An Inconvenient Truth
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Movie Reviews of An Inconvenient Truth
Movie Review: An Important, Eye-opening Experience
Summary: 5 Stars
Contrary to what at least one reviewer has said, Al Gore does NOT pose as a scientist in this documentary -- he is doing nothing more than speak as a concerned citizen who has looked into the data and wants to share what he has found. None of the research is presented as his own.
The problem is that the issue of the environment has become too politicized for anyone to listen to the actual evidence without letting their blood boil in a red state-blue state spitting contest that will get us no where fast. But as Gore points out in this superlative documentary, the environment is not a Republican issue, and it isn't a Democratic issue either. It's a moral imperative that every world citizen needs to acknowledge for the sake of our collective future. I implore you, take personal politics out of it and at least listen to what he is saying! As a sidenote, I found it very interesting to see how disillusioned Gore seems to have become with politics after years of trying (and failing) to get the environment into the American consciousness in congress and as the head of the senate. He has come to the realization that politicians only act on policies that their voters demand them to take action on, and so he now looks to bring the environmental crisis to the attention of the American people.
At the very least, I don't know how anyone can argue with the time lapse photos of glaciers receding, rivers drying up, ice shelfs melting, and entire lakes disappearing over a mere forty-year period. It gives you the chills to SEE the climate changing over such a short period of time, and I'm befuddled that anyone could call such drastic changes "cyclical events" that are of no concern. Look at the Alps in 1930 and compare them to a modern photo, then just try to tell me that there isn't something horribly wrong here.
Gore presents the evidence in a reasonable, logical, extremely rational argument that hits home because it is so earnest and heartfelt beyond its scientific core. And it isn't all doom and gloom -- Gore comes across as an optimist who really believes that we can make the necessary changes if we really make an effort. Humanity has, after all, effected great changes in its history, and in the long run they have proved their worth -- the civil rights movement being one of the more recent examples. Gore also shows how "going green" will not hurt our economy as naysayers would have you believe, but would expand it to new heights. For example, right now American cars cannot be sold in countries like China that have enacted stricter environmental policies, so if American auto manufacturers get on the ball they can re-open international markets that have been closed to them due to our own stubbornness and short-sightedness.
Technology has grown so fast, perhaps evolving so quickly that now we humans need to catch up to it. Change is difficult to accept, as Gore readily acknowledges, but can open up a wealth of new possibilities and opportunities as it makes the world a better place for us and for future generations. And the time for action is now -- before it is too late. It's about time we learned to face the inconvenient truth.
Movie Review: Climate change is moving fast: Arctic ice may be gone in summer of 2012
Summary: 5 Stars
New analyses show that climate change is moving faster than anticipated by the reports in this movie.
The award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, has brought some added publicity to the problem of global warming or climate change. You may read or download for yourself the IPCC summary report which is available on the IPCC dot ch web site. Alternatively, you may wish to just look out the window. The people of New Zealand have been able to see icebergs large enough for helicopter landings floating by within a few miles of their shores for the first time in recorded history. Where I live, it seemed to take forever for our fall leaves to change color. We had a record warm October. The list of events that we see that have been predicted by climate scientists is seemingly without end. According to the IPCC, before the end of this century, we may live in a world of elevated temperatures, rising sea level, and extreme weather.
However, as dire as the predictions are, the reality is much worse. The climate models are indeed inaccurate ... in their timing. Climate change has accelerated beyond the predictions of only one or two years ago. In this movie, Al Gore states that the Arctic will be ice free in the summer in 40 years. That would put it about 2046. However, there have been news reports in the last month that NASA climate scientists are now predicting the summer of 2012 as the date for an ice-free Arctic. The ice in question is floating sea ice. Its melting will not raise the level of the world's oceans. However, an ice free Arctic Ocean will absorb more sunlight, increasing the Arctic warming trend. If the Arctic Ocean is ice free, can the collapse of the Greenland ice cap be far behind? There is enough ice on Greenland to raise the world's sea level by 15 to 20 feet should it melt or as it seems more likely flow into the ocean.
The question used to be whether we will be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in time to save the planet for future generations. That is no longer the issue. Can we now slow climate change enough so that we can enjoy the benefits of civilization, e.g. the Internet, HDTV, food, etc., through our own lifetimes? In our town, we are working to get our local government to ratify the US Mayors Agreement on Climate Change to work toward the goal of reducing our Greenhouse gas emissions below our 1990 levels by the year 2012. This is a quite reasonable goal; change the light bulbs to CFLs, make buildings energy-efficient, drive low carbon footprint vehicles. We can all do this; save some money and maybe the planet too.
I also recommend the books "With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear Tipping Points in Climate Change", about recent scientific investigations and their implications for global warming, and Global Warning: The Last Chance for Change, which details the politics of climate change
Movie Review: Take pride in what is our mother earth.
Summary: 5 Stars
People choose to ignore why? People choose to pollute why? People choose to go on with there daily lives like there will always be a tomorrow for our children why? Well this movie tells all the consequences of the following questions in a very down to earth easy to understand manner. I remember myself being a small child in the 80's, now 31 i look back and wish winters were like they use to be, beautiful fall leaves(here in West Virginia) some of the prettiest anywhere would flourish again. Unfortunately that doesnt happen anymore. Instead my once beautiful state is now plaqued with overheated winters, deadflowered springs, painfully humid summers and rainy dryed up brown leave falls. Not to sound like a poet here or anything but this is really how i feel, i feel as though we have been raping, thrashing, and just down right murdering our mother earth. This is our home folks and if we don't have it we can't just up and move to another house or apartment building, let alone another planet. Al Gore has never been my particular favorite when it comes to political icons so to speak. I always took him for another Bill Clinton, but in seeing this film i can see he is quite noligeble about the issue and has basically devoted his life to the whole cause. Gore may be a sore loser, but hey what if you were running for the President of the U.S and lost, would you just gradually take defeat and never speak of it again, i think not.
In this film we see a lot of great scientific proof that the earth is "heating up" literally. As a matter a fact you don't have to be a scientist, climatologist, or evironmentalist to see the weather has taken a crazy turn for the worse. Not to give to much away i literally gasped(as did my fiance') when we saw the statistics of Carbon Dioxide and the Thickening of the outer atmosphere that traps in radiation from the sun. That said we ourselves started to actually wonder about bringing children into a world where they may or more realistically may NOT have a future, and if so a very fierce unlivable one. So with this comes the question are we prepared for whats ahead, does the republican party really care? Does congress give a damn, or will they just sit back and watch as the earth self-destructs like a giant dissolving piece of paper in a scortching fire? My father who happens to be a coal miner heartely agrees with gore in that they should be shut down, as with vehicles, factories, deforestation, and even simple aerosol cans that can simple eat away at the environment. One quote from the film says skeptics say oh it won't happen in my lifetime or the planet is so big how could we possibly hurt in with anything we do. Well we are doing more than hurting, we are maming with the intent to kill, maliciously. And as for the lifetime, watch the film and see that its here, whether you want to believe it or not, lets change things folks please. I myself long to lay out in the grass once again, with birds chirping and greenish and flowers flourishing everywhere, but that dream is all but a thing of the past due to the majority or humans and there disregard for our home. Earth, remember the big blue pretty one?
Movie Review: Everyone needs to see this!
Summary: 5 Stars
I took my children and their families to see it after I saw it twice. I bought DVDs when it came out and gave them to friends and family for Christmas. For at least 20 years, the environmentalists have been trying to tell people and governments about global warming; it is perhaps a bit bittersweet that Al Gore finally gets the world's attention with this vital documentary--but certainly none too soon! The subject is the most important in our world today, but the documentary itself is extremely well done, well paced and interesting to watch. They even made sure that the production and the products were carbon-neutral! I was fascinated by the packaging--very environmentally sound! And Native Energy donations are an excellent way to offset or reduce your carbon footprint. For people who are just beginning to notice, this is a wonderful introduction. For those of us who are already working in the direction of sustainability and carbon and oil reduction, it is an inspiration. I am deeply grateful that this documentary was made!
The only lack in the movie is specific concrete suggestions for individual action. There are some, but they are at the very end while the credits roll! We need lots more ideas that each of us can implement, especially the less expensive ones. It would be good to have a beginner's list, an intermediate list, and an expert list! (At one of the showings I went to, a list of ten things was handed out--that was good, but not everyone got one.)
The really great thing about some of the solutions to global warming is that they solve several problems at once--for example, if you stop shopping for anything frivolous (or at the intermediate level, stop shopping for anything at all that isn't necessary), you will help the unbalance of our global fiscal situation, slowing the drain of American dollars going out of the country. Simultaneously, you will be helping to lessen the use of oil, which is now over the peak of easy production, to reduce atmospheric carbon, to keep landfills from filling, and to save yourself some money! In the metropolitan area I live in, traffic is a huge problem. Freeway construction takes a long time, and they fill as they are built, so that's no solution. Mass transit also takes years to construct, and often is not adequate to people's needs. Want to cut traffic in half in one day, and also cut air pollution in half, and save yourself some significant money? Carpool with just one other person! This will also reduce the expense of road surface maintenance, by the way, and lessen the cursed potholes!
Of course--you can tell!--I strongly recommend this movie! If you have heard from the radio voices--who ARE these people? What are their scientific credentials??--that global warming is not happening, or a hoax, or whatever they are saying, you truly owe it to yourself to see this movie, at the very least--and do some personal research from there. There are many excellent websites on climate change and interconnected matters. There are also many action groups that we all can join; it WILL take all of us!
Gloria Purcell
Movie Review: A VERY inconvenient truth!
Summary: 5 Stars
Whilst not the most entertaining movie I've seen on DVD this year, I do believe this could be the most important. At first glance, the prospect of listening to the former Vice President wax lyrical about climate change while watching him show an array of PowerPoint slides, video clips and photographs didn't have much appeal but a few minutes in and I was rooted to my seat. (And I haven't got a scientific bone in my body). Director David Guggenheim captures Mr Gore's presentation style very effectively and in my view, no one but the most hardcore of denialists could fail to be persuaded by his arguments.
But it's not just about Gore's arguments. Sure, his profile makes it more likely that we might listen to what he has to say than we might, say esteemed but unknown Mr Scientist A or esteemed or unknown Ms Scientist B but the facts as he presents them are incontrovertible. They are everywhere around us if we only care to look and in terms of what I hadn't seen or heard about, the movie was an eye-opener. I'd heard things were getting pretty bad but was genuinely shocked to sheep grazing on ski slopes that should be covered with snow, images of boats moored on riverbeds and lakebeds, and one particular image of a horse walking across the bed of the Amazon River. The Amazon River? In the middle of the Amazon rainforest?!
The fact is that there's a whole lot more CO2 in the atmosphere than there ever was (at one point, Gore has to get on a hydraulic forklift truck to show us the peak of a CO2 emissions prediction) and this is undeniably having an effect on the world's climate. Some of the denouncements in some of the reviews I've read have been pretty vehement but none are surprising. Leaving aside the politics of the issue, even on a personal level, if the activities that make our cosy lives even more comfortable (and/or pay our hefty salaries) are the very ones that are pumping CO2 into the atmosphere, it's much, much easier to dismiss the evidence than it is to contemplate changing our behaviour. Hence the title of the movie. Behaviour change IS ALWAYS inconvenient. But we turn our heads away or stick them in the sand at huge risk. There could well be dire consequences. If not for us then for the generations coming up behind us. I don't have children and will probably be long gone before things get completely out of hand but I've got nephews and nieces and I care about them and their futures.
But that's just me and I'm not trying to preach. That said, I do believe that even the smallest of changes can make a difference if enough of us choose to make them. I urge people to see this movie, to invite friends and family round to see it - and then tell all their other friends and family about it.
DVD extras include: Commentary with the Director, Commentary with the Producers, a 30-minute update documentary with Al Gore, made after the theatrical release of the movie with even more worrying data, a documentary on the making of "An Inconvenient Truth" and the music video to the song with which the movie ends, "I Need To Wake Up" by Melissa Etheridge.