An Inconvenient Truth 


"It is difficult getting a man to understand something when his salary depends on his NOT understanding it"
— Upton Sinclair 

Politics should never enter into a movie review, but the subject matter of today's review is at the center of one of the hottest (pun intended) political debates in the history of this country. I don't like to trot out my political views — having been decidedly apolitical for most of my life and now tending slightly left of moderate — as discussing political matters with with the like-minded has always struck me as preaching to the choir and accomplishes little more than perhaps propping up your own certitude regarding your views, and arguing your points with the loyal opposition runs the risk of apoplexy when trying to change hidebound beliefs. That being said, let's try to view the movie on the merits of the facts presented therein and not enter into the political debate of whether or not Global Warming is a real phenomenon or not.

In my opinion — now, would you be reading this if you didn't want to know my opinion — does Global Warming exist and is it a result of mankind's industrialization during the last century and a half and our continued use and dependence on fossil fuels?

Resoundingly, I would have to say, YES!

Those of you who know me are quite aware that I understand the science underlying the evidence presented in the film quite well and I can read and interpret graphs and charts with the best of them and can see it as a certainty that Global Warming exists and that it is accelerating and that there has not been anything like this acceleration in the last 600,000 years. Add to that my anecdotal observations (backed up by NOAA records) over the last 40+ years regarding the changes in the local climate and also in my travels and subsequent talks with locals during these travels about the changes that have been occurring all across the country, for that long and longer.

The truth of Global Warming was really brought home to me a couple of weeks ago when I was in Alaska; bright, sunny and 84° in Juneau with that becoming more and more the summer norm — not exactly the Alaskan experience I was seeking. You can read all you want about how much ice has melted out of Glacier Bay — mostly since 1850, which coincidentally was about the time the Industrial Revolution was really taking off — but until you ride back into the bay some 65 miles to where the Grand Pacific Glacier has retreated; thought about that 2,000-4,000 foot thick river of ice that filled the bay to its 20-mile wide mouth, you can't imagine the magnitude of the change we have made on the climate there in the bay and elsewhere across the globe, to greater and lesser degrees. Last year's hurricane season should have been the latest wake-up call to those who don't travel as far afield as Lynda and myself, that something is in the wind.

In this morning's news, there was an article on AP where they had queried leading scientists in this country about the movie and found that Gore's science was accurate. Now there were some quibbles to be sure about some minor misstatements (e.g. that ice core samples from the Antarctic have shown dramatic improvement since the passage of 1972's Clean Air Act when he meant to say Greenland), but nothing could be found that was misleading with the facts presented in the movie.

The movie presents its facts without sensationalizing them, which surprised me. I was expecting something more along the lines of some heavy-handed evangelism of the environmental zealots, but instead it was a rational, calm presentation of the facts. The former Vice President has been giving this talk as a slideshow (more than 1,000 times by his count) for the last six years, giving us before-and-after photographs showing the rapid loss of glacial cover around the world, charts of the relentless rise of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere —something on the order of 70 million tons a day — and finally the steady upward curve of global temperatures. He presents all this with a passion that was missing from his presidential bid in 2000 (I didn't know then if he would have made a good President and still not sure today, but I think we would have been better off under him than the current administration), but isn't overbearing when making his points. He makes it clear that there is no real debate about the existence or the cause of the problem beyond the artificial debate created by the energy companies to protect their interests, not unlike the positioning of the debate about the health risks of smoking that the tobacco industry and their lobby had done over the last 40 years. Gore, to his credit does not stoop to use of fear-mongering to get his message across. He may even be a bit too optimistic in his assurances that we can fix the problem, but I agree that we have to try and NOW is the time to start.

My only complaint with the movie is that is may be a bit slow and dry for some viewers used to the sensory overload that permeates most summer movie fare. But, even with that caveat, I recommend that everyone see this movie, and that everyone recommend it to all their friends. This movie has the potential to make a real difference, not just for us, but for generations to come. Just remember not to become a zealot who turns people off with their zeal, but to become a passionate advocate for change. Had the Vice President brought this measured passion to his Presidential campaign 6 years ago, he may have been elected. But then he may not have been as effective in his fight to solve this problem, as the presidency is not the bully pulpit of change one might think it is. As to the questions as to whether this could be taken as political positioning for another run for the White House in '08, he told Letterman the other night that he has no desire to face another campaign and has dedicated himself to this issue. Yes, he is a politician, but he sounded convincing and kept bringing the talk back to the issue and deflecting it from himself; I find I believe him when he says it.

So, see this movie. Tell all your friends to see it. Tell strangers to see it. Heck buy copies of the DVD and give as gifts, you'll be doing the recipient a lot of good and helping all of us. Stay through the credits to learn what you can do on a personal level to help.

100 minutes.

9 out of 10 stars.

IMDB Page

Official Site  

Posted: Wed - June 28, 2006 at 05:00 PM          

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