Its taken me two days to get this far. I still have no idea whether this message will even post. But I can say that the effects of the movie, An Inconvenient Truth, have not left me after two days. If anything, after a freak and powerful sandstorm swept across the southwest on Tuesday and powerful tornadoes wreaked havoc in the central states yesterday, 2006 is shaping up to be the year that proves Global Warming exists and is here with a vengeance.
In terms of films, I've seen much better. There isn't a great deal of emotional impact unless you know someone from New Orleans or are a big fan of glaciers. But in terms of raw intellectual stimulation, this is one scary movie. I would find it difficult for anyone to walk out of this movie, no matter what their politics and scientific background, and not be convinced of the facts of Global Warming.
Al Gore takes the raw data and places it before you. There is no massaging of the information. There is very little politics involved at all (maybe a few needling digs at the current administration, but then, Al Gore would be the first to point out the fact that there has not been much movement on the subject from any administration). You will not feel manipulated at the end of this film. You might feel overwhelmed. There's a lot of evidence given here, but it is done so in a way that is completely understandable.
The movie begins with Al Gore's lecture and ends with Al Gore's lecture - the movie is Al Gore's lecture. And I think, therein lies one of its problems. At the end of the movie, I wanted to wait around and ask Al Gore a few questions about what I'd just been shown - which, of course, you can't do in a movie. The movie also assumes a certain intellectual level amongst its audience members. The average film going public is probably not going to embrace this film - but they should see it anyway. I can think of a great many people who will never see this film - even if I offer to pay.
In the end, it won't matter much whether people see it or not. I'm afraid that if the film is correct, the movement will die before it gets started - a warning cry that arrived too late. I realize that people have been trying to get the world to take notice for almost forty years now, but there are just too many of us to get all of our attention and we're too set in our ways to change. Ultimately, we're doomed. Still, its nice to know what sort of environmental disasters to expect in the next ten years and to have an inside track on investing in companies that specialize in disaster relief and space travel.
So, whether you see it or not, it won't make a difference. The end is nigh.
1 comment:
Hi Will,
You don't know how many times I have heard people *on the radio* say that Global Warming is a myth. My NASA pals, of course, never say such things but I wonder what the average American thinks? I asked my Republican friends what they thought about Global Warming and one said "Scientists did not agree on that it exists". I asked him why Katrina did not convince him and he said. "Huricanes are expected...They're cyclic". Well I guess I can't argue with that but I sure don't remember so many in one year.
Interestng what you said about Spacce travel though. There seems to be a new interest in searching the "beyond"...but without the scientists. I wonder how George is going to do that? The current adminstration is killing the science programs at NASA. Yes, he wants to got to the Moon and Mars..but science..what the gum for?
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