BEFORE THE FLOOD VIDEO WORKSHEET

All questions are in the order they appear in the video. Timings for when to answer
the questions are listed below each question (Time into film / Time to end of film).
You will be asked to write a response within the time listed between each question.

You may use point form for these answers.

1.How were human caused mass extinctions in the past (Dodo, Passenger pigeon,
etc) different from what is happening today? (0:07:30 into / 1:28:30 to end)

In the past human caused mass extinctions were made by hunters and travellers who
didn’t know that they were harming the species or the environment but, now we are
doing this knowingly and on such a larger scale.

2. Explain how our search for cheap energy in fossil fuels has changed in the last
two decades. How has this changed the environment? (0:09:00 into / 1:27:00 to
end)

In the last two decades we have gone to extreme measurements in searching for cheap
energy in fossil fuels, for example, mountaintop removal for coal, fracking for natural
gas, and offshore drilling for oil. This has impacted our environment very much because
we are poisoning our lakes and oceans, cutting down forests and trees, and destroying
literal mountains.

3. How has the ice of the Baffin Islands changed during the hunters’ lifetime?
(0:13:30 into / 1:22:30 to end)

In the hunters’ lifetime the ice of the Baffins Islands changed from blue, rock-hard to a
soft ice-cream type consistency.

4. What happened to the weather station in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland?

(0:17:30 into / 1:18:30 to end)

The weather station in Greenland used to be 30ft under the ice but in just 5 years the ice
has melted and now the weather station is above the ice.

5. In Florida what does the term “Sunny Day Flooding” mean?

(0:20:00 into / 1:16:00 to end)
The term “Sunny Day Flooding” refers to rising sea water backtracking into the streets
and city of Florida.

6. Why do we ignore climate change? What does science have to say?

(0:23:00 into / 1:13:00 to end)
We ignore climate change because politicians make it seem like climate change is not a
significant problem and they don’t want to acknowledge climate change as a problem
because politicians want to reel in the money from industrying. Science has to say that
climate change is caused by the burning of fossil fuels and our actions as humans.

7. Who is funding anti-climate change propaganda? Why would they do this?

(0:25:00 into / 1:11:00 to end)

Fossil fuel interests are funding the anti-climate change propaganda. They are doing this
because they don’t want to lose any money they make from fossil fuels.

8. How is China addressing these environmental issues?

(0:31:30 into / 1:04:30 to end)

China has made all power plants go totally public and now the power plants are under
the control of the public. All 9,000 major factories in China have to be monitored and give
out a report every hour to tell the public how much pollution they are producing. If the
factories do not meet the standard then the public can rally against them. China has also
switched to wind and solar power.

9. What concerns the Indian government more than addressing climate change?
(0:33:30 into / 1:02:30 to end)

The thing that concerns the Indian government more than addressing climate change is
poverty. Since 30% of the population in India don’t have access to power.

10. Give an explanation of why the Pacific Island Nations will be the first hit by
climate change.
(0:41:00 into / 0:55:00 to end)

The Pacific Island Nations will be the first hit by climate change because they are already
living on the ocean so, as sea levels rise the water will start to engulf the islands and in
the near future the island nations will be underwater.

11. What does the ocean do for our climate / society? Why is it not doing this job?
(0:43:30 into / 0:53:30 to end)

The ocean provides fish for over one billion people and takes in ⅓ of the carbon dioxide
produced by humans. The ocean can’t do its job fast enough because there is so much
carbon dioxide in the air.

12. Explain why and how forests store carbon. Why are the forests of Indonesia
being destroyed?
(0:46:00 into / 0:51:00 to end)
Forests store carbon so that they can provide us with oxygen and keep the carbon from
being spread into the atmosphere. They do this by breathing in carbon dioxide and
storing it inside leaves, trunks and organic matter so they can breathe out oxygen in
return.

13. Give a reason that reducing the amount of beef one might consume would lower
one’s carbon footprint.
(0:51:00 into / 0:46:00 to end)

If you reduce beef consumption or switch it out with an alternative lets say, for example,
chicken. Chicken only requires 20% of the land used for beef production and only
releases 10% the amount of methane produced by cattle. By doing this you are lowering
your carbon footprint by 80-90%.