Ethan Cantlin
IHSS 1240: Environment and Politics
September 2, 2015
Film Annotation of “Earth: The Operator’s Manual”
1. The film, Earth: The Operator’s Manual, released in 2011, was written and directed by
Geoff Haines-Stiles.
2. The central argument of this film is that due to the nature of the Earth, climate change is
unavoidable and is a historical pattern that we can see repeated multiple times in the
history of the planet, but human civilization, particularly in the past century, has brought
us to a point previously unseen in the pattern.
3. Throughout the film, various forms of Earth Science are used to illustrate the pattern of
the planet’s climate history, from ice cores layers themselves to the analysis of the air
bubbles trapped in the layers. There are significant amounts of data provided in the film
to support the argument, most notably the ppm graph of CO2 overlaid with the
corresponding graph of global average temperature to demonstrate the effects of humans
in the past 200 years compared to the established patter of the past 400,000 years.
References to floods, fires, refugees, and famine appeal to the emotions of the viewers —
alluding to the chaos that would ensue if climate change continues unchecked.
4. There were several stakeholders described and portrayed in the film, but there were two
main categories into which all stakeholders fell. The first is the expert stakeholders, the
scientists and others with positions of authority and knowledge, such as the host, Richard
Alley, Rear Admiral David Titley, Annise Parker, Peggy Liu, Marty Schoenbauer, and
Brigadier General Robert Hedelund, who understand the science behind climate change
and what can be done to ease its effects. These people’s hold positions of authority in
large organizations or institutions that have large impacts on global emissions, this being
their stake in the matter. The other grouping was the more common person, someone with
whom the average viewer could connect. These were the ranchers who turned their
traditional farms into wind farms, and the small town mayor who helped convince his
community to adopt a clean energy initiative that revitalized the area. The stakes these
people have are much more direct, for they feel the effects of climate change in their
daily lives as their farms suffer from drought and erosion.
5. As discussed above, the section of film containing the ice core analysis and the graph
showing correlation between CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and the global
average temperature was the most persuasive and compelling. This is because it has as
visual of patterns the Earth operated in before organized human civilization (before
50,000 years ago) and the new pattern the Earth has begun in the past few centuries of
human civilization. Additionally, the section discusses possible causes for the sudden
spike of CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere, and uses analysis of the carbon molecules
to determine the origin of the molecules. In short, it shows that the carbon is from plants
(carbon-12) but not from plants alive in the past 50,000 years (there is no spike in
radioactive carbon-14), meaning that the extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the
result of our burning of petroleum products. This section describes and displays how
without question, the enormous spike of over 100 ppm of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere is caused by humans, and that we are responsible for changing it if we want
life as we know it on Earth to continue.
6. While discussing the available options for alternatives to fossil fuels the film covers
biofuels, particularly focusing on sugarcane and corn. While biofuel is an option, the
section failed to convince me of its validity, as wasting valuable food crops, or land that
could be used for food crops, to make fuel for our cars seems like a step sideways —
failing to solving one problem while creating a host of others. Burning biofuel still
creates pollution and poses the moral issue of growing enough food for everyone or
growing enough fuel for the wealthy. It seems that the best solution would be to create a
new system of transportation, or of propulsion, that doesn’t rely on combustion— this
would avoid the pollution and the debate of food vs fuel.
7. The film best addresses young people in America, as its statistics focus heavily on
America compared to other developed nations. Additionally, the information presented in
the section on alternative energies targets places and resources around the world, but
discusses how they could be applied to America, such as the hydropower dams of South
America, the wind farms of Texas, and the ethanol of Brazil and the U.S. The necessity
of changing our environmental deplorable habits is directed at Americans, specifically
those who are young enough to change things during their lifetimes.
8. The film could have incorporated a background of the industrial revolution to emphasize
how drastically things have changed in the past 200 years. This would serve as a lens for
the information presented in the film, showing the negative environmental side-effects of
human innovation. Additionally, the film could have gone into greater depth about what
humans can do to improve our current situation, thereby promoting the kind of activity
and change we would like to see in the world.
9. The film suggests that we make a switch to cleaner, more environmentally friendly forms
of energy, and that we begin to make the switch quickly, before the effects are
irreversible. We must consider all options, and look most closely at what forms of
alternative energy would be most beneficial for our state, region, or country.
10. After watching this film, I followed up on the alternative energy potential of the United
States in solar, wind, and hydropower. I found that the Great Plains could provide
between 13 and 16 times the current energy demand from wind (McElroy et al.) (Lopez
et al.). Solar power in the Southwest could provide approximately 100 times the current
energy consumption of the U.S. and hydropower could provide one tenth of the energy
consumption (Lopez et al.). I also looked at geothermal energy and its applicability in the
U.S. There are many places with potential for geothermal, mainly on the west coast, but
options exist for the homeowner in the Northeast as well (“Geothermal Energy”). Finally,
I followed up on alternatives to ethanol, and found several different kind of propulsion
systems for cars that do not rely upon combustion. One idea is to use compressed air and
an onboard electric compressor to power the vehicle up to 100 miles on a tank (“Zero
Pollution Motors”).
Bibliography
"Geothermal Energy." NRDC: Renewable Energy for America: Geothermal. 2010. Accessed
September 2, 2015.
Lopez, Anthony, Billy Roberts, Donna Heimiller, Nate Blair, and Gian Porro. "U.S. Renewable
Energy Technical Potentials: A GIS-Based Analysis." National Renewable Energy Labrotory.
July 1, 2012. Accessed September 2, 2015.
McElroy, Michael, Juha Kiviluoma, and Xi Lu. "Global Potential for Wind-Generated
Electricity." Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard. 2009. Accessed September 2, 2015.
"Zero Pollution Motors." Zero Pollution Motors. 2015. Accessed September 2, 2015.