Yes, it’s been made into a movie and possibly used as political tool – but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not a real issue.
To some extent, I think the move is supposed to be a political tool. Based on his experience in Congress and the White House, Gore believes that politicians won’t seriously address climate change (which entails angering some powerful lobbies) unless they’re feeling political heat from the public. The public isn’t applying that heat because (a) they don’t understand the phenomenon, and/or (b) they’re not convinced it’s a serious problem. The movie aims to change that.
Personally, I would have preferred that the movie be less Gore-focused. I’m not really interested in his childhood farm, and I don’t enjoy gazing at close-ups of Gore’s face in dramatic lighting.
That said, it’s a good movie, and I’m glad I saw it.
I saw the movie again about a week ago. There might have been one or two changes (I think they added more info at the end) but all the parts I remembered and hated were still there.
Now that I’ve had time to think about it before watching it again, I definitely think that there’s way too much Gore in the film. What the hell does his dying kid have to do with global warming? His old tobacco farm? His random drives all over the country and the office scenes that has him conveniently on the phone saying all the right things? Bleh.
Those scenes weaken the movie as a whole, especially once you know the message and watch it again. They’re completely out of place and unnecessary and any connection they might have to the central theme is strained at best.
I was at one of his lectures. I think that the film outgrew from the lectures. Film is a wonderful medium which balances out the strengths and weaknesses of reading his books and seeing him at his presentations.
The mesage I took away from the lecture was that this is a moral issue. I could tell by the forcefulness in his voice that Al Gore is passionate about this message. There was no doubt, if you have ever seen him speak, that this was why he became a national political figure. When he spoke like this I was actually surprised. We all know Al Gore is often a stilted speaker but he probably didn’t speak like this on the floor of the Senate. He has a unique understanding of this issue.
Why it the film called An Inconvenient Truth? Because the enviroment is a moral issue not a political issue. The enviroment, unlike education, the economy, and healthcare, is not merely a social issue. By its very nature, the enviroment is independent of human beings but we are dependent upon the enviroment. The enviroment issue, unlike immigration, is not confined to national borders. The world is interconnected by the enviroment. A change halfway around the world may cause a change here.
Americans are dependent on the enviroment but it is a worldwide issue that also interconnects all Americans with all the people in the world.
How many want to bet that, before this movie, most Americans would lose you on the second part of this statement. Maybe they will understand. Just like how the issue of national security moved to the forefront after 9/11, maybe now, after Katrina and after the tsunami and earthquakes, enviroment will move to the forefront. This issue is one that, like national security and perhaps like all issues, we will all have to rethink.
If the Dems had had that kind of foresight, he’d probably be a two-time President right now, the primary difference being “animated.” The man is shockigly uncharismatic.
Personally, I think the bigger issue is the large-scale destruction of ecosystems–because, all things considered, the amount of greenhouse gases we humans can put into the atmosphere is chump change compared to volcanic activity–but if the movie can make people more environmentally aware, all the better. (Now, the Inner Cynic thinks that it’ll only serve to make both sides more entrenched in their own positions, but still.)
I was under the impression that Gore was approached by filmmakers who wanted to turn his lectures into a movie. In which case it’s more than just “outgrew from”.
Hey, the internet can make you more environmentally aware, too.
Check out the website of volcanology at UCSB: link
In particular:
If you look at the chart here (The link goes to wikipedia, but the chart comes from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, at least, that’s who is credited with it.), you see that the United states and Canada contribute something like 1600 million tons of CO2 per year. So the United States (assuming that the US contributes more than 10% of the the US/Canada CO2, a fair assumption I would think) emits more CO2 per year than volcanos. Africa emits almost twice as much CO2 as volcanos, clocking in at around 200 million tons per year.
I admit that you said “greenhouse gasses” and not “carbon dioxide”, but I don’t want to track the numbers down for the rate of all greenhouse gasses from volcanos. In any case, humans put out 100 times as much CO2 as volcanos, and I’m pretty sure that everything that comes from underground is also produced by human activity.
sinjin
I’ve been interested in environmental concerns for a long time and still found information in the film that was jaw-dropping. It certainly resparked my interest.
The film held my interest all the way through.
Some of you just slay me. You are worried about how much time he spends showing you the farm and picking at Bush, but you aren’t addressing the horror of what is happening to our climates. Meanwhile, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and D.C. have been under water and this film addresses why and what you can do about it.
Does anyone have that website address at the end of the movie?
A friend of mine saw this movie, I knew he would, because he is a soil and water ecologist for the Cuyhoga county bord of health. He mentioned that Al Gore said that he was friends with Lonnie Thompson. I used to work for him, and I’m really good friends with his daughter. Lonnie’s wife Ellen Mosely-Thompson is also world renowned in her field.
When I worked at the Byrd Polar Research Center I met, and sorted mail for many world reknowned scientists. I also helped to write their grants, and order supplies (mostly from REI) and I helped physically when I made the cryo-packs for the Kilamanjaro trip. I think that one was a hot air balloon trip.
I took a Chem 121 course, and found out that my prof worked in the same building I did. Maybe Jihong Cole-Dai will appear in the news.
Sorry to hijack, but it’s not everyday that people you know are featured in the media. I have more instances, but they’re not pertinent.
I saw the movie, and all I could think about was, nothing will change. Good movie, scary even, but few will see it and nothing will change. At least history, optimistically assuming that there will be someone around to write the history, will show that some people really did try to warn others. It’s gotta be frustrating for Gore and others heavily involved, but at least they tried. They did that much, and history will reward them with recognition and praise for their efforts. Likewise, those who stood in the way will get nothing but scorn and hatred, and their names (and political parties) will be mud. Dried-up, crumbly, stinky mud.
You forgot (c) they don’t give a shit, which I think is probably the right answer. People just don’t give a shit, not as long as their own lives are going along well, or they have their own problems to deal with. Who cares about what happens in some other country or some other state, or what might happen at some point in the future? People just don’t give a shit, and even when these catastrophic changes start really happening, they STILL won’t give a shit, as long as they’re not directly affected. People are selfish assholes, even the nicest ones. Single or even small group exceptions here and there mean nothing. Still, looking on the bright side, maybe a meteor or supervolcano (quick and painless) will put us out of our misery before the climate (slow and miserable) can.
(Oh, and, to address any “what am I doing to help?” questions, we haven’t owned a car for 16 years, mainly because we’re lucky enough to live somewhere where it’s not necessary to own a car.)
Just wanted to bump this to encourage people to see the movie while it’s still in theaters. I saw it tonight and was one of only two people in the entire theater.
It was a good and, yes, scary movie. The scenes about Gore’s life (only vaguely related to global warming – about his son’s accident, growing up on a farm, etc.) were irritating and dampened the impact of the environmental data, but the environmental data was so compelling it made up for it. Try to see the movie while you still have a chance.
Co-incidentally, the name of my local law firm…
You left out a “Hungadunga”. You left out the most important one!