Read date as July 3rd 08
You look at that river gently flowing by. You notice the leaves rustling with the wind. You hear the birds; you hear the tree frogs. In the distance you hear a cow. You feel the grass. The mud gives a little bit on the river bank. It’s quiet; it’s peaceful. And all of a sudden, it’s a gear shift inside you. And it’s like taking a deep breath and going... 'Oh yeah, I forgot about this'.
- Al Gore in the opening monologue of An Inconvenient Truth
I have never written a review on a movie or a documentary for that matter. But after watching Al Gore’s: An Inconvenient Truth last night, I was struck so hard by it that I felt like jumping outright in rage and resolving the environmental crisis right away. Rage, not because the human race is contributing to the crisis, but because I never took this entire issue seriously. What Gore brings out in the 90 minute documentary is stark and makes you realize how we are killing the environment, gradually.
Al Gore, the former Vice President of USA comes out as a much stronger person after his defeat to George W. Bush. But when you are watching the documentary you must forget he ever ran for office. Consider him as a man fighting for an approaching crisis. Consider him as a man opening your eyes to several facts.
He stands on a stage before a vast screen, in front of an audience. The documentary is based on a speech he has been developing for six years, and is supported by dramatic visuals. He shows the famous photograph "Earthrise," taken from space by the first American astronauts. Then he shows a series of later space photographs, clearly indicating that glaciers and lakes are shrinking, snows are melting, shorelines are retreating.
He provides statistics: The 10 warmest years in history were in the last 14 years. Last year South America experienced its first hurricane. Japan and the Pacific are setting records for typhoons. Hurricane Katrina passed over Florida, doubled back over the Gulf, picked up strength from unusually warm Gulf waters, and went from Category 3 to Category 5. There are changes in the Gulf Stream and the jet stream. Cores of polar ice show that carbon dioxide is much, much higher than ever before in a quarter of a million years. It was once thought that such things went in cycles. Gore stands in front of a graph showing the ups and downs of carbon dioxide over the centuries. Yes, there is a cyclical pattern. Then, in recent years, the graph turns up and keeps going up, higher and higher, off the chart.
However I do disagree with one of Gore’s statements. He stated that global warming is directly linked to population. I would state that global warming is directly linked to how a population behaves. The solution to the crisis lies in individual efforts. Even simple measures can help save the environment. The official website of the documentary gives you 10 simple tips that you and I can follow and make an effort.
A person, very close to my heart and life, keeps saying that the human race is going to kill itself. But I think if there is a change from within, from each one of us, the approaching crisis can be resolved. And it doesn’t require much out of us.
Lets start with little baby steps…today!
You look at that river gently flowing by. You notice the leaves rustling with the wind. You hear the birds; you hear the tree frogs. In the distance you hear a cow. You feel the grass. The mud gives a little bit on the river bank. It’s quiet; it’s peaceful. And all of a sudden, it’s a gear shift inside you. And it’s like taking a deep breath and going... 'Oh yeah, I forgot about this'.
- Al Gore in the opening monologue of An Inconvenient Truth
I have never written a review on a movie or a documentary for that matter. But after watching Al Gore’s: An Inconvenient Truth last night, I was struck so hard by it that I felt like jumping outright in rage and resolving the environmental crisis right away. Rage, not because the human race is contributing to the crisis, but because I never took this entire issue seriously. What Gore brings out in the 90 minute documentary is stark and makes you realize how we are killing the environment, gradually.
Al Gore, the former Vice President of USA comes out as a much stronger person after his defeat to George W. Bush. But when you are watching the documentary you must forget he ever ran for office. Consider him as a man fighting for an approaching crisis. Consider him as a man opening your eyes to several facts.
He stands on a stage before a vast screen, in front of an audience. The documentary is based on a speech he has been developing for six years, and is supported by dramatic visuals. He shows the famous photograph "Earthrise," taken from space by the first American astronauts. Then he shows a series of later space photographs, clearly indicating that glaciers and lakes are shrinking, snows are melting, shorelines are retreating.
He provides statistics: The 10 warmest years in history were in the last 14 years. Last year South America experienced its first hurricane. Japan and the Pacific are setting records for typhoons. Hurricane Katrina passed over Florida, doubled back over the Gulf, picked up strength from unusually warm Gulf waters, and went from Category 3 to Category 5. There are changes in the Gulf Stream and the jet stream. Cores of polar ice show that carbon dioxide is much, much higher than ever before in a quarter of a million years. It was once thought that such things went in cycles. Gore stands in front of a graph showing the ups and downs of carbon dioxide over the centuries. Yes, there is a cyclical pattern. Then, in recent years, the graph turns up and keeps going up, higher and higher, off the chart.
However I do disagree with one of Gore’s statements. He stated that global warming is directly linked to population. I would state that global warming is directly linked to how a population behaves. The solution to the crisis lies in individual efforts. Even simple measures can help save the environment. The official website of the documentary gives you 10 simple tips that you and I can follow and make an effort.
A person, very close to my heart and life, keeps saying that the human race is going to kill itself. But I think if there is a change from within, from each one of us, the approaching crisis can be resolved. And it doesn’t require much out of us.
Lets start with little baby steps…today!
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