An Inconvenient Truth

An Inconvenient Truth is one the best movies I have seen so far this year. Yes, it is educational, and, yes, it can be a little bit too political at times, but overall, the movie really makes you think about how humans might really be screwing things up for this planet!

The entire movie is basically Al Gore's lecture about the current scientific evidence in support of global warming. According to Gore, CO2 levels are much, much, much higher than ever. He warns us that, if we don't start cutting down on CO2 emissions soon, we could see drastic changes to the Earth's environment over the next 100 years. Ocean levels could rise 40 or so feet, droughts could kill millions of people, and powerful storms could destroy thousands of cities. Already we're seeing the effects! He shows how glaciers are melting, hurricanes are worsening, and people are without drinking water in many regions throughout the world. If this continues, no one will be able to escape the effects of global warming.

Luckily, he provides several ways to avoid this from happening. In fact, if the United States could enforce several new policies, the amount of CO2 emissions could be reduced to levels lower than 30 or so years ago. This provides the viewer with a hope for tomorrow and a means to live.

However, there are a few downsides to this film. For one, you are paying to see a lecture that Al Gore probably gives for free. Why didn't I just wait for him to come to town?? Second, you are watching an 80-minute lecture in 100 minutes. There are some really long, drawn out scenes that are unneccessary and, well, boring. In addition, Gore seems to make the subtle suggestion that the only way to stop global warming is by voting for the Democratic party. He tells the audience that we need to make important decisions in our life to avoid disaster and then sneakily goes into how he lost the 2004 presidential race. Finally, some of the facts in the movie can be disputed. Unfortunately, I do not know any of the arguments offhand, but I'm sure a Google search will provide you with appropriate answers.

These downsides are moot. The entire movie is great, and I would suggest it to anyone. Sure, maybe global warming is fake, but maybe it isn't. Do we really want to find out the hard way? How much trouble is it to cut down on CO2 emissions? Not hard at all if it means protecting the planet we inhabit.

I give the movie 4 healthy potatoes.