Learning the inconvenient truth
With his hard-hitting documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore is presenting fellow Americas with some sobering facts. But are attitudes to global warming in the US really changing? Kirsten Jellard is doubtful.
I keep reading how Americans are concerned about the environment. Yet I live in the USA, in a self declared 'green' city, and this concern is not obvious to me. Roads appear to be dominated by SUVs. Double bagging is prevalent at supermarkets and I seem to be the only local resident who uses the washing line.
Americans still complain about the price of gas and lament that more should have been done to prevent the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. But do they see any connection between these events and their way of life? Are they accountable for their contribution to climate change? Do Americans really care what Gore has to say?
Americans still complain about the price of gas and lament that more should have been done to prevent the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. But do they see any connection between these events and their way of life? Are they accountable for their contribution to climate change? Do Americans really care what Gore has to say?
The worst offenders
The US is responsible for 30% of planet-heating CO2 emissions, with an increasing per capita output nearly twice as large as the next worst contenders – Australia. US vehicles are larger and less efficient than those driven in Europe and even the world's manufacturing hub China.
Ten of the hottest years on record have occurred in the past 14 years. 2005 was the hottest yet. The permafrost is melting. Are we paying attention?
While An Inconvenient Truth is more of a powerpoint presentation than a drama documentary, it certainly satisfies the viewer's appetite for drama – there's plenty of it. I left the theatre thinking it could be the most terrifying film you will ever see.
Gore is admirably passionate about global warming and informs the viewer of the scary truth in a most accessible – and downright alarming - fashion. He draws on his own book Earth in the Balance and the many lectures he has delivered on global warming throughout the world. Snapshots of his personal life are interspersed and although his son's accident, his sister's death and his election loss somewhat interrupt the train of thought; you leave the cinema admiring Gore, even if dreading the terrible truths he has revealed.
While Senator James Inhofe (Republican, Oklahoma), chairman of the Senate Environment Committee contends;
Ten of the hottest years on record have occurred in the past 14 years. 2005 was the hottest yet. The permafrost is melting. Are we paying attention?
While An Inconvenient Truth is more of a powerpoint presentation than a drama documentary, it certainly satisfies the viewer's appetite for drama – there's plenty of it. I left the theatre thinking it could be the most terrifying film you will ever see.
Gore is admirably passionate about global warming and informs the viewer of the scary truth in a most accessible – and downright alarming - fashion. He draws on his own book Earth in the Balance and the many lectures he has delivered on global warming throughout the world. Snapshots of his personal life are interspersed and although his son's accident, his sister's death and his election loss somewhat interrupt the train of thought; you leave the cinema admiring Gore, even if dreading the terrible truths he has revealed.
While Senator James Inhofe (Republican, Oklahoma), chairman of the Senate Environment Committee contends;
'Global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people'
Gore gives back with science that is sound, well researched and shockingly illustrated.
We see before and after shots documenting the destruction of our planet; the snow - and lack of it - on Kilimanjaro, the drying of Lake Chad, deforestation, retreating glaciers and maps missing Greenland and the Arctic Circle. We find today's CO2 levels are much higher than what they should naturally be and in 50 years time, levels will be 'off the charts'.
Among the most disturbing images are those showing what we'll be left with if the poles melt, resulting in a 20 ft (6 metre) rise in sea levels. Parts of Manhattan, coastal India and almost all of The Netherlands will disappear. Imagine a world with more than 60 million refuges?
The film presents a challenge to the individual and to the powers that be. The almighty US media continues to play devil's advocate, debating rather than recognising how much humans contribute to global warming. This may be why, in a recent study by Pew Research Center, only 41% of Americans said they believed the actions of humans cause global warming. Eileen Claussen, President of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, has called for major public education on the issue.
We see before and after shots documenting the destruction of our planet; the snow - and lack of it - on Kilimanjaro, the drying of Lake Chad, deforestation, retreating glaciers and maps missing Greenland and the Arctic Circle. We find today's CO2 levels are much higher than what they should naturally be and in 50 years time, levels will be 'off the charts'.
Among the most disturbing images are those showing what we'll be left with if the poles melt, resulting in a 20 ft (6 metre) rise in sea levels. Parts of Manhattan, coastal India and almost all of The Netherlands will disappear. Imagine a world with more than 60 million refuges?
The film presents a challenge to the individual and to the powers that be. The almighty US media continues to play devil's advocate, debating rather than recognising how much humans contribute to global warming. This may be why, in a recent study by Pew Research Center, only 41% of Americans said they believed the actions of humans cause global warming. Eileen Claussen, President of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, has called for major public education on the issue.
It's all about the SUVs
Gore certainly hopes to enlist people power. One of Gore's suggestions is to purchase a hybrid car; an internal combustion gas engine combined with an electric motor.
That's a hot topic right now as the documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car? (directed by Thomas Paine) has also just hit the big screen. This clever documentary questions the truth behind the disappearance of the General Motors EV1 electric car.
The film looks at the success in the early 1990's of the car that, in the view of the film, was a fast and efficient alternative to the combustion engine; and because there was no oil changes, oil filters, spark plugs and other parts and services that conventional cars require, it was cheaper to run and longer lasting, precisely why GM Motors halted manufacturing, recalling the fleet and sending them all to the crusher.
GM, Toyota and other big players now believe that the hybrid is the way forward. But even with several of these hybrid models now available they only represent less than 1% of new vehicle purchases in the US each year. There are more than 20 million SUVs on US roads. With their average 8-15 miles per gallon, these vehicles are not only inefficient, but pollute at a rate six times worst than an average car.
In the US Gore has been criticised for using his film as a platform for a second proposed run for the White House in 2008. He denies it and, I wonder, does it matter?
That's a hot topic right now as the documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car? (directed by Thomas Paine) has also just hit the big screen. This clever documentary questions the truth behind the disappearance of the General Motors EV1 electric car.
The film looks at the success in the early 1990's of the car that, in the view of the film, was a fast and efficient alternative to the combustion engine; and because there was no oil changes, oil filters, spark plugs and other parts and services that conventional cars require, it was cheaper to run and longer lasting, precisely why GM Motors halted manufacturing, recalling the fleet and sending them all to the crusher.
GM, Toyota and other big players now believe that the hybrid is the way forward. But even with several of these hybrid models now available they only represent less than 1% of new vehicle purchases in the US each year. There are more than 20 million SUVs on US roads. With their average 8-15 miles per gallon, these vehicles are not only inefficient, but pollute at a rate six times worst than an average car.
In the US Gore has been criticised for using his film as a platform for a second proposed run for the White House in 2008. He denies it and, I wonder, does it matter?
This film should be compulsory viewing regardless of the political motives behind it
If each of the nearly 300 million Americans adopted just one of Gore's many suggestions - drive less, recycle more, don't always use your dryer, plant a tree – the impact could be spectacular.
Start with your pants
Finally I am left with the feeling that in the minds of the average hard-working, time poor American who drives nearly 9,000 miles a year, spends more time commuting than on holiday, lives within a 20 minute drive of a Walmart and prefers smooth rather than crunchy peanut butter, global warming doesn't figure on their list of priorities.
I sympathise, the thought of adding 'save the planet' to the 'To do' list is daunting. But I hope everyone can find the two hours needed to see An Inconvenient Truth. Foremost film critic Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun Times;
'In 39 years I have never written these words in a movie review, but here they are: You owe it to yourself to see this film. And, I hope it leaves you thinking, what can I do?
For a start, join me, basket under arm and step out to the washing line. Forget the clothes drier. It's a great feeling, pegging eco-detergent fresh smalls in the breeze and thinking how easy it is to do good for the planet.
Join the climate change campaign
I sympathise, the thought of adding 'save the planet' to the 'To do' list is daunting. But I hope everyone can find the two hours needed to see An Inconvenient Truth. Foremost film critic Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun Times;
'In 39 years I have never written these words in a movie review, but here they are: You owe it to yourself to see this film. And, I hope it leaves you thinking, what can I do?
For a start, join me, basket under arm and step out to the washing line. Forget the clothes drier. It's a great feeling, pegging eco-detergent fresh smalls in the breeze and thinking how easy it is to do good for the planet.
Join the climate change campaign
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