The White House Effect

What if the climate crisis could have been stopped before it even started? Beginning in a hopeful period when leading scientists, government officials, and the American people agreed there was a problem, The White House Effect masterfully reconstructs decades of failed U.S. policy that led to today’s climate crisis. Using only archival materials, the film explores the gripping drama inside the George H. W. Bush White House after scientists warned the country for the first time that global warming was real and underway. Bush, who in 1988 ran as an environmental candidate, finds himself caught in the middle when his chief of staff, John Sununu, locks horns with EPA chief Bill Reilly over how to respond to the public’s growing environmental concerns. Ideological conservatives and industry power brokers line up behind Sununu as the forward-minded Reilly looks increasingly isolated. Meanwhile, Bush faces mounting pressure to make a decision that will change the course of history.