Educational Media Reviews Online

Although The Tipping Point: Global Warming at the Arctic Circle and The Battle for the Arctic come from different filmmakers and different distributors, they work well together as companion films. Both films are under 50 minutes each, making them a good fit for many classroom settings.

The Tipping Point provides a competent overview of many global warming issues using the dramatic change in the amount of Arctic ice that was observed in 2007 as a starting point. The film provides some of the basic scientific concepts involved with global warming, including how snow reflects heat as opposed to how water holds heat, what role natural heat variations play, and how the changes in the Arctic affect the rest of the world due to the complexity of the climate systems. The documentary ends by explaining some of the political issues that will be raised if the usually frozen Northwest Passage melts to allow consistently available trade routes and if currently inaccessible natural resources become available.

The Battle for the Arctic focuses on these political issues by showing how the far north will soon become an economic hot spot. The film points to the fact that the Northwest Passage has been ice-free for two summers in a row, opening up great potential for saving money and resources by significantly shortening trade routes. The documentary also points out how 30% of the world’s undiscovered oil and natural gas resources are in the Arctic. The potential availability of these resources has meant various nations, including Russia, Canada, Denmark, and the United States, have begun efforts to stake claims in the area.

The Tipping Point is recommended as a good starting point for understanding some of the basic scientific and politic issues surrounding global warming. The Battle for the Arctic is recommended for its focus on the changing political tensions regarding new levels of access to trade routes and natural resources.