Reading for Environmental Science Above all, global warming looms as a grave threat. The United States, with less than 5 percent of the world's
population, accounts for 25
percent of global energy consumption, primarily from fossil fuels widely viewed as contributing to global warming, A 2005 EPA study
found significant increases in average U. S. motor vehicle emissions since 1980, mainly because federal emissions standards exempted
light trucks and SUVs.
A-Z
Hollywood filmmakers both reflected and contributed to global warming fears. In Kevin Costner's Waterworld (1995), rising sea levels
inundate the whole world except for a few Islands-former mountain peaks-where isolated communities struggle to survive. In The Day
After Tomorrow (2004), a scientist (Dennis Quaid) witnesses a massive collapse of the Antarctic ice shelf while studying ice cores. He
tries desperately to warn the world and to save his son as the Atlantic engulfs New York City. While such popular culture productions
heightened public awareness of global warming, critics charged that they exploited the issue while wildly distorting the actual risks.
From: Paul S. Boyer and others, The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People, 7th ed. (Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011), 994-995.
Select the three best preview questions for this reading assignment. Check all that apply.
How has Hollywood responded to the debate over global warming?
Why does America use more fossil fuels than other countries?
What is global warming?
Did the production of The Day After Tomorrow contribute in any way to the problem of global warming?
Does Kevin Costner make more money than Dennis Quaid?