Cost of taking action: £/$/€ 3
Settle down and watch a film!
For this action we are asking you to give up a bit of your time (about an hour and a half) and a small fee (about £$E 3) to watch a film.
The film is called “An Inconvenient Truth” and is an Oscar-winning documentary from 2006 in which ex US Vice-President Al Gore discusses mankind’s impact on our climate as a result of carbon emissions. Although controversial at the time because in the early 2000s climate change denial was rife in the USA, it has gone on to become highly influential and important.
We would like everyone to watch it and to encourage family and friends to watch it too. This is irrespective of your politics, and irrespective of your current beliefs about how significant man’s impact has been. We would love you to watch it and form your own opinions.
The film is available for a small charge on YouTube and Amazon.
Here is the trailer (which is free!) … scroll down for more
Gore is a very credible advocate for action on global warming, not just a primed politician. He became interested in global warming when he took a course at Harvard University with Professor Roger Revelle, one of the first scientists to measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Later, when Gore was in Congress, he initiated the first congressional hearing on the subject in 1981, and in 1992 wrote Earth in the Balance, which dealt with a number of environmental topics and reached the New York Times bestseller list.
As Vice-President during the Clinton administration, Gore pushed for the implementation of a carbon tax to encourage energy efficiency and diversify the choices of fuel better reflecting the true environmental costs of energy use. This was partially implemented in 1993.
At the time of its release, The Associated Press contacted more than 100 climate researchers and questioned them about the film’s veracity. All 19 climate scientists who had seen the movie or had read the homonymous book said that Gore accurately conveyed the science. Robert Corell, chairman of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment is quoted as saying “I sat there and I’m amazed at how thorough and accurate … I’m absolutely blown away. There’s a lot of details you could get wrong (but) I could find no error.” and Michael Shermer, scientific author and founder of The Skeptics Society, wrote that he had been “shocked out of my doubting stance.”
Why is this important?
This is important because unless we all understand the need to act, and act soon, it will be too late. Damage continues to be done to our planet every day. The film is a great tool to educate yourself and our young ones about the problem, in an accessible, easy-to-understand way.
How to take action
- set aside the time to watch the film, ideally with others
- visit YouTube at An Inconvenient Truth – YouTube and click on Buy or Rent
- visit Amazon at An Inconvenient Truth – YouTube and click on Buy or Rent
- watch the movie
- reflect on what you have seen and talk about it!
Click on one of the logos to start:
