Friday, February 13, 2009

Documentary Review: "The Inconvenient Truth"





Over the past couple weeks we've had the opportunity to watch a documentary of Al Gore's most famous work; "The Inconvenient Truth." Al Gore has traveled to many countries telling about his story. He is very passionate about making the changes that are crucial to our environment. Our survival is like a ticking time bomb if we don't take action and make some changes. Some people believe that this is proposal is a complete hoax. They don't think that we're the cause of all the high levels of carbon dioxide which is a false interpretation. Al Gore taught this lesson to us in a personable way. He made jokes and made the documentary entertaining to watch. I know that it made an impact on the whole class. I am the first group to discuss a documentary, so wish me luck, here it goes..

Gore's Beliefs:

He believes that in 50-70 years, the glaciers will be completely melted which will affect our clean water supply, aquatic life, and much more. Since an increase in temperature heats the water surrounding the glaciers, glaciers begin to melt. You can actually see the effects we've made on glaciers. Al Gore showed pictures of glaciers from 20 years ago and compared the exact same glaciers in present day. You can actually see how the glaciers have retreated each year.We are taking our beautiful environment for granted. So many changes in the environment have already taken place, what's going to be the result of our habits in 20 more years? This makes it impossible for polar bears to swim causing them to drown. We are the reason they're becoming endanged species. A really neat device that caught everyone's eye was how they determined the carbon level from the ice fragments. I couldn't believe how that was even possible.


Weather becomes more intense due to the increase in water temperatures. Stronger storms, hurricanes, and tornadoes have been the result of our careless actions. That's when it hit me, were we responsible for Hurricane Katrina? All the lives lost, the devestation to the community, and the homes ruined due to our lack of education and lifestyle.

Why Haven't We Changed?:
Something that really upsets me is the car industry. Why haven't car industries created more fuel efficient vehicles for us to travel in. It all comes down to money. Just like Al Gore said,"Old Habits + Old Technology = Consequences." If we could change the habits of the people and improve technology, we could find a solution to these problems. Currently, the United States is the largest contributer in our high levels of carbon. Al Gore actually had to ride a device that raised him to the level of carbon dioxide we are emitting into the atmosphere. It is at it's highest level it has ever been which is almost off the charts. Currently the United States and Australia are the only two countries in the world who have not adopted the Keyoto Protocol. Since we are the highest contributers, there is no reason why we should not be a part of this potential solution. We are becoming obsessed with war and terrorists than our own actions. New York City could be under water due to the melting of glaciers. China faces the same issues we're dealing with. Al Gore has gone overseas to discuss these issues. Al Gore is determined to come up with a solution. What if Al Gore won the presidency? Would we still be in this predicament that we're facing today? I hope that President Barack Obama will have the solutions we need to ensure our environments' safety.

Christen's Final Thoughts
We have been warned! We know everything we need to know! Effective electricity methods, lower mileage vehicles, and renewable technology are just a few ways to reduce our problems. The solutions are in our hands, we just have to go through with it. We can no longer make excuses of not being educated anymore. Al Gore gave us all the information we need to implement a program. If we can put men on the moon and contribute in war, we sure can take part in saving the environment. Towards the end of the film, he showed a cartoon display of a frog in a boiling pot of water. The frog was comfortable in the warm water until the temperature began to rise. He immediately jumped out as the water began to boil. This represents us in that we won't do anything until it's too late. We don't want to be like the frog and miss our chance to avoid all these horrific events coming our way.

Please learn from this proposal and be the first to make a change. Tell your friends and family about ways to reduce pollution and to conserve. We can make the change!It's not too late

24 comments:

DP26 said...

Christen,
Good report of The Inconvenient Truth, it was a very influential movie. You had lot of links in your text, helpful for the reader to be informed of your writing. I also like the picture of the polar bears.

Anonymous said...

Christen-Good job on your post! You had a lot of good information about what Al Gore talked about in the video. I like the polar bear picture :)

Heather Belknap said...

Christen: Good overview of the movie! How scary that 50 years is still in our generation!? The part of the movie about the car industry really blew my mind as well. How silly.....

Heather

Kaileigh's Nature Log said...

Christen- Very good review! I really liked the movie and you're right Al Gore did give us many facts and ways that we can fix our problems. We really just need to follow through with these programs and better our environment, or sooner than later we won't have much of one to live in!

Jessica said...

Christen,
Good post, you had a lot of useful info that was mentioned in the documentary. It is hard to believe that with all the information we know about Global Warming and what we can do to prevent it we still continue to do things to harm the environment in our daily lives. A great example that you used was the car industry, I also have a hard time grasping why they wouldnt change? Especially if it could help out the environment and prevent global warming. Obviously they would rather make money then save the earth.

Unknown said...

Nice post Christen!

You have a lot of the strong points that Gore had talked about throughout the documentary :) The part that got me the most about the documentary was all the glaciers melting... before this, I guess I didn't really think that was a possibility!

Lauren@environmentalescapadesofastudent said...

Christen,
First off, great formatting and color scheme on your blog! I love it!!! (Award-worthy? Check my blog to find out!)

I love the questions you pose throughout your review of the documentary. Why haven't car industries created more fuel efficient vehicles? What if Gore had been elected president in 2000? How would things be different? I can tell you put a lot of thought into this review...you did AWESOME for your first review! Keep it UP! :-)

hschoof said...

Nice post! I, too, was really impacted by the pictures of the melting glaciers. When the images were shown back to back, the amount the glaciers had retreated was almost unbelievable! I also like the comment you made about the auto industry. In my opinion, they made a lot of stupid decisions about not looking into the newer fuel-efficient technology that consumers wanted and now they're suffering those consequences.

Ben's Virtual Ecosystem said...

Hey Christen!

I like how you compare our survival/environment to a ticking time bomb. Great analogy! I thought the pictures Al Gore presented were really powerful. It really helped everyone actually "see" the changes they are causing! I also like all the questions you ask towards the end. If Gore was elected president would our environment really be much different? I also like how you point out the fact that we have all the knowledge necessary to start changing, yet we haven't yet...crazy world we live in, or should I say lazy world? Good review Christen, it was really entertaining to read! Seeya in class!

Steve @ Steve's Enviro-Blog said...

Hey Christen! Great view of the documentary! The part that really catches my eye is that in 50 some years the glaciers could be gone. It's really weird to think about the possible effects of that happen. Have a good one!

Steve

Jayme Lu said...

Good post! You touched on major points that I thought were really important. I thought those pictures of the "then and now" of the glaciers were really powerful. You could actually see a major difference! It's true we all have been warned and it's up to us to do somthing about it.

Noah's Greenlicious Blog said...

Sweet Post! You really went in depth...nice job. Good use of giving the car industry example. What a reality check that must of been for some people watching...hopefully even more for the manufactures and head hauncho's of the car industry's. Keep it up!

Sara H's Safe Environment said...

Great post! I really like how you asked if we were to blame for Hurricane Katrina. Are we to blame for those peoples' lost homes, families, and belongings? What a great perspective. I thought that it was really sad to hear that polor bears are actually drowning becuase the distance between safe/thick pieces of ice are too far apart. That is horrible! Another shocking fact that you brought up was that in 50-70 years, the glaciers will be completely melted which will affect our clean water supply, aquatic life, and much more. That really brings things into perspective because that is in our lifetime. How scary!

Samantha @ Running with the Wild said...

Great review Christen. It was nice to hear your thoughts about what we learned last week. Ya know, I thought the same thing about Huricane Katrina when Al Gore talked about it...was that caused by us??? And if thats the case, what distruction is in our future?? Great job on your post :)

Kathy @ Choh's Changing Environment said...

Hey Christen!!
Great and thorough review of the movie. I noticed you were taking a lot of notes and paying a lot of attention to the details in the movie! Good work!
I think glaciers are a great way to show how global warming is effecting our climate! They are huge parts of our planet but they are slowly going away.
Wow, I agree the car industry topic was so interesting! It really does seem like everything is about money. Obama has a huge load on his shoulders, I am curious to see how whatever he choses, can effect our economy and environment!
I agree, I don't think it's too late, we can do something!!
good job Christen!! See you later

Kathy

Katie Nash said...

Great job Christen: I liked all the links you put in your review...really helps to know where you are coming from! Awesome pics...they make your post look awesome!

*Shar* said...

Christen! Great post, you did a great job summarizing the documentary. I totally believe that the auto companies deserve what they have coming to them for not making their cars better for the environment. I'm looking for a new car right now and I'm definitely considering a Toyota or a Honda. =)

Sara OToole 21 said...

Christen,

Great job on your post! I agree that it is a very influential movie and has lost of shocking information. To think that far ahead and what the world can possibly face is a little frightening. Hopefully we can all work together and make the planet a better place.

Ingrid said...

Christen~very good post, it was really good to have those links within the text! Very well put together!

Abbey E's Environmental Endeavors said...

Christen,

Great review of the video, I thought that the point you brought up "Just like Al Gore said,"Old Habits + Old Technology = Consequences." was very great! As well as your thoughts about the car industry also, as well as the 50-70 year span for our polar ice caps to melt yikes!! You did a very good review keep it up!:)

Sara Jandt said...

Christen- At the beginning of your post you said "wish me luck", I don't think you needed it!! This was such an excellent review of the documentary. I don't think I could sum it up better myself!!
I agree with you when you say, "we caused hurricane Katrina?" When Gore was presenting all of the information about natural disasters, I was thinking that exact same thing. I was also blown away by the ability to measure carbon levels in the ice!! That is so crazy. It's scary to think that we may not have ice to measure much longer. 50-70 years until all the glaciers are gone...how scary....thats literally like 5 years after we all retire!!!! Great review. --S

Randy@ Green Machine said...

This movie really did open my eyes to a lot of things. I think if eveyone saw this movie, it would at least get them thinking about what there doing. That would really be a step in the right direction.

Toby said...

Good review! I liked the way you set up your blog it was really easy to read and informative. I don't think we were fully reponsible for Hurricane Katrina but im sure that our lifestyle is affecting the environment.

Kevin@WeatherYouFeelitornot said...

I like how Al Gore is traveling to other countries to make sure that this global problem is getting attention globally. If we were to only educating about it to oursleves on this subject we would not be doing a favor to the world. It is important that everyone in the world works together on this global issue.