‘The White House Effect’ Review – How America Affected The Climate Crisis 30 Years Ago

At a time when 2024 was the hottest on record, this year is likely to top it. It is worth noting that 30 years ago, the world was on the cusp of addressing global warming. So what happened? The short answer is that the same factors that prevent the climate crisis from being resolved today are politics. The White House Effect documents the origins of the modern climate crisis. Using archival material and new interviews, the book captures the political battle in the George H.W. Bush administration, which blew any chance the world had to make history on the crisis. The documentary is enraging and dispiriting, showcasing how every new problem is old and every old problem is new.

The film begins by showing then-Vice President George H.W. Bush running for president in the 1988 election. Seeking to differentiate himself from his soon-to-be predecessor, Ronald Reagan, Bush promised to be the environmental president. As the issue of the Greenhouse Effect became mainstream, Bush sought to make it a centerpiece of his campaign. “Those who think we’re powerless to do anything about this  Greenhouse Effect are forgetting about the White House effect.” 

Now, it is unlikely that the issue of the environment won Bush the election that year. However, upon taking office, he did take action on his campaign rhetoric. His choice to lead the EPA was William Reilly, a conservationist who led the World Wildlife Fund. This move by Bush marked a significant shift from the Reagan Administration’s stance on the environment. At the time, the matter of global warming was far from a political issue. Still, in intervening months of the Bush Administration, it would become a political firestorm right in the White House. 

The film puts front and center the machinations of Bush’s Chief of Staff, John H. Sununu, who seemingly undercut and undermined the efforts by Reilly, as well as any efforts by environmentalists to persuade the president. We see how, during the term of 1989-1993, science, specifically on matters of global warming, became a political hot potato. The divergence of scientific voices, intended to create a perception of skepticism within the scientific community, was nothing more than manufactured public relations. 

 The White House Effects dutifully showcases the dogged influence of the fossil fuel industry to gum up the debate in the public square. You then marry loudmouth mouthpieces like Rush Limbaugh, and science becomes a political talking point. When it becomes a hot-button issue that falls along party lines rather than a unifying issue that concerns not some but all of us. The film underscores how not only science can be politicized through propaganda, but how, sadly, opinions can be bought or changed for the right amount of money. 

As we have seen in recent times, when politics enters the chat, all hell breaks loose. 

The film, while brief, moves succinctly. We see the origins of the concern dating back to the Carter Presidency. This further underscores how this issue has persisted for almost half a century, with little to no progress on addressing it. The movie builds towards a seminal event where, in 1992, a world summit was held in Rio de Janeiro to address global environmental concerns. 

At a moment when the United States could have been the leading signatory and voice on reducing greenhouse gases, not only in terms of rhetoric, but with a concrete deadline, it stood on the sidelines. Whatever the reason, be it politics, business, or economic concerns, the moment went by, and we find ourselves in the year 2025, dealing with the same problems from thirty years ago. 

Frankly, this documentary is as engaging as it is informative. As our planet continues to heat and natural disasters become regular occurrences, this movie feels less like a canary in the coal mine, but the wake before a funeral. Directors Bonni Cohen, Pedro Kos, and Jon Shenk pull no punches. No one is above criticism. The most intriguing part of the documentary is actually an interview with Reilly from 2019, where he reflects on the failure of the US to lead on the issue of climate change in 1992. 

We see how the abdication of leadership only prolongs a crisis. Even though times have changed since the early 1990s, by 2025, everything old is new again. In a time where it is easy to stand in separate corners, this film underscores how the climate is not a right or left matter — but one that affects all of us and will involve all of us to effect change. 

The White House Effect is currently playing in select theaters. The film will debut on Netflix on October 31, 2025.