inhabiting this planet escalate a global crisis that will alter the answer of that simple question for eternity. Climate change poses a real and present danger that affects every citizen in the world, including the generations to come. Sadly, this problem cannot be solved by going back in time, like Marty McFly, and changing the past. The balance of the planet depends upon the action or inaction of its citizens at this very moment to lessen their carbon dioxide emissions. These emissions act as an insulator
around the Earth, trapping in excess thermal energy, which influences climate ("Climate Change: Basic Information."). If the amount of carbon emissions lowers considerably, the human race can effectively delay climate change, making Earth more habitable for every organism to ever live on its surface. In order for humans to change their ways, it must first be understood that humans are responsible for the large emissions of carbon dioxide that are the root of this cataclysmic issue.
Just by going about daily activities, a person’s carbon footprint grows considerably. Author Richard Conniff says, “Experts on greenhouse-gas emissions tell me that every time my car burns a gallon of gasoline, I am putting more than 25 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as well as a smaller amount of methane, nitrous oxide, and various other toxic gases” (Conniff 869). Even household machinery, like televisions, computers, stoves and washing machines, some of which eat up sixty percent of electricity when they are not even in use, create a gigantic amount of carbon emissions. Considering that the average American home has grown to over two thousand square feet, around thirty thousand pounds of carbon dioxide are being emitted from each household per day. Multiply the amount of carbon emissions per household by the large amount of nuclear households in the world, and it is obvious that humans are responsible for a large portion of climate change, if not the whole (Conniff). Al Gore also reports that atmospheric carbon dioxide has been steadily increasing since 1958, reaffirming this affirmation (An Inconvenient Truth: A Global
Warning). Being that humans put out a substantial amount of carbon, Earth’s climate has changed catastrophically, creating irregular temperatures and weather patterns.
In An Inconvenient Truth, Gore shares a striking amount of graphs and models representing theses changes. For instance, ocean temperatures have raised to be significantly larger than the accepted average. The warmer the water, the more intense and frequent storms are, which explains such tragedies as Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, that killed, injured and displaced thousands of Americans. But humans are not the only organisms impacted. Climate change also affects the ecosystem in which wildlife live, mainly by the change in seasons. The melting of the polar ice caps rids polar bears of their habitats. The hatching of the Black Tern no longer coincides with the hatching of insects, thanks to the change in seasons, so several Black Tern chicks starve. Everything on Earth interconnects, so a change in climate impacts all life. Humans, being the creatures who created this mess, have the responsibility not just to themselves or their children, but to all life forms, to change their ways and combat climate change (An Inconvenient Truth: A Global
Warning). Like all political issues, disagreement always runs rampant--climate change being no exception. In Edmund Contonski’s article, “Global Warming, Global Myth,” he claims that global cooling has increased since 1998, although the atmospheric carbon dioxide content has increased between fifteen to twenty percent, thus making global warming unreal. The claim reigns somewhat true, due to the phrase global warming being a misnomer. The correct and underused term is climate change. The excess of carbon emissions creates changes in weather patterns, which involves both global warming and cooling because the word climate encompasses them all, rendering his point moot (Contoski). It is beyond a reasonable doubt that climate change, both warming and cooling, are being caused by humans emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, affecting all organisms on Earth. History has already been written. But the future of our planet depends upon the human race taking action to make Earth a habitable place for future generations. In the words of Joe Lieberman, “[Climate change] is not a conqueror to kneel before - but a challenge to rise to. A challenge we must rise to” (Joe Lieberman Quote). Sure, the truth might be inconvenient, but humans do not have to travel back in time and change their ways. They can begin to change global history at this very moment, by simply using LED bulbs or turning off appliances when not in use. Simplicity can change the world. Can’t humans?