Showing posts with label inconvenient truth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inconvenient truth. Show all posts

Sunday, February 10, 2008

what really matters

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 While some of the facts may be out of date, the movie has succeeded in bringing climate change to be a main discussion topic and the forefront of policy making.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.