Al Gore

An Inconvenient Truth
There were several plus points about the film, viz:

(1) The graphics, in general, were excellent, e.g.

(a) fitting the east coast of S. Amerca onto the west coast of Africa;

(b) cartoon of Mr Sunbeam & greenhouse gases;

(c) graphics of Lake Chad & stranded ships in Aral Sea;

(d) pictures of Kilimanjaro & various glaciers around the world very powerful;

(e) graphs showing 1,000 years of CO2/global warming & 650,000 years of CO2 & temperature very telling;

(f) dramatic use of Gore’s contraption;

(g) graphics of possible effects of rising sea levels on Florida, San Francisco, Beijing,Shanghai, Calcutta/Bangladesh, Manhattan very dramatic.

(2) The emphasis on hard data was most impressive, e.g.

(a) Roger Revelle’s insistence on hard data re. the 1st measurements of CO2 in theatmosphere;

(b) Statistics on coal mining in China.

(3) The film was well photographed, directed & presented. Good use of humour to emphasise points.

(4) The final analysis of the causes of global warming was clear. According to Gore, the problem is due to:

(a) population growth – 2bn to 9bn in one lifetime;

(b) technology – in many ways wonderful, e.g. medical advances, but now so powerful that it’sbecome a force of nature in itself;

(c) ways of thinking; the frog in the water was a clever analogy. The Economy v Environmentissue was cleverly presented.

(5) The film was effectively personalized, with reference to Gore’s son’s accident, his loss of thepresidential election in 2000 & the death of his sister Nancy from lung cancer. Each of theseepisodes was used to highlight the greater long-term significance of global events.

(6) The film had a positive ending, with examples of how exactly we can get back to below the level of 1970s emissions.

Postscript: it is interesting that Gore, a politician, mentions at least twice, and particularly when he talks about his personal setbacks, that the problem we face is a moral, not a political, issue. Yet his final message is that what is lacking, and what is most needed, is political will, without which the problems associated with climate change & global warming cannot be solved.