When Motion Picture Becomes Real World

 Richael Lamendola 

Professor Horgan 

HST 401 

22 March 2023

When Motion Picture Becomes Real World

From 2012 to Twister to The Day after Tomorrow, the movie industry has kept you running back to theaters time and time again for your fair share of end-of-the-world natural disaster thrillers. Maybe you find comfort knowing that our world is safe and sound, while the fictional Earth goes up in flames on the cinema screen in front of you. Or maybe you like the sense of control of being able to experience a natural disaster without actually experiencing a natural disaster. But how would your enjoyment transform if I told you that the end of the world might not be very different from the fictional catastrophe unfolding in theaters?

Within the last 50 years, the number of weather-related natural disasters has increased by a factor of five. As reported by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), “a disaster  related to a weather, climate or water hazard occurred every day on average over the past 50 years…” But what is the reason for this dramatic increase in freak accidents of nature? The force responsible would be the same power to blame for reduced agricultural yields, ocean acidification, rising sea surface temperatures, and a multitude of other significant fluctuations in nature: climate change. 

As defined by Homeland Security, “natural disasters include all types of severe weather, which have the potential to pose a significant threat to human health and safety, property, critical infrastructure, and homeland security.” Between 1970 and 2019, approximately 11,000 disasters were reported, which resulted in 2 million deaths, with most of these having significant human influence. As humans continue to contribute to climate change, temperatures will continue to warm. As WMO Secretary, General Petteri Taalas, explained, “That means more heat waves, droughts and forest fires… We have more water vapor in the atmosphere which is exacerbating extreme rainfall and deadly flooding.” It was even discovered that the increase in sea temperature has impacted the frequency and area of tropical storms throughout the years. 

The natural disasters responsible for the most human deaths during the period between 1970 and 2019 were ranked droughts, storms, floods, and extreme temperature, with droughts topping off the list with 650,000 deaths. Not only does the increase in natural disasters result in mortality losses, but it also increases economic losses remarkably. The natural disasters that resulted in the biggest economic losses for the US were storms ($521 billion) and floods ($115 billion). As the WMO reports, Hurricanes Harvey, Maria, and Irma – all occurring in 2017 – were responsible for 35% of the total economic losses of the top 10 disasters from 1970 to 2019 across the world! 

Serious solutions to climate change must be performed on a global scale in order to have notable effects; however, there are individual changes we can all make to reduce our impact on the environment. Be mindful of your carbon footprint, decrease your road and air travel, lower food waste, reduce energy consumption from household appliances, etc. Countries can also prepare for the continuing severity of natural disasters by investing in proper infrastructure that can withstand increasing water levels and wind speeds, as well as working to upgrade allocated government spending for when climate-related disasters occur. 

While we can all enjoy an end-of-the-world natural disaster film, it is important to recognize that these cinematic ideas may one day become a reality unless real change takes place. By being mindful of our own impact on the environment, we can hopefully stabilize the increasing rate of natural disasters around the world. By doing so, we can allow the disaster films to remain just that: a feature film in theaters. 






















Citations

Acevedo, Sebastian, and Natalija Novta. “Climate Change Will Bring More Frequent Natural

Disasters & Weigh on Economic Growth.” IMF, 16 Nov. 2017, https://www.imf

.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2017/11/16/climate-change-will-bring-more-frequent-natural-disa

ters-weigh-on-economic-growth.

European Union. “Consequences of Climate Change.” European Commission,

https://climate.ec.europa.eu/climate-change/consequences-climate-change_en.

McDaniel, Eric. “Weather Disasters Have Become 5 Times As Common, Thanks In Part To

Climate Change.” NPR, NPR, 7 Sept. 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/09/07/1034607

602/weather-disasters-have-become-five-times-as-common-thanks-in-part-to-climate-cha

“Natural Disasters.” Homeland Security, 5 Oct. 2022, 

https://www.dhs.gov/natural-disasters#:~:text=Natural%20disasters%20include%20all%

0types,critical%20infrastructure%2C%20and%20homeland%20security.

“Weather-Related Disasters Increase over Past 50 Years, Causing More Damage but Fewer

Deaths.” World Meteorological Organization, 31 Aug. 2021, https://public.wmo.int

/en/media/press-release/weather-related-disasters-increase-over-past-50-years-causing-m

ore-damage-fewer. 

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