In the movie An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore exposes the seriousness of global warming, citing population growth, economic and environmental imbalances, and late recognition as the main causes. He warns of water shortages and ecosystem destruction due to rising carbon dioxide emissions and shrinking glaciers, and offers actionable solutions to combat them, such as using public transportation and conserving energy.
“What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know. It’s what we know for sure that just ain’t so.” – Mark Twain.
This sentence appears at the beginning of the movie An Inconvenient Truth. In the movie, Al Gore makes a strong case for global warming and claims that the United States is primarily responsible. This movie made me aware of some serious issues that I didn’t know about and made me think a lot. I knew the problem of global warming was serious, but it was the first time I understood it in such detail. This movie is very meaningful because it takes what we already know about global warming and makes it more concrete for the audience. It also makes us imagine the future of our planet and offers solutions to prevent it.
The movie suggests three main causes of global warming. The first is the dramatic increase in population. Population is growing rapidly, and people are using limited resources recklessly. The population continues to grow, and we need to focus on conserving resources. We also need to work on alternative energy production in case we run out of resources.
The second is the idea that the economy and the environment are incompatible. Many people believe that it is inevitable to destroy the environment for economic development. However, destroying the environment to become more prosperous is just an excuse. For example, the Grand Canyon in the United States has developed a tourism industry by preserving the environment, which has contributed significantly to the local economy. We need to develop both the economy and the environment simultaneously to create a synergistic effect.
The third is the attitude that it’s too late when we recognize the reality. Many people tend to give up when they recognize a problem and think it’s too late. This is how environmental issues are analogized in movies. It satirizes people who think that the environment is already destroyed and cannot be restored. However, it’s not too late to save the environment. Of course, the environment can be repaired.
There’s a scene in the movie where the Earth’s atmosphere is compared to a thin film. This implies that the atmosphere is very thin and can be easily destroyed. Al Gore’s mentor, Professor Roger Revelle, spent a lifetime studying the amount of carbon dioxide on Earth, and his findings were shocking. Revelle found that the amount of carbon dioxide changes with the seasons each year. In the spring and summer, as we get closer to the sun and photosynthesize, the amount of carbon dioxide decreases, and in the fall and winter, the opposite happens, as we move away from the sun and the amount of carbon dioxide increases. This makes it seem as if the Earth breathes. However, the more shocking finding of Prof. Revelle’s research is that the amount of carbon dioxide is increasing exponentially every year. He was able to infer past carbon dioxide levels from Arctic glaciers and found a time when carbon dioxide levels were no higher than 300 parts per million. But in recent years, it has increased well above 300 ppm, tripling and quadrupling. This has led to a decline in glaciers, which in turn has led to a decline in water supply, with 40% of the world’s population drinking water from the Himalayas. Half of that water comes from Himalayan glaciers, and if they all melted away, 20% of the world’s population would face water shortages. This shows that global warming is no longer just a political issue, but an ethical one. Glacier melt also has a major impact on ecosystems. Animals that rely on glaciers for habitat will lose their habitat, and animals such as polar bears and penguins will be affected.
In the movie, Al Gore tells the story of how his son was in a car accident and fell into a coma. When his son woke up a week later, Al Gore said he realized the value of the things he had. This made him realize that our current environment is also very precious, and that we need to take care of the land and air we pass on to our children.
Another problem with global warming is the occurrence of hurricanes due to rising water temperatures. Rising water temperatures are accompanied by hurricanes, and with global warming, the warmer the temperature, the stronger and more numerous the hurricanes. Temperature changes also promote the evaporation of water, which causes droughts, and that evaporated water falls as rain in other areas, causing flooding. As a result, the world suffers from many natural disasters such as droughts, floods, and hurricanes.
Finally, the movie uses the frog experiment to illustrate the dangers of environmental problems. If you put a frog in boiling water, it will immediately sense the danger and jump out, but if you put it in water and heat it slowly, the frog will not sense the danger and will eventually die. This is an analogy for the current process of environmental degradation. We don’t realize it, but it’s getting worse over time, and it’s a warning that if we leave it unchecked, it could come to a sad end.
Through the movie An Inconvenient Truth, I realized that the natural disasters that are happening now are all caused by our human activities, which means that we have to solve these problems. So, we should use public transportation to reduce the planet’s carbon dioxide emissions and use appliances that consume less energy. Also, if we conserve electricity, protect the environment, prevent forest fires, and so on, we may one day be able to live on a clean planet again.
