A period of rapid global warming occurred 55 million years ago, with an abrupt change in vegetation from forest to swamps in the northern Great Plains. Check out the Science Museum of Minnesota exhibit and website on "When Crocodiles Ruled".
I recommend going to the article at: <http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4900768/> and clicking through the interactive on the greenhouse effect. ------------------------------------------------------------- Scientists warm up to �Day After Tomorrow� They hope it will spread awareness about global warming Brace yourself. After decades spent tackling volcanoes, aliens, earthquakes, asteroids and every other disaster imaginable, Hollywood has turned its attention to one of the hottest scientific and political issues of the day: climate change. No one is pretending the forthcoming film �The Day After Tomorrow� is anything but implausible: In the $125 million movie, global warming triggers a cascade of events that practically flash freeze the planet. It�s an abruptness no one believes possible, least of all the filmmakers behind the 20th Century Fox release. �It�s very cinematic to choose the worst-case scenario, which we did,� said co-screenwriter Jeffrey Nachmanoff. Raising global warming awareness Nonetheless, scientists are embracing the movie, unusual for those whose stock in trade is fact. �My first reaction was, �Oh my God, this is a disaster because it is such a distortion of the science. It will certainly create a backlash,�� said Dan Schrag, a Harvard University paleoclimatologist. �I have sobered up somewhat, because the public is probably smart enough to distinguish between Hollywood and the real world.� He now hopes the movie will do for interest in global warming what �Jurassic Park� did for dinosaurs. In the new movie, due for release Memorial Day weekend, global warming melts the polar caps, sending torrents of fresh water into the world�s salty oceans. That flood in turn chills a major current in the north Atlantic and tips the planet into a new Ice Age. Quickly unleashed is every type of violent weather that filmmakers could cram into the movie, directed by Roland Emmerich of �Independence Day� fame. Most were invoked as an excuse to use cutting-edge special effects, Nachmanoff said. Scripps Institution of Oceanography marine physicist Tim Barnett, who�s seen an extended trailer of the film, said even slower-moving change can wreak massive havoc. Scientists point out that even subtle changes in precipitation patterns can have drastic effects on civilizations unable to pick up and move, wholesale, their farms and cities. Most scientists agree that climate change is occurring and that human activity � most notably, the burning of fossil fuels � has an effect. ... ... �To have a major studio release of a movie tackling a serious issue is a terrific opportunity for Americans to start talking about the reality of the problem, what can be done about it and the enormous threat that President Bush is not dealing with,� said Peter Schurman, Moveon.org�s executive director. Producer Mark Gordon hopes his movie will make people think. He stressed it wasn�t made to suit an agenda, but he clearly reveled in the stir it�s caused. �From the box-office point of view, controversy is good. It makes people talk about it,� he said. �You couldn�t buy this kind of publicity.� SOURCE: <http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4900768/ View the movie's introduction at: http://www.thedayaftertomorrowmovie.com/ Pat Neuman Chanhassen ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! _______________________________________________ Twin Cities Metropolitan Issues Forum http://www.e-democracy.org/tcmetro Rules: Sign posts with real name. You may not post more than twice a day.
