“America has not led but fled on the issue of global warming" says Senator John Kerry when expressing his opinion on the US government’s lack of effort in trying to combat the cultural phenomenon known as global warming. It’s an ongoing crisis that has left scientists frequently pondering its effects on society, while consistently urging politicians to render more energy conscious decisions.
Director Davis Guggenheim’s breathtaking new documentary “An Inconvenient Truth" couldn’t come at a better time as the United States continues to burn fossil fuels at an unprecedented rate that could ultimately lead to the end of the world as we know it.
Former presidential candidate Al Gore has made it his mission to go from country to country informing people of the dangers that await if we continue down this dark path of destruction and I think people have finally started to listen.
Whether in a college classroom or a political convention, Gore has taken it upon himself to get the message across and has become one of the leading spokespeople on the subject. Here he is in rare form as he enthusiastically presents a revealing slideshow in which he provides the audience with some haunting evidence that illustrates just how serious the problem has become.
Although it may seem like a classroom setting at times, Gore keeps it interesting by putting his own amusing spin on the situation and shows that he really does have a sense of humor. His argument begins with the fact that Carbon Dioxide is incessantly building up in the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels and will eventually lead to higher temperatures throughout the world.
He then goes through a series of graphs and charts that offer further proof of the damage being done. Some of his most startling statistics include “the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years" and “the flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade", which are unpleasant to think about, but undeniable nonetheless.
After a while, I began to wonder if anything positive would come from this, but I guess there aren’t a lot of positive things to be said. When you think about the amount of time the government has had to address this, you can almost cringe at how many times this issue has been ignored.
It is something that affects all of us and will bring about catastrophic consequences if not dealt with soon. Gore seems to have genuine concern for what’s going on and is doing his best to get everyone else to join in the effort. I feel it was a great move to turn his presentation into a documentary, because it gives people worldwide a chance to see just what he is talking about. Gore manages to pack enough vital information into his one-hundred minutes that anyone who sees it should feel significantly motivated regardless of their political affiliation.
Gore handles the subject with the utmost sincerity and appears to be speaking as a concerned citizen rather than a politician. His evocative lecture is sure to stir many emotions and several of the images will stick with you long after it’s over. This is without a doubt one the most important films of the year and proves once again, that the truth really does hurt.
- **** out of 4
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