“Hunt for the Super Twister” Documentary
In the PBS documentary, “Hunt for the Super Twister,” a look into the destructive capability, methods of detection, and areas where they would most likely occur was showcased regarding twisters. When going over the video, the most obvious question that came to my mind was “why did they choose to live in such a location in the first place?” While such a question may seem a bit heartless in the face of deaths, destruction of property, and sheer heartbreak that comes as a result of a twister barrelling into the local neighborhood, it is still a valid response given that these people are putting their lives in danger. From a geographical perspective, living in “America’s Heartland,” where there is a high chance of twisters occurring is the equivalent of suicide given the potential for death. As seen in the PBS documentary, as compared to low-pressure areas, tropical depressions, typhoons, and other types of natural disasters, twisters are hard to predict since there is still very little what we know regarding the process behind their creation. All that is known is where they occur, how often, and what are the best ways that can be implemented to avoid them. Taking this into consideration, I feel that the residents that live in “tornado alley” are recklessly putting their lives in danger and should attempt to find a better place to live since their area is geographically one of the most dangerous places on Earth.
“Oklahoma’s Deadliest Tornadoes” Documentary
Similar to the 1st video “Hunt for the Super Twister,” the video “Oklahoma’s Deadliest Tornadoes” delves into the destructive capabilities of tornadoes and the various scientific teams that are attempting to understand how they work. Given that what’s at stake is the creation of a better early warning system that could help people evacuate much faster and thus save more lives, the exploits of the “storm chasers” in the video are truly remarkable. Though I still maintain the opinion that the people living in the tornado-prone areas of Oklahoma are being incredibly reckless with their lives and that they should move to a different region that is not as adversely impacted by the potential for their deaths to occur via a large tunnel of destructive air. After going over the other parts of the documentary, I did realize though that while from a geographical sense living in “tornado alley” is suicidal, yet from the perspective of people that have lived their entire lives in that area and have family and friends there as well as many memories, I began to understand why people continue to live in such areas despite the danger involved. It is based on this that I commend the storm chasers in their work and hope that their development of a better early warning system for tornadoes will bear fruit resulting in more lives being saved in the future.
NOVA: Inside the Megastorm
The video “Inside the Megastorm” delves into the impact of Hurricane Sandy on the East coast of the U.S. and how the storm surges, high winds, and sheer level of property devastation brought about by superstorm calls into question whether geographic areas that used to be considered as “safe” would now be under threat by massive storms. Through the documentary, it became evident that Hurricane Sandy had almost the same level of strength as Hurricane Katrina which resulted in massive property damage along the East coast. While it was shown that the infrastructure within New York and other affected states was built to withstand strong storms, “Sandy” was clearly above and beyond what the infrastructure was supposed to be capable of doing. Taking this into consideration, the video thus posits the idea that storms such as Sandy and Katrina could very well be the norm in the future and, as such, it would be necessary to determine whether the current infrastructure developments that are in place would be capable of handling storms of this magnitude. When taking the information in the documentary into consideration, I have to say that the way things are, at the present, if a superstorm were to hit a major U.S. city head-on, it is unlikely that the infrastructure could handle it. Evidence of this assertion can be seen in the case of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck wherein the levies that were designed to hold off the storm surges simply could not keep up with the sheer level of power generated by the storm.
Strange Days on Planet Earth: Episode 2 – The One Degree Factor
The video “Strange Days on Planet Earth: Episode 2 – The One Degree Factor” delved into how minor changes that can be easily glossed over can have a major impact on the weather and ecosystems within a particular geographic region. One example where this was evident was when the video delves into how a 1-degree change in temperature caused droughts to appear in various countries while on the other end of the spectrum resulting in stronger storms in other regions. Based on my perspective, I can assume that the reason behind such changes is because the world has a certain fine-tuned balance which results in the proper combination of temperatures and geographic regions to maintain proper conditions in which life can thrive.
Based on this, a single shift in temperature can shift the balance resulting in unknown potential after-effects, one of which manifests as the stronger storms and droughts, that have been affecting various countries. The theme of small things manifesting big changes is also clearly evident in the case of the termite infestation in New Orleans wherein despite the creature being so tiny, the lack of natural predators in the area has allowed the population to bloom resulting in considerable levels of property damage as termites eat into the wooden foundations of many homes. Taking this into consideration, I can state that when it comes to analyzing the Earth as we know it today, it is important to realize that even the smallest actions can have potentially disastrous consequences if proper precautions are not taken. Given that the level of pollution that humanity has been churning into the atmosphere has in part contributed to the rise in global temperatures, it can be stated that the sheer amount of natural disasters that are currently impacting various communities around the world are the result of our actions.
“Heat” Documentary
The video “HEAT” is an insightful look into the various issues surrounding energy production and the need to shift to renewable energy resources given the current impact of fossil fuel-based energy production. From a certain perspective, it can be seen that fossil fuels are a major contributor to the increase in global temperatures and, as such, alternative methods of energy production need to be pursued given the adverse effects of the current method of energy production that is popular within the U.S. The main issue with renewable energy resources though is that they are as of yet an unreliable form of main energy generation for a country.
There are three reasons behind this: renewable energy resources from a commercial energy standpoint are as of yet an unproven method of reliable energy production, how renewable energy is produced requires a high initial start-up cost, and finally, in terms of overall reliability only geothermal plants or hydroelectric dams are the only proven reliable sources of renewable energy both of which cannot be used in the U.S. on a mass scale due to the overall lack of the necessary areas to create them. Commercially speaking when comparing fossil fuel-burning power plants to either solar-powered arrays or wind turbines most energy producers would choose to construct a fossil fuel burning plant rather than a renewable energy production site. The reasoning behind this is simple, fossil fuel power plants simply require less space and produce more power compared to solar or wind-generated energy sources. All in all, I realize the need to shift to renewable energy resources, but it is necessary to make them commercially viable first.