In 2006, Al Gore produced An Inconvenient Truth to talk about the cause of global climate change and the toll it is taking on the world. Key elements and points within Gore’s documentary make it into a significant opinion that should be listened to and should make people think about the actions they have thus taken and actions they should be taking in order to try to heal the world.
When trying to supply a “green theory of value,” Robert Goodin promoted the idea that nature’s “value is depreciated proportionally to its human admixture” as nature is a “kind of pristine otherness to human culture”(The Discourses of Nature, 16). This idea can also be found in Al Gore’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth as Gore does not specifically define what he thinks nature to be but he focuses on the untouched icecaps and Glacier Mountains. Similarly, Kate Soper states in “The Discourses of Nature,” “humanity has… obliterated ‘nature’ as a result of its occupation on the planet” (18) and Al Gore states in his documentary that global warming “is the collision with the population and the earth.” These ideas lead a more extreme way of thinking and the audience may be more apt to listen to what has to be. The audience is encouraged to think about it in a more critical way when Gore states that “we are entering a period of consequences” referring to global warming as the consequence. Using the term “consequence” to describe global warming further emphasizes Gore’s opinion and what he is saying. He makes sure it is clear that something needs to be done in order to save the planet. The added meaning of the solemn music grabs a hold of the audiences emotion and therefore they are more responsive. When he is giving his lecture during the documentary, the lack of background music and the dark lighting juxtaposed against the brightness of the display and stage lighting helps for the listeners to focus to the best of their ability.
The main goal of An Inconvenient Truth is to call attention to the negative effects humans are having on the environment and to encourage urgent action to prevent further damage, and the scientific evidence presented by Gore is very compelling. Arguably one of the most important pieces of scientific evidence used by Gore in the film is the Keeling Curve, which shows the increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide since 1958. It shows clearly that carbon dioxide levels are increasing steadily year after year. In reference to this graph, Gore summarizes the relationship between temperature and carbon dioxide by saying “when there is more carbon dioxide, the temperature gets warmer, because it traps more heat from the Sun inside.” Gore uses this information as the foundation for his following points about the effects of global warming on glaciers and polar ice caps and the imminence of rising sea levels.
While An Inconvenient Truth is a movie that will change and individual’s perspective of their impact of their everyday lives, An Inconvenient Truth is an inconvenient cry for attention regarding the global climate change issues we face today. To point out the obvious first, the movie was released in 2006 and used data from 2005 and before to support Gore’s argument. Eight years is a long time in the world of science and it can be quite easily said that, although this movie makes the point that it meant to, it is outdated. Because it is eight years out of date, it is hard to take the information provided critically because there is a large window of change when considering the environment. However with data like “global CO2 emissions in 2012 hit 35.6bn tonnes, a 2.6% increase from 2011 and 58% above 1990 levels.” (BBC News), it is hard to ignore the fact that CO2 emissions are becoming the problem the Gore presented them to be. There are more and more videos of glaciers melting and polar bears drowning that is catching the attention of the media. Scientists have been documenting the changes in ecotoxicology of the environment and found:
“For each of these vulnerability components, relevant traits have been identified as follows: external exposure depends on a species' food choice and active avoidance; intrinsic sensitivity depends on many traits including assimilation efficiency, toxicant elimination ability, toxicant sequestration, and biotransformation potential; and population sustainability depends on several traits related to recolonization, recovery, and dispersal ability.” (Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry)
Meaning, the animals that live in the regions most affected by pollution and climate change either have to adapt and evolve or they are going to die off. The fact that massive amounts of animals are either being displaced or having to evolve rapidly due to the changes in their environments and ecosystems is appalling but also one of the key motivators in pushing people to change their living habits to live cleaner lives.
At the end of the movie, viewers will be aware of their actions and be more inclined to reduce their carbon footstep. The scientific evidence that Gore chose to use in this film is presented in a way that is clear and concise without being overly simplistic. Though he does not cover all aspects of global climate change, Gore covers a majority of the pressing issues for today’s society. Gore is able to convey the importance of the information to the audience while still making it accessible so that the average person can understand the impact of climate change and the importance of making changes to prevent further damage. It is deemed a successful documentary because of the critical responses of the viewers as well as the positive reception from the scientific community as a method of conveying scientific fact to everyday people. An Inconvenient Truth is one to watch.
When trying to supply a “green theory of value,” Robert Goodin promoted the idea that nature’s “value is depreciated proportionally to its human admixture” as nature is a “kind of pristine otherness to human culture”(The Discourses of Nature, 16). This idea can also be found in Al Gore’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth as Gore does not specifically define what he thinks nature to be but he focuses on the untouched icecaps and Glacier Mountains. Similarly, Kate Soper states in “The Discourses of Nature,” “humanity has… obliterated ‘nature’ as a result of its occupation on the planet” (18) and Al Gore states in his documentary that global warming “is the collision with the population and the earth.” These ideas lead a more extreme way of thinking and the audience may be more apt to listen to what has to be. The audience is encouraged to think about it in a more critical way when Gore states that “we are entering a period of consequences” referring to global warming as the consequence. Using the term “consequence” to describe global warming further emphasizes Gore’s opinion and what he is saying. He makes sure it is clear that something needs to be done in order to save the planet. The added meaning of the solemn music grabs a hold of the audiences emotion and therefore they are more responsive. When he is giving his lecture during the documentary, the lack of background music and the dark lighting juxtaposed against the brightness of the display and stage lighting helps for the listeners to focus to the best of their ability.
The main goal of An Inconvenient Truth is to call attention to the negative effects humans are having on the environment and to encourage urgent action to prevent further damage, and the scientific evidence presented by Gore is very compelling. Arguably one of the most important pieces of scientific evidence used by Gore in the film is the Keeling Curve, which shows the increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide since 1958. It shows clearly that carbon dioxide levels are increasing steadily year after year. In reference to this graph, Gore summarizes the relationship between temperature and carbon dioxide by saying “when there is more carbon dioxide, the temperature gets warmer, because it traps more heat from the Sun inside.” Gore uses this information as the foundation for his following points about the effects of global warming on glaciers and polar ice caps and the imminence of rising sea levels.
While An Inconvenient Truth is a movie that will change and individual’s perspective of their impact of their everyday lives, An Inconvenient Truth is an inconvenient cry for attention regarding the global climate change issues we face today. To point out the obvious first, the movie was released in 2006 and used data from 2005 and before to support Gore’s argument. Eight years is a long time in the world of science and it can be quite easily said that, although this movie makes the point that it meant to, it is outdated. Because it is eight years out of date, it is hard to take the information provided critically because there is a large window of change when considering the environment. However with data like “global CO2 emissions in 2012 hit 35.6bn tonnes, a 2.6% increase from 2011 and 58% above 1990 levels.” (BBC News), it is hard to ignore the fact that CO2 emissions are becoming the problem the Gore presented them to be. There are more and more videos of glaciers melting and polar bears drowning that is catching the attention of the media. Scientists have been documenting the changes in ecotoxicology of the environment and found:
“For each of these vulnerability components, relevant traits have been identified as follows: external exposure depends on a species' food choice and active avoidance; intrinsic sensitivity depends on many traits including assimilation efficiency, toxicant elimination ability, toxicant sequestration, and biotransformation potential; and population sustainability depends on several traits related to recolonization, recovery, and dispersal ability.” (Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry)
Meaning, the animals that live in the regions most affected by pollution and climate change either have to adapt and evolve or they are going to die off. The fact that massive amounts of animals are either being displaced or having to evolve rapidly due to the changes in their environments and ecosystems is appalling but also one of the key motivators in pushing people to change their living habits to live cleaner lives.
At the end of the movie, viewers will be aware of their actions and be more inclined to reduce their carbon footstep. The scientific evidence that Gore chose to use in this film is presented in a way that is clear and concise without being overly simplistic. Though he does not cover all aspects of global climate change, Gore covers a majority of the pressing issues for today’s society. Gore is able to convey the importance of the information to the audience while still making it accessible so that the average person can understand the impact of climate change and the importance of making changes to prevent further damage. It is deemed a successful documentary because of the critical responses of the viewers as well as the positive reception from the scientific community as a method of conveying scientific fact to everyday people. An Inconvenient Truth is one to watch.