Al Gore has a mission. The documentary An Inconvenient Truth has been his catalyst to travel around the world in order to raise awareness among people that the change in climate of our planet has gone awry. Gore says, “I’ve been trying to tell this story for a long time and I feel as if I’ve failed to get the message across” (Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, 2006). The film is presented through a series of PowerPoint slides that eventually explain how our planet is being gradually destroyed by the industrial revolution, resulting from a series of global phenomena of climate change. It narrates Gore’s exploration of data and predictions regarding climate change and its potential for disaster, while at the same time telling how it has affected Al Gore’s life. It weaves in events that changed his worldview, including his college education with early climate expert Roger Revelle at Harvard University, his sister’s death from lung cancer, and his young son’s near-fatal car accident. Throughout the film, Gore makes comments regarding his loss to George W. Bush in the 2000 United States presidential election (Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, 2006). For comic effect, Gore also uses a clip from the Futurama episode “Crimes of the Hot” to explain global warming. In the slideshow, Gore reviews the scientific opinion on climate change, discusses the politics and economics of global warming, and describes the consequences he believes global climate change will produce if the amount of human-generated greenhouse gases is not significantly reduced in the very near future.
(Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, 2006) At the core of the film is his scrutiny of the annual temperature and carbon dioxide levels for the past 650,000 years in Antarctic ice core samples. The film includes many segments intended to refute critics who say that global warming is unproven or that warming will be insignificant. For instance, Gore discusses the possibility of the collapse of a major ice sheet in Greenland and in West Antarctica, either of which could raise global sea levels by approximately 20 feet, flooding coastal areas and producing 100 million refugees (Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, 2006).
This will result in enormous tidal waves that will lead to massive evacuations of people. Gargantuan icebergs from Greenland will have reduced salinity, which could halt the sea currents that keep northern Europe warm and quickly trigger dramatic local cooling there. The documentary concludes with Gore arguing that if appropriate actions are taken soon, the effects of global warming can be successfully reversed by releasing less carbon dioxide. Arguably, this is not attainable due to the fact that the Industrial Revolution is progressive. Gore suggests planting more vegetation to consume existing carbon dioxide. Gore calls upon his viewers to learn how they can help him in these efforts. Gore’s book of the same title was published concurrently with the theatrical release of the documentary. The book contains additional information, scientific analysis, and Gore’s commentary on the issues presented in the documentary.
A 2007 documentary entitled An Update with Former Vice President Al Gore” features Gore discussing additional information that came to light after the film was completed, such as Hurricane Katrina, coral reef depletion, glacial earthquake activity on the Greenland ice sheet, wildfires, and trapped methane gas release associated with permafrost melting (Al Gore, “An Inconvenient Truth,” 2006). The documentary has been generally well-received politically in most parts of the world. It is credited with raising further awareness of global warming internationally and urging calls for more urgent government action regarding climate conditions. Despite its success, some political leaders are apathetic and less keen on embracing the film as a matter-of-fact necessity. Most colleges have begun to use the film in science curricula to not only raise awareness among students but also remind them that what they learn in their science classes is realized in this documentary. “An Inconvenient Truth” is the linchpin for other filmmakers to produce documentaries that tackle environmental awareness. Actor/producer Leonardo DiCaprio has released his documentary regarding global warming entitled “The 11th Hour.” This is proof that Al Gore’s film will be succeeded by other environmental documentaries.
