The world today is remarkably different from how it was. There are
positive changes, such as improvements and developments in people's way of
living and the technologies used, but drastic negative changes are also
observable, such as climate change. Climate change is an earnest and concerning
problem in our world today. As defined by the United Nations, climate change
refers to "long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns where
these shifts may be natural, but since the 1800s, human activities have been
the main driver of climate change". It is a natural occurrence but has
worsened and severed due to people- who are also the one who suffers from it.
The TedTalk video of Al Gore titled "Al Gore: How to make radical climate
action the new normal | TED Countdown" encompasses and discusses the
causes and effects of climate change and what actions people should take to
mitigate it- a radical climate action. The video is a
relevant, understandable, and informative topic.
The video tackles the climate crisis, which is timely-relevant, and Al
Gore defines and highlights it as "the most serious manifestation of an
underlying collision between human civilization and the Earth's ecological
system." The Earth's ecological system is severely damaged due to
emissions of fossil fuels and carbon dioxide caused by humans. This results in
climate change, an increase in Earth's temperature, that shows disturbing
effects. According to the United Nations, these effects include severe
droughts, water famine, wildfires, increasing sea levels, flooding, destructive
storms, and declining biodiversity. One of these effects is the movement of
people to wild areas where animals live, which leads to the potential transfer
of viruses from animals to humans. As Al Gore mentioned, data from World Bank
states that three-fourths of new infecting diseases are zoonitic- transferred
from animals to humans like COVID-19. This leads him to answer his questions
about the fact that human activities result in disturbing effects, but
solutions are not widely distributed. The solution he presented is the wide
usage of renewable resources. Businesses, companies, and households should
switch to net zero or reduce the emission of greenhouse gases to the lowest
possible level (United Nations).
The video itself is understandable, visually appealing, and engaging to
watch. The presentation of images, videos, and graphs as visual aids makes it
more engrossing and helps the audience visualize the concepts presented.
Visuals enhance presentations, keep the audience's attention, clarify points,
and retain long-term memory in the audience (Presentation Training Institute,
2020). Alongside the visual presentation is the speaker, Al Gore, who
commendably delivers his speech. Al Gore speaks to the audience confidently and
professionally with minimal to no vocalized pauses. The way he talks, from the
tone, volume, and pace, emphasizes every point he wants to convey, attracting the
audience's attention, and not a single moment is dull. As Chris Miller (2020)
stated, "Good delivery is meant to augment your speech and help convey
your information to the audience," which Al Gore perfectly displays.
Furthermore, the ideas presented are well organized- from introducing the
climate crisis to stating the causes and effects and then stating the solutions
to mitigate climate change and make it a new normal.
The points and discussions provided by Al Gore are informative. He
provided information about how climate change happens and the causes and
effects, which supports and is relevant to his argument of the potential
solution for climate change. He presented his ideas and statements with
evidence from reliable sources, such as NASA, NOAA, World Bank, and many more.
An example is when he showed data from the International Energy Agency via
Carbon Brief about the spending of the oil and gas industry going to renewables
up to 4% and the other 96% still going to the oil and gas industry. Al Gore's
arguments, supporting evidence from reliable sources, and effective
communication can result in a high potential of persuading the audience to take
radical action against climate change. According to Miami University, the
quality and comprehensiveness of the supporting evidence directly influences
the persuasiveness of an argument. Furthermore, Al Gore addressed the other
perspective about the investments of companies in the oil and gas industry,
where they stated that they tripled the spending up to 4% for renewables, which
is not that good because, from another perspective, it does not compare to the
96% they spend on the oil and gas industry that has plastics or petrochemicals
as its highest market- which needs to be eliminated.
Overall, this TedTalk effectively presents and discusses climate change
and an effective advocacy for radical climate action. This video encompasses
all the relevant information with evidence from reliable sources about climate
change and conveys the message or persuades the audience to take action towards
climate change. Al Gore was able to explain how people should take immediate
action on this problem. Everyone should start mitigating the factors
contributing to this, start the healing process, and reach net zero, as Al Gore
emphasized. This video is extensively relevant to the current situation, and
people should respond to it.
References
Argument
support. Argument Support Handout | Howe Center for Writing Excellence -
Miami University. (n.d.). https://miamioh.edu/hcwe/handouts/supporting-argument/index.html#:~:text=Support%3A%20The%20statements%20that%20back,the%20more%20persuasive%20the%20argument.
Miller,
C. (2020, August 1). The importance of practicing delivery. Exploring
Communication in the Real World. https://cod.pressbooks.pub/communication/chapter/chapter-4-nonverbal-delivery-in-the-public-speaking-context/
Suzanne.
(2020, June 4). What is the importance of using visuals when giving a
presentation?. Presentation Training Institute. https://www.presentationtraininginstitute.com/what-is-the-importance-of-using-visuals-when-giving-a-presentation/
United
Nations. (n.d.-a). Key findings. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/key-findings#physical-science
United
Nations. (n.d.-b). Net zero coalition. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/net-zero-coalition
United
Nations. (n.d.-c). What is climate change?. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change
