Global Warming

Just as humans breathe air, which is composed of nitrogen, oxygen and argon, and exhale carbon dioxide as an integral function of our existence; essentially Earth does the same. One year it breathes the same air we do and the next exhales carbon dioxide. In Davis Guggenheim’s eye-opening documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore educates us about his personal history and issues about global warming, but never provides any real or solid solutions. I expected more from the documentary than what I got from it. Throughout the documentary, Gore highlights the different aspects of global warming as they affect us and continue to escalate and threaten us. While giving his life story, Gore emphasizes the issues at stake such as: carbon dioxide levels and their relationship to high temperatures, ice caps and glaciers that are melting away, increasing the severity and frequency of storms and finally what is not being done by the government to curb the causes of global warming. He illustrates his points through a chain of events that begins with carbon dioxide levels and ends with destruction; stressing the dire need for action to stop the surmounting problem we face but falling short of giving a tangible solution.
The documentary starts with a stirring introduction that sets the viewer in a receptive and eager mood to learn from this film how serious a problem we collectively face, yet some zealously reject. Gore begins by explaining his interest in global warming and how he became interested. He explains that his interest began when he took a course taught by Professor Roger Revelle who was the first person to measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. That’s where the fire was lit under him and his interest was piqued. After graduating college and winning a seat in congress Gore found himself in a position to inspire other politicians and leaders to believe in and stand against global warming. Gore took his issue before a congressional panel and despite all scientific data, facts and testimony he presented, little was done to curtail global warming. He ran for president in 1988, but when that bid failed he continued his research in global warming putting together the “slideshow” the entire documentary is based on. After losing his second bid for president in 2000, Gore decided to focus his efforts completely on his campaign against global warming; he completed his “slideshow” of facts and graphs and traveled the world showing the “slideshow” to other leaders and politicians.
His “slideshow” begins with graphs showing the levels of carbon dioxide currently in our atmosphere and the projected levels of carbon dioxide that will be in our atmosphere. He then links the high levels of carbon dioxide with the higher temperatures we are seeing and the record high temperatures we are breaking. His charts show records of temperature and carbon dioxide dating 650,000 years back and the recent numbers are alarming. The high levels of carbon dioxide create a domino-like chain of events that affect everything else from oceanic temperatures to precipitation levels. He never tells us what to do to lower the carbon dioxide levels just that it needs to be done or our planet risks being ruined.
He moves on to link carbon dioxide and the high temperatures to the melting of ice caps and glaciers across the world. He shows multiple pictures of glaciers from several years ago in contrast with how they look today and how they have drastically decreased in size. The high temperatures are causing the glaciers to melt which in turn is raising the sea level, which is irrefutable, what is in dispute is the cause of the high temperatures. Gore points out that due to the glacial and permafrost melt, arctic animals like the mighty polar bear are actually drowning because they lack the ice to walk across and are forced to swim vast distances. These issues are troubling and alarming but the lack of tangible solutions from the film is disappointing. What can be done to stop the glaciers from melting? What can I do?
The film links the rising sea levels to rising oceanic temperatures that will continue to spawn stronger and more common storms like the now infamous Hurricane Katrina. Gore points out that Katrina was a category one hurricane when it hit Florida, but after hitting the warm waters of the Gulf it strengthened and became the category four when it hit New Orleans. In 2005, records were broken and natural phenomenon happened all over the globe. It was believed that a hurricane could never form in the Southern hemisphere due to the cooler waters and the rotation of the globe, but for the first time ever, one hit Brazil in 2005. India reached 122 degrees Fahrenheit, 35,000 people died all across Europe due to the heat and drought.
Gore lays the blame for the hurricanes and natural disasters squarely on the governments for not doing enough to reduce the rising temperatures and for not being prepared for natural disasters, like Hurricane Katrina. He compares the automobile emissions regulations for many different countries and shows that the US has the lowest standards of all developed countries. Gore gleefully highlights the fact that during his vice-presidency in the Clinton administration carbon dioxide levels were lower, temperatures were lower and global warming made a change towards flat-line rather than the steep climb seen on his data charts. Soon after he left his position and the carbon dioxide tax died the growth of global warming resumed at its alarming pace.
Overall I thought the documentary was good, it kept me interested and asking questions. Initially, I did not get what I hoped for out of this; I expected to find answers and solutions not just a crash course on global warming. I thought that charts and slideshows that linked everything together were powerful and persuading. It was amazing to see the correlation between carbon dioxide and climbing temperatures and melting glaciers and rising sea levels and strengthening storms. We shouldn’t entirely blame the government; we equally share the blame. We vote with our dollars, this is seen in the sales of large SUV’s, trucks, cars and sports cars with pitiful gas mileage for status symbols. It’s seen in the election of politicians who share our same view and disregard of the environment by failing to force automakers to meet stricter standards already in place in other countries. I have a sneaking suspicion that his lack of answers was intentional, an effort by him to light a fire under the viewers and force them to seek out their own solutions; a subtly effective move whose effect is lost on the less motivated or interested viewers. It worked on me but left me in a semi frustrated state of seeking answers to the question of how to reverse global warming.