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Get the Word Out: An Inconvenient Truth

I consider myself a reasonably environmentally aware person, but after seeing Al Gore’s ”An Inconvenient Truth” last night I realized that I, like millions of Americans am woefully ignorant of the impending crisis that is global warming.

Last week on this blog I wrote an article in which I THOUGHT I was exaggerating the effects of global warming on the near future of the earth. As it turns out, I wasn’t.

The movie is an encapsulation of what Al Gore as Senator, Presidential Candidate, Vice President and rightfully elected President of the United States has been telling us all along, except it has finally gotten through my thick skull, and hopefully the skulls of other people around the world.

As a teacher and visual learner, Gore made perfectly clear the immediate threat that global warming poses to our planet. He uses an incredibly large screen for his slide shows that shows in as many modalities as possible the danger we’re facing. He explains everything in simple, graphic terms.

For example, he gives a simple but scientifically based explanation of global warming then, for those of us who didn’t get it the first time, punctuates with a Matt Groening cartoon from his series “Futurama.”

To illustrate the escalation of CO2 levels in the past two decades, Gore uses a construction lift and an extension of his already huge screen to show the dangerous levels of emissions we’ve already reached, and will inevitably reach in a few years unless we do something NOW.

As important as showing the evidence for global warming, Gore dispels the most popular myths brought about the global warming naysayers and effectively rips them to shreds. In doing so he brings out the disturbing barrage of misinformation used by the Bush Administration to justify its reckless lack of adherence to the Kyoto protocols.

The movie isn’t all doom and gloom however. What I found most helpful that amidst all these dire consequences (note the word consequences and not predictions) there is some hope. Gore points out through evidence obtained from glaciers a very graphic example of the impact of the Clean Air Act. He also shows that we’ve pretty much patched the hole in the ozone layer.

Most importantly, Gore shows that there are myriad measures we can all take in our everyday life to stop, and even reverse the levels of CO2 emissions that we’re currently killing our children’s children with.

Every responsible citizen needs to see this movie. Watch this movie with as many people as possible, and then watch it again with as many different people as possible. Spread the word at the water cooler, through your e-mail contact list, your blog, or whatever you have at your disposal.

To help spread the word, visit climatecrisis.net for a lot more helpful information, and please click on the pledge button below, or on the main page to get out and watch the movie.