An Inconvenient Truth
From Envirowiki
An Incovenient Truth film starring Al Gore, the former next president. Directed by Davis Guggenheim. Duration 105 minutes. Also a book.
Contents |
[edit] Book
In Al Gore’s recent book entitled "An Inconvenient Truth"', the issue of rising temperatures and their dramatic effect in the world around us is prominent from cover to cover. From rising CO2 concentrations to desertification, Gore touches on a huge overview of increasingly worrisome problems facing the world today. He uses a wide array of data and evidence to reinforce his arguments. Gore uses large font sizes, pictures, charts, and graphs to help exemplify some of the points he is trying to make.
He spends quite a bit of time discussing disappearing ice and snow in the glaciers of the world. Glaciers in Alaska, Argentina, Glacier National Park, and Africa are all diminishing at an alarming rate. Furthermore, the Himalayan Glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau, which provide over 40% of the world’s population with drinking water, may present a serious water shortage to those who rely on it if nothing is done to alleviate global warming. Gore realizes how great of a threat this situation presents to the world. He uses an uncommon way of writing to stress the significance of this threat and to emphasize it to readers. Instead of uniform writing on every page of his book, he includes many vivid pictures, sizeable diagrams, and informational charts to get his points across is a very distinct manner. These visual messages can help emphasize and depict distinct differences between the past and the present in terms of receding and disappearing glaciers.
There is a method to the madness in which Gore presents the material in his book. In most cases, human beings will not react to risks and threats unless the consequences are apparent and near at hand. By publishing all the pictures and graphs in his book, Gore lets reader witness the astounding impacts, and not just read about them. Pictures oftentimes convey the significance and imply the immediacy of the loss of many natural objects with inherent beauty. The aesthetic values, as well as the instrumental values of these glaciers are stressed in the content of An Inconvenient Truth. The pictures help create a more accurate representation of the crucial situations at hand. Gore’s pictures serve as an example of how he utilizes environmental representation.
[edit] criticism
However, many criticize Gore for An Inconvenient Truth. Some people claim that he is using his book as a platform to gain more political favor if/when he should decide to run for President again after losing to George W. Bush in 2000. Other skeptics, such as Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, refute Gore’s arguments, saying his data is inaccurate, or that many top scientists would beg to differ about what he claims to be true. Inhofe also brought up the point that Gore was backed by the media and the Associated Press, and that he was working to make money for future Democratic Presidential Candidates. The epistemology involved in deciding what is true, as well as how we know it is true, is essential in situations such as these. Many people might feel that Senator Inhofe is correct, siding with his arguments that Gore could not possibly prove everything in his writing to be 100% accurate. This creates a problem for Gore. People reading his book or viewing his movie might have trouble finding the entire movie believable if they become skeptical about just one fact. In An Inconvenient Truth, Gore even talks about how Global Climate Change may have been responsible for the destructive Hurricane Katrina. This is a very large claim, which places a lot of blame for natural disasters on human interference with nature. For this reason, it is a risky claim, since there are so many other variables that could be proven to have played a role in Hurricane Katrina. For these reasons, representing the effort to counter global climate change as Gore has done is a great risk. Keeping all facts straight and true can prove to be challenging when one is trying to persuade an audience.
[edit] Film
from the socialist (?) flyer in brisbane...
This film will shock you. The climate is rapidly changing, and the consequences will affect everyone. We have already polluted our air, land and water. Now, the way we live, consume and travel has caused a historic and extraordinary increase in greenhouse gases and global temperatures. We've already seen examples of severe weather events on communities and the ecosystem from the arctic regions to tropical zones. Last year, the U.S. experienced more severe weather events than ever before. The damage to New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina shows that even developed countries are vulnerable. Climate change will be the priority issue around the world for the next twenty years.
In this film, former US Vice-president Al Gore presents a compelling case for urgent action that we cannot ignore. He presents clearly and persuasively the scientific case for the need for us all to act now to avoid further devastation and suffering.
"What we take for granted might not be here for our children" - Al Gore
[edit] in Australia
the film is rated PG
special screenings in mid-late september 2006, box office release in late september
