I would just like to comment on "An Inconvenient Truth" since I have seen the movie and attended Al Gore's presentation last semester. While some of the facts may be out of date, the movie has succeeded in bringing climate change to be a main discussion topic and the forefront of policy making.
The sad thing is how an all encompassing issue such as climate change gets politicized and divided into left and right camps. The point that Al Gore is trying to make is that we're all affected by this whether you believe the science or not. We have a moral obligation to do something about the way we interact with the environment. Writing off the problem by turning it into a political blame game doesn't solve anything.
I find it amazing that a science as solid as climate change can get attacked just because Al Gore is talking about it. But with said, a little comfort is brought by this great op-ed in the NY Times a few months ago. Now those who lambaste Al Gore will probably feel the same way about the NY Times (the liberal center of the universe, or something to that extent), but the gist of it is this: The Right hates Al Gore because he's right. He's always been right. Every time he has gotten up and spoken about an issue, he's been attacked by the Right, but he's been correct. Its really a psychological complex that the Right can't get over. They hate Al Gore because he always proves them wrong.
But I don't want to rant (completely) about Right vs. Left but instead keep the focus on climate change. Its too important to get bogged down by political bickering and blame game. But if Al Gore has done anything, its got everyone talking about our impact on the Earth. And thats what matters.
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I remember when I heard about the documentary a while back, and I thought it was very disturbing how some people wouldn't watch the show just because Al Gore was the primary creator. I think sometimes peoples preconceived notions and political positions keep them from learning important information. I think most people now see global climate change as a problem, but I thought that we could have done a much better job of working together (republicans and democrats) to bring these issues forward. I still think that "An Inconvenient Truth" could have been much more widely accepted if Gore had brought a conservative or two on board to promote the show, and I think that we have a long way to go to educate our society about the issues and about what we as individuals can do to improve environmental footprint. Children follow the actions of their parents, so it's up to us to start the change.
Regardless of any of this, one can not argue with the fact that Al Gore has inspired a significantly increased level of awareness when it comes to climate change. No matter my opinion on his views on this topic, I am (in general) happy with the amount of attention he has drawn to the topic.
I do wish the movie was less dry though...
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