An Inconvenient Truth

Graeme · Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 2:14 am Post subject: An Inconvenient Truth

Last Sunday, I saw Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth". It was well worth seeing. He explained in simple laymans terms how and why the Earth is warming, and near the end what we can do about it. If there is one movie you should see this year, it should be this one! The film was screened at an International Film Festival in Dunedin (NZ), and it received polite, subdued applause at the end.

Personally, I think that global warming poses a greater threat to human survival than peak oil. It is really heartening to see that many of the world's leaders are finally doing something about this: see today's (3rd August) news article "Major world cities team up to fight global warming".

You will find other reviews and information at:

climatecrisis

This site says that Gore's film was awarded The Humanitas Prize.
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Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.

LadyRuby · Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 7:21 am Post subject: Re: An Inconvenient Truth

I'm glad to see it making its way around. I would expect a good showing at the many countries that are more enlightened than the U.S. (or at least that's my impression) regarding global warming.

gego · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Mar 03, 2005 Posts: 1334

I agree with Graeme that global warming is a threatening problem; I do not see it as separate from peak oil.

Nature, over a very long time period, stored carbon in the ground in the form of hydrocarbons. Man figures out how to extract this "fossil fuel" from the ground, and starts to release the carbon into the atmosphere at ever increasing rates. The energy from this storehouse propelled the human species from under 500,000 up to 6.5 billion.

The current human population level is out of balance with what nature would allow without using this stored energy, so this really is a Catch22 situation. If we continue to use the remaining storehouse of "fossil fuel" we can keep up the current population levels temporarily, but we add to the carbon in the atmosphere, making dieoff from heat inevitable. If we stop using the "fossil fuel" now, there is no way we can keep up these population levels now, so we accelerate the time of the dieoff.

I guess the point is mute anyway, because once peak arrives, we will be forced to use less oil and the dieoff will be imposed by nature.

In my view there is no way to have your cake and eat it too. There is no practical, significant way to stop adding to the global warming problem without eliminating the root problem, about 6 billion human life forms.

NEOPO · Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 10:47 am Post subject: Re: An Inconvenient Truth

We laughed - We cried.

Being very familiar with 35mm film I struck up a conversation with the projectionist and while talking he asked me how we heard about the showing.

I said "www.peakoil.com" and then apologized for what will probably result in more stress for the fellow Wink

Hope this comes to DVD and soon.

Graeme · Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2006 3:22 pm Post subject: Re: An Inconvenient Truth

Here is a review of the film by the BBC.
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Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.

NEOPO · Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 11:40 am Post subject: Re: An Inconvenient Truth

good review.
At least I do not have to tell my grandchildren why I didnt go see it and I can tell some others peoples grandchildren that the only reason their pappy and mammy saw it was because I was adamant and persistent pushing them to go see it with me Wink

A quick smile is a sea of sadness.............
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It is easier to enslave a people that wish to remain free then it is to free a people who wish to remain enslaved.

Graeme · Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2006 12:23 am Post subject: Re: An Inconvenient Truth

Here are some more recent reviews:

Gore's movie gets raves in Berlin, yawns in Bangkok

seldom_seen · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Apr 12, 2005 Posts: 1950

What gego said. Trying to seperate peakoil from global warming is like trying to seperate cow crap from cattle ranching.

The atmosphere is the sink for our fossil fuel feeding frenzy. Like the proverbial yeast in the wine vat we are now beginning to choke on our own defecation, just as our prime food (energy) source starts to wane. With the foresight of algae, we start grasping in desperation for other food (energy) sources (strip mine alberta for lowgrade tar sand and burn down the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra for palm oil).

We've completely upset the conditions that made us so populous and powerful in the first place (ecological succession). We now get to go to the back of the bus.

Graeme · Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2006 1:11 am Post subject: Re: An Inconvenient Truth

And this:

Al Gore picks up literary prize

Bas · Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:57 am Post subject: Re: An Inconvenient Truth

Absolute must see period.
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Shannymara · Master Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 5143 Location: Oklahoma

Finally watched this today on DVD. I found the cuts to his introspective/personal life a bit distracting, though I can appreciate why they put them in the film. Otherwise it was great. He gives a very effective talk, with stellar graphics. The "solution" oriented part at the end is short, thankfully. The film is about waking people up to the reality of global warming. Tackling what to do about it would easily take up another entire film.
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"Every junkie's like a setting sun..." - Neil Young