By: Areeba Tahreem
“Washed Away” is a documentary produced by Patricio Henriquez. It aims to show the negative ramifications of climate change, as two very different island communities, one in Alaska and one in the South Pacific are under threat from climate change. As global warming causes ocean levels to rise, these islands may be entirely submerged.
This documentary stood out to me as I am very interested in learning about climate change and this topic in general, so I thought it would be educational to watch a documentary on a topic I enjoy learning about. Additionally, science has provided numerous examples of proof to indicate the horrible effects of climate change and I believe this documentary does a great job of providing a great piece of scientific evidence as well.
The movie focuses on the rising water levels which then aid in eroding islands away and diminishing their communities on the islands as well. It aims to show that what may be deemed as an environmental issue also impacts the wellbeing of numerous populations of living organisms, including humans. Climate change is not an issue that should be disputed, as numerous scientific pieces of evidence prove that it is real and it is currently occurring as well.
The rising sea level is one of the many telltale signs of global warming. What occurs as a result of the increase in temperature globally, is that glaciers and ice sheets worldwide are melting and adding water to the ocean. Second, the volume of the ocean is expanding as the water warms. By doing so, the rising sea levels cause more issues, such as eroded islands, away from the islands and may even submerge in the following years if this significant rise in sea levels continues.
This documentary was a 5/10, the topic was interesting and the comparison between the islands was evident since similar effects were occurring on both islands in the documentary because of rising sea levels. I would recommend it to anyone wanting additional scientific proof for proof of climate change.
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 