An_Inconvient_Truth

An Inconvenient Truth Film Review By Dianna Stephens American Government 2301 June 3, 2010 Released in 2006, the movie “An Inconvenient Truth” grossed over $15 million dollars. In the movie director Davis Guggenheim documents the desires of Al Gore to present solutions on the different effects of global climate change, it also offers scientific truths along with practical solutions. What made the film effective is the fact that Al Gore uses different media including the internet to promote it. Gore uses the information he retrieved from the internet and other available resources to educate audiences all over the world on the effects of climate changes. As Gore tells of his families traumas that happened because of the environment such as his sister’s death from lung cancer, one can understand the heart and soul Gore pours into the movie and his commitment to the cause of climate change. In the movie Al Gore expounds on the problems of environmental pollution and the depletion of resources, especially air and water, which have been serious issues for several years. Gore emphasizes the urgent call for all citizens to get involved in helping to find remedies to solve the problems, or at least alleviate their negative impact from causing further destruction to the lives of humans and animals. One weakness of the film is that people are still unaware of the truths behind the issue and instead are seeing Gore’s own personal motives and desires to seek solutions to the problem. Some experts dispute some of the claims in the movie, they say that the film assumes that science is settled when it is not. Livermore acknowledges that in the past century the average global temperature increase by 0.6C. This may not be alarming to some but in reality, the levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere have also increase because of the use of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. Thus, warming would really be the result. Sectors such as the IPCC believe that the changes in the climate are too negligible when it comes to the cause of climate changes, they do not exactly believe in the claims of the documentary (Livermore). The film does certain political biases because it touches on global cooperation, which is bound to develop on shaky foundations, and this already happened during the Kyoto Protocol due to conflicting political interests. The threat of excessive floods and droughts, the melting of polar icecaps and death of certain ecosystems has only seriously been considered during the recent decades. Despite the warnings of pending catastrophes, environmental concerns usually take the backseat while majority of the world focuses on economic and fiscal development. Fortunately, many nations had began to take the initiative to promote “green” measures after realizing that early conservation actions mean sustainability and economic rewards in the future(Bial.et.al). The film teaches us that American government policies can be erratic when it comes to environmental concerns, and that it is better to be armed with solutions rather than alarmed because of the problems. The ongoing environmental problems we face requires the attention of everyone at home or abroad because what affects one affects all, aand what one finds to be a solution to a pressing environmental problem may be solutions best applied to all. We all as citizens need to strengthen our international frameworks in the field of environment and reach agreements that would guarantee globalization support to sustainable development. The film is still a good one to recommend viewing as a jumping board for action and more sustainable efforts and solutions. References Bial, Joseph R., Daniel Houser and Gary D. Libecap. Public Choice Issues in Collective Action: Gibson, Barbara. Key to ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ Retrieved May 2010 at: http://www.apple.com/hotnews/articles/2006/05/inconvenienttruth/ Livermore, Martin. The Free Press. Retrieved May 2010 at: http://www.thefreepressonline.co.uk/news/1/492.htm Paramount Vantage and the Sierra Club Promo ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ with Robo-calls. July 14, 2006.Movie Marketing Update. Retrieved May 2010 at: http://www.indiescene.net/archives/Paramount/Paramount-Vantage-an.html