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Thursday, April 22, 2021
NASA/NOAA/GOES Project Earth Day 2021: Road to Recovery - Descriptive Transcript
[American Museum of Natural History logo animates out over an illustration of the rotating Earth.]
[TEXT: Earth Day 2021: Road to Recovery
[TEXT: This Earth Day, we’re in the midst of the worst global pandemic in a century.]
[Earth dissolves into a spiky coronavirus the same diameter as the globe.]
[TEXT: The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on everyone.]
[The coronavirus becomes an empty circle. An abstract figure peers through and looks sad, as if trapped inside.]
[TEXT: Half the world’s population—3.9 billion people—experience lockdown. Source: AFP]
[A “We’re closed” sign swings inside the circle, representing a shuttered business.]
[TEXT: 8.8% of working hours were lost, the equivalent of 255m full-time jobs. Source: ILO]
[Screen goes blank.]
[TEXT: Over 140 million people got sick. 3m people died.]
[TEXT: By mid-April 2021, 140m people had tested positive and 3m deaths were officially attributed to Covid-19 globally. Source: JHU]
[TEXT: The global economy slowed down.]
[TEXT: In 2020, the global economy shrunk 4.3%. Source: World Bank]
[Globe reappears on centerscreen. Airplanes are flying around it.]
[SOUNDS OF A FLIGHT ATTENDANT SPEAKING TO PASSENGERS]
[TEXT: In 2020, international tourism fell 74%. Source: UNWTO]
[Most airplanes disappear. Then all planes are replaced by abstract factories circling the globe.]
[SOUNDS OF MOTORS]
[TEXT: Manufacturing fell 8%. Source: UNIDO]
[Some factories disappear. Then all factories are replaced by abstract ships circling the globe.]
[SOUND OF SHIP HORN]
[TEXT: There was a 9% drop in trade. Source: WTO]
[Some ships disappear. Then the globe is replaced by a flickering flame.]
[TEXT: In 2020, energy demand fell. Gas: -3%]
[A shovel scoops up some glowing coal.]
[SOUND OF SHOVELING]
[TEXT: Coal: -7%]
[A gas nozzle drips]
[SOUND OF DRIPPING]
[TEXT: Oil: -9%]
[TEXT: Global energy use fell 4% in 2020, including for natural gas (-2.5%), coal (-4%) and oil (-8.6%). Source: IEA]
[A line graph is drawn, showing mostly rising CO2 emissions since 1940, with a significant dip in 2020.]
[TEXT: As a result, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions experienced their biggest drop in history. 7% Source: Carbon Brief]
[TEXT: Global CO2 emissions fell 2.4 billion tonnes in 2020, the largest decline in history and a 7% reduction compared to 2019.]
[The graph is extended to 2030, and a dashed line indicates a continued steep decline in CO2 emissions.]
[TEXT: To meet the Paris Agreement targets to limit global warming, we would need to cut CO2 every year through 2030.]
[TEXT: To limit warming to under 2°C this century, we must cut CO2 4-7% (1-2 Gt) every year for the next decade. Source: Nature]
[An airplane flies past and the graph is replaced by an abstract person.]
[TEXT: When we emerge from the pandemic, human activity will pick up again. Can we still cut greenhouse gases?]
[The person shrugs.]
[The music changes to a faster, more upbeat tune as the word “Yes” takes up most of the screen.]
[TEXT: Yes. If we act now to:]
[Solutions are listed one by one, from the bottom of the list to the top.]
[TEXT: Dispose of refrigerants properly. Use cleaner cookstoves. Restore tropical forests. Invest in health & education. Switch to plant-rich diets. Reduce food waste. Shift to renewable energy.]
[TEXT: To learn about solutions, visit Project Drawdown at drawdown.org.]
[Graph appears. On the x-axis are the years 2009 through 2019. On the y-axis is the price of electricity. An animated wind turbine and solar panel move across the graph and each draws on a line with a descending slope. The prices of both wind and solar energy are declining over time.]
[TEXT: The shift to renewable energy is happening much faster than expected, as costs plummet.]
[The solar and wind icons are joined by a flickering flame, representing gas, and a glowing pile of coal. Each as a price under it, given in dollars per megawatt-hour.]
[TEXT: Solar: $40, Wind: $41, Gas: $56, Coal: $109. $/MWh. Source: Our World in Data]
[Graph moves off screen and is replaced by a piggy bank.]
[TEXT: Institutions are divesting from fossil fuels]
[TEXT: By 2020, 1,200 institutions with $14 trn in assets had moved investments away from the fossil fuel industry. Source: Fossil Free]
[Dollar signs pour from the bottom of the piggy bank and fill up bars in a bar chart.]
[SOUNDS OF COINS PILING UP]
[TEXT: and investing more sustainably.]
[Bar chart shows steadily increasing investment between 2006 and 2020.]
[TEXT: By 2020, 3,038 institutions with $103 trn in assets had pledged to incorporate sustainability principles into investment decisions. Source: PRI]
[Bar chart scrolls off screen. A high-speed train passes through a rural scene with wind turbines, solar panels and trees. It arrives in a city, where lights click on in buildings, representing the use of renewable energy.]
[TEXT: Renewable energy can power new jobs, industries, and a more resilient global economy]
[Cityscape is replaced with bubbles filling the screen and then floating away.]
[TEXT: while lowering the costs of climate change and air pollution, and saving millions of lives.]
[TEXT: Every year an estimated 8m people die prematurely from air pollution, including outdoor (4.2m) and indoor (3.8m) air pollution. Source: WHO]
[The screen clears and an abstract human figure takes center stage.]
[TEXT: The pandemic has shown we can: Change our behaviors quickly]
[The figure wears a face mask.]
[TEXT: The pandemic has shown we can: Innovate]
[A hypodermic needle appears and a vaccine is injected into the figure’s arm.]
[TEXT: The pandemic has shown we can: Work together to meet big challenges]
[The figure is joined by other abstract people of different shades of color. They bump elbows. The figures move off screen and the globe returns to the center.]
[TEXT: What will future Earth Days look like? Together, we decide.]
[Credits roll.]
11 am | Animal Tales with American Lore Theater
1 pm | Astronomy Online: From Sun to Sea Life
2 pm | The Scientist is In: Conservation in Action
3 pm | Earth Day Dance Party
7 pm | Frontiers Lecture: Unlocking Climate Data in Corals
11 am–Noon See this event on Facebook.
In this family-friendly program featuring live performers, puppetry, animation, and music, Coyote tells the tales of three different animal species in North America: an orca, a softshell turtle, and a spider.
Discover how these species are represented in Indigenous folklore as well as in modern stories in this special presentation, which illuminates our cultural relationship with these species and illustrates the major threats and conservation hurdles they face.
Written and performed by Charlotte Ahlin, Isabella Madrigal, and Elise Wien. Music by The Lobbyists. Art by Liz Pavlovic and animation by Myra Su.
1–1:45 pm See this event on Youtube.
How does Earth’s climate system impact its ecosystems?
This Earth Day, take a virtual flight around the world with Museum Curator Nathalie Goodkin in the Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences and observe how our Sun, atmosphere, and ocean work together to create the weather we experience today and our climate over time.
Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, and climate evolved in ways that greatly impact life on our planet. From vantage points of satellites observing Earth, witness phenomena like the El Niño Southern Oscillation and learn about the deep-rooted connection between ocean currents and life using the OpenSpace visualization platform.
Support for Hayden Planetarium Programs is provided by the Horace W. Goldsmith Endowment Fund.
2–2:45 pm See this event on Facebook.
How do scientists learn to understand and protect the Earth?
Scientists from the Museum’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation present their exciting research in this family-friendly program.
Learn about new methods to track turtles (think turtle backpacks!) with Suzanne Macey, discover how the relationship between predators and prey affects restoration of wetlands with Alex Moore, check out how new technology can help count and identify animals from images and video with Peter Ersts, and explore how people of different cultural traditions care for and protect habitats with Puaʻala Pascua.
Join us to hear these scientists share stories from their work and answer your questions!
3-4 pm
It's time to celebrate the Earth—and everyone is invited!
Hosted by Party Like Brooklyn, this all-ages dance party is designed to cheer for all the things that make our planet great. Expect special effects, catchy tunes, and interactive games at this online after-school dance special.
7-8 pm
Join us for a special Earth Day edition of the Museum’s Frontiers Lecture series with Museum Curator Nathalie Goodkin as she unpacks how sea surface temperatures, salinity, and ocean circulation systems change over time and are critical to forecasting climate in the future.
Today’s climate is driven by the Earth’s ocean conveyer belt, which moves water from the tropics to the poles and through ocean basins. The only point of tropical water exchange on the planet occurs through the Maritime Continent, which spans from East Asia to Australia and consists of several archipelagos and shallow seas. Our knowledge of this region is limited by scarce instrumental data despite its importance in heat transfer and monsoon formation.
But there is another way to peek into the climate past. Find out how marine geochemists use a surprising hydrographic data repository in corals to gain insights into climate activity over seasons and decades, even hundreds of years.
More Resources
The Museum has many evergreen resources for learning about Earth Day, biodiversity, and climate. Here’s a selection to explore:
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AMNH’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.