Discussion Questions
1. Consider and comment on what you knew about climate change and the climate crisis before watching the film. Have your ideas shifted or changed? How? In what ways?
2. Balog admits that he was previously skeptical about humans’ ability to alter the chemistry of the air we breathe, but he changed his mind after learning new information about the history of our climate. Why is this process of re-evaluating your ideas based on new information so important? Why do you think that some people have a difficult time integrating new information into their knowledgebase?
3. The effects of our changing climate are already being felt in our daily lives. In what ways have you experienced and/or been impacted by the climate crisis? Where have you seen the effects?
4. There is an important relationship between the arts and sciences. Chasing Ice is a good example of how leveraging this relationship can be a more effective way to present conceptually challenging information. What other opportunities can you identify to bring together the arts and sciences around the topic of the climate crisis? What are some challenges you can identify?
5. Do we have an obligation to future generations to change the way we are impacting the planet? What about an obligation to other species on Earth? Why or why not?
6. There are many reasons why well-meaning and informed people do not always act in accordance with their intentions and beliefs. What prevents you from acting on the climate crisis? What about the university, what do you think prevents North Carolina Central University from taking action on the climate crisis? How might we address these individual and institutional challenges that prevent us from taking action?
