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We’ve known that Mother Nature can be cruel, but leave it to Tinsel Town to make environmental chaos cool.
In The Day After Tomorrow, a fast-action flick about a human-induced ecological disaster on a planetary scale, tornadoes twist through Los Angeles. New Delhi is inundated by a giant snowstorm. Grapefruit-sized hail bombards Tokyo. And no good sci-fi/disaster movie can refrain without crippling New York once more, this time with an ice age.
While many critics say the movie is scientifically suspect, that didn't deter Memorial Day weekend theater audiences from spending more than $86 million to check out Hollywood’s walk-in message about global warming.
While there’s both a scientific and political whirlwind of debate surrounding global warming, climate experts and technologists have been looking into "what if" scenarios that might curb abrupt climate change.
Ecosystems versus "egosystems"
As countries, political camps, and action groups debate the seriousness of global warning threats, there have been a steady-stream of scientific studies calling attention to the issue.
As example, a recent report from the National Academies' National Research Council (NRC) says greenhouse warming and other human alterations of the climate system may increase the possibility of large, rapid, and unwelcome regional or global climatic events.
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