The Day After Tomorrow

Vice-President Raymond Becker: And who's going to pay the price of the Kyoto accord? It would cost the world's economy hundreds of billions of dollars. Hall: With all due respect, Mr. Vice-President, the cost of doing nothing could be even higher. Our climate is fragile. At the rate we're burning fossil fuels and polluting the environment, the ice caps will soon disappear. Becker: Professor, uh, Hall, our economy is every bit as fragile as the environment. Perhaps you should keep that in mind before making sensationalist claims. Hall: Well, the last chunk of ice that broke off was about the size of the state of Rhode Island. Some people might call that pretty sensational. [Attendees chuckle]

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Terry Rapson: This is very odd. There's a buoy here registering a thirteen-degree drop in ocean temperature. Simon: Oh, yeah, that's right. That buoy malfunctioned the other day. I'll put a call in, see if there are any ships near George's Bank to get it. Rapson: This buoy isn't in George's Bank. It's just off Greenland. Simon: It is? [zooms the map out to show both buoys flashing] What are the odds of two buoys failing? Rapson: Remote. [A third one in a different area begins flashing] Make that three.

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Thomas "Tom" Gomez: Booker! What's going on, here? Booker: They just issued a tornado warning in Los Angeles. [Gomez, Jack and Janet head down to the TVs to get a look] FOX Anchorman: Breaking news as we prepare to go live to Los Angeles: mixed reports of some extreme weather occuring in the area. Booker: Report just came in. FOX Anchorman: All right, we're going to our FOX affiliate in Los Angeles. FOX Anchorwoman: We have live coverage now from our FOX 11 chopper. Are you there, Bart? Bart: Yes, I'm here. These tornadoes are forming so fast... [describes events] Oh, oh my God! Lisa, are you getting this on camera? This tornado just erased the Hollywood Sign! The Hollywood sign is gone; it's just shredded! FOX Anchorwoman: Bart, what can you see, is anyone hurt?

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Terry Rapson: [Over the phone] What I'm about to tell you is supposed to be confidential. Several hours ago, three helicopters went down over Scotland. They crashed because the fuel in their lines froze. Jack Hall: At what temperature does- Rapson: -150° Fahrenheit. I mean, we had to look it up! The temperature dropped phenomenally fast! On the ground, people froze before they could get out of their cars! Hall: Can you get me a satellite picture of Scotland two hours ago? Janet: Yeah. Rapson: We've got mountains of data, but nowhere near enough computer power to analyze it. Can you help us? Hall: Send us what you've got, we'll do our best. Rapson: Thanks, Jack. Bye for now. [hangs up] Janet: This is Scotland at the time the temperature dropped. Hall: This thing looks just like a hurricane. Janet: Only hurricanes don't form over land.

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Terry Rapson: Jack, were you able to recreate the thermal cycle? Jack Hall: Yes. The storm's rotation is pulling super-cooled air from the upper troposphere. Rapson: But, shouldn't the air warm up before it reaches ground level? Hall: It should, but it doesn't; the air is descending too rapidly. Rapson: Is this an isolated incident? Hall: I'm afraid not. We've located two other supercells in addition to the one over Scotland. There's one over northern Canada, and another one over Siberia. Rapson: And do we know their projected path? Hall: Yes. Our previous estimates of 6-8 weeks weren't even close. This one storm is going to change the face of our planet. Here's a projection of 24 hours out. [Shows the projected size and location of the storms, over a layout of the continents to Rapson via their computer connection] This is 48 hours out... [Shows the next image] And in 7 to 10 days. [last image shows the storms having expanded to have combined to cover the entire planet's surface] When

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General Pierce: We use the same approach with triage on the battlefield. Sometimes, it's necessary to make difficult choices. Vice-President Becker: I don't accept that abandoning half the country is necessary! Tom Gomez: Maybe if you would have listened to him sooner, it wouldn't be. Becker: Oh, bullshit. It's easy for him to suggest this plan; he's safely here in Washington! Tom: His son is in Manhattan. [Long pause] I just thought you should know that before you start questioning his motives.

The Day After Tomorrow, CC BY-SA 4.0