Documentary: Goodbye America – Early Birds

Under President Donald Trump, the United States withdrew from the agreement reached at the Paris climate summit to keep global warming below 2 degrees. “Climate change is a hoax,” shout Trump and his administration. What does it do for climate researchers in this country, where the effects of climate change can be seen in every corner of the country? In the documentary “ Goodbye America, ” documentary filmmaker Gideon Levy follows how US climate researchers, employed by the government, react with indignation and shock to Trump’s statements, and how they are not only silenced under his presidency, but also lose their jobs and have to look elsewhere.

The revolutionary instrument sprinkles

In the movie, we see how Gideon Levy accidentally meets NASA researcher Emily Wilson at a fair for climate professionals. She led a team that worked for 10 years on a revolutionary instrument for measuring greenhouse gases. In the film we see how this project breaks down and how it evolves. His enthusiasm gave way to disillusionment. Gideon Levy: “I couldn’t live with the idea that all of his work was in vain and that such an important instrument would not be made. I started helping her because I have two children and making this film made me realize even more that we all have to contribute in the future. “

Dutch researchers help

Levy puts the American researcher in contact with Dutch climatologists. They are interested in this instrument, but cannot do anything with it as Emily Wilson has now lost her job and the instrument is sprinkling in a NASA basement. Although the film ends there, after filming Levy continued to excite Dutch researchers. This has meanwhile led Sander Houweling, professor of atmospheric and climate sciences at VU Amsterdam, to want to bring this instrument to the Netherlands for testing and deployment. Sander Houweling: “The difference with existing instruments is that with Emily Wilson’s equipment, we are able to easily and inexpensively measure the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere anywhere in the world. This is possible with his instrument, which you can take with you in a backpack, also locally, at city level. We haven’t been able to do that so far, so we would really like to continue with this instrument. The professor hopes to be able to start with the instrument within six months, which is currently inactive at NASA.