Amplifying Feedback Loop

A animated short film featuring contextualizing the magnifying "domino effect" of the causes and effects of the Climate Crisis. Presenting the human causality of a deteriorating biosphere, poetic visuals present the intensifying real-world outcomes and guide towards de-escalation through unified community-led solutions.

2 minutes 30 seconds. Color. DCP.

Logline:

Unfolding visual poetry loops and transforms, advocating for the need for sustainable futures and community action.

Credits:

Vanessa Sweet -Director, Animator

Fleassy Malay -Narrator

Kory Burrell -Sound Design

Dave Sluberski -Project Sound Mentor

Partial Funding by Genesee Valley Council on the Arts

Partial Funding by RIT Connect and FEAD grants

Nearly 70% of the U.S. population today wants to take action to help reverse Climate Change but has little understanding of the outlets in which to effect positive change. There is also the other segment of the populace that does not understand nor believe the Climate Crisis is present.

This animated project aims to connect to the public to both inform and mobilize viewers towards community-based change to counter the current positive Amplifying Feedback loop of Climate Change.

What are the major causes of the Climate Crisis?

NASA state’s the following:

“Human activities (primarily the burning of fossil fuels) have fundamentally increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere, warming the planet. ”

What is an Amplifying Feedback Loop?

Climate feedback loops are “processes that can either amplify or diminish the effects of climate forcings.”

Feedback loops are processes that make the impacts of key climate factors stronger or weaker. This starts a cyclical chain reaction that repeats.

We need to concern ourselves with two types of loops: positive and negative.

Negative feedback is a process that causes a decrease in function, to be used as an effort to stabilize the Earth’s Integrated Climate System.

A Positive feedback loop accelerates the response to the climate factor (such as carbon-based emissions). This feedback loop increases initial warming and amplifies it with each subsequent return through the looped system.

To understand this, look to one such element of the loop as the Ice-Albedo Effect, which NASA describes:

“Ice is white and very reflective, in contrast to the ocean surface, which is dark and absorbs heat faster. As the atmosphere warms and sea ice melts, the darker ocean absorbs more heat, causes more ice to melt, and makes the Earth warmer overall. The ice-albedo feedback is a very strong positive feedback.”

  • Carbon emissions cause an increase in temperature

  • This then melts sea ice

  • This creates a larger surface of the sea, which is darker

  • The darker surface absorbs more heat, instead of bouncing light ( ice )

  • Heat absorption then contributes to further increasing the temperature, restarting the Loop