Al Gore and the Inconvient Truth

Al Gore (and the IPCC) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 (BBC 2007) largely for the production of the film 'An Inconvenient Truth'
The committee cited "their efforts to build up and disseminate knowledge about man-made climate change".



To what extent do you think this was deserved? Having watched this film in class did you feel that your opinion (or perhaps the opinion of others) to the issue of climate change could be positively influenced? What did you think of this film? Was it effective?





Firstly I would like to introduce you to Al Gore:-






A man who I have a lot of respect for, and who I believe would have made a better president of the United States than George Bush, but then again anyone would have!!!


Here is a factfile I found on the BBC website about him - just to give a little background knowledge.




Fact File
Date of Birth:31st March 1948
Famous For: Making thousands think 'What if?' when Dubya beat him to the presidency by just 547 votes
Infamous For: His immodest - but arguably correct - boast that he helped create the internet
Soundbite: "You know the old saying: you win some, you lose some... and then there's that little-known third category"
Useless Fact: He was Tommy Lee Jones' roommate at Harvard

I noticed that he cannot be a fool as he went to Harvard, and I have questioned his efforts in the creation of the internet, but my research didn't make me anymore the wiser as to whether or not this was a myth or the truth.

All the same I personally praise all his efforts (in relation to climate change awareness) and believe his worthy of the Nobel Piece Prize. To what extent he can make a difference is questionnable, however he has done all he can within his capability to draw attention (even if it be through the media) to the realities and severity of climate change.

Some would argue Al Gore is an unlikely film star, however I don't think he would regard himself as a film star, I just think that it was a very ingenious way to promote an extremely important message to the people of today and is probably the most efective way to communicate. Personally, the success of the film (An Inconvienient Truth) for me is the fact it takes climate science out of the textbook and moulds it into something which we can see, rather than bore us with lists of facts and statistics, the film uses real life realities to display the severity of the situation. For example, Kilimanjaro. This photo should scare people:

‘Within the decade there will be no more snows of Kilimanjaro."

I think that the views of climate change could be positively influenced after watching the film. It has definately caught the attention of the US, as it became the third highest grossing documentary of all time, returning more than $23m (£12m) and to some extent it has clearly captured the attention of the wider US, where 2.3 million people have seen it.

It has recieved numerous positive comments and Al Gore was praised as "probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted", through his lectures, films and books.

Al Gore's motives behind his research are very personal and touching, to me this illustrates the 'human-side' of Al Gore, after all he is an individual, like you and I, I think he is deserving of the award and some people are only against him due to past publicity. From his personal perspective Al Gore hoped the award would bring a "greater awareness and a sense of urgency" to the fight against global warming and he said he would donate his half of the $1.5m prize money to the Alliance for Climate Protection, who he praises non-stop.

The award can only be seen as a positive thing as Al Gore claims "I will be doing everything I can to try to understand how to best use the honour and recognition of this award as a way of speeding up the change in awareness, and the change in urgency." Even President George W Bush, who defeated Mr Gore for the presidency in 2000, was "happy" at the "important recognition" for his rival and the IPCC, however he has not fully supported Gore's attempt to raise public awareness and educate the world's people about climate change as he has refused to adopt a more "Gore-style" approach to the global warming issue.

All the same, a few flaws have been identified in the film. There have been several claims that it leaves out some of the uncertainties in projections of climate change, and could be accused of concentrating on worst-case scenarios - although as Chris Rapley of the British Antarctic Survey has pointed out, worst-case scenarios can turn out to be the ones that happen. Other's argue that pitifully small screentime has been given to the solutions.

Richard Black, the BBC Environment correspondent believes, 'The main aim, I think, was to scare viewers - to wake people, particularly Americans, from a coal-fuelled comfort zone and demand action from political leaders.
And in a congenial, user-friendly, understated way, he has perhaps created the most terrifying movie of all time'

Post not finisihed - To be continued

What actions could you (in theory) undertake that would improve the 'sustainability' of your lifestyle? What might be preventing you from doing these?

In response to sustainable living, I would like to consider myself as leading quite a sustainable lifestyle within my capabilities and in comparison to a lot of people my age. However, there is always room for improvement.

Firstly, looking at the Agenda 21 of the Rio Declaration on Environmental Development 1992, 37 issues were raised, one being Waste Recycling which could be tackled at national, local and individual levels. I believe, this is one way I could easily improve the sustainability of my lifestyle especially as where I live (in MK) a brand new major recycling scheme has gone underway very recently and we have been delivered a little caddy and a green wheely bin!!! The recycling facilities in MK are really good so there should be no excuse for me not to do all I can at home. In addition, I am going to try and get my family on board - easier said then done though! Here is a link to my local community website about all I can do to support the recycling schemes in MK http://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/recycling/home.asp. The only thing that I can think of that would stop me from participating fully in the scheme is the lack of time. It takes time to wash all the plastic, empty the caddy, remember what is suppose to go where and when it is suppose to go out for collection - however this is laziness and I do not consider myself lazy!

I already use public transport a lot as I do not have a car nor can I drive, so this is more sustainable. I lift share to uni when I can and all other times I catch the train and buses. Unfortunately, public transport is unreliable and always has been, this is why lots of people do not choose it over the car, despite it often being cheaper. Again it is also inconvient especially in winter. If I could drive, then I would definately choose a car over public transport, despite it being the less sustainable option.

To improve the sustainability of my lifefstyle I could evaluate what, where and when I buy. I found an excellent website by Channel 4 - http://www.channel4learning.com/sites/planet/takfooknwsus.html
It tells me how to live a sustainable lifestyle and has recommended some very good tips, including:
ALWAYS support local shops.
ALWAYS share a shopping trip with a friend or neighbour.
ALWAYS read the labels on the food you buy and find out where the ingredients come from.
ALWAYS buy a local alternative, if you can.
ALWAYS buy only what you know you will eat and not too much.
ALWAYS buy food that tastes good rather than looks good
These ideas are all well and good, but again it is usually a more expensive, time consuming and inconvienent solution. For example local shops charge far more than TESCO and when you go to TESCO it is all under one roof easier than going to a bakery, then a delicatessen, then the butchers and a seperate fruit and veg store, takes far more time and effort. Time is something a lot of people in this day in age simply can't afford to waste. I would like to buy more fair trade products as this is something I feel very strongly and passionately about, however, it is more expensive again and not always available. I have decided though not to be so greedy in buying, for example at Christmas. This is a way lots of people can cut back, essentially this year there is no present that I need, but people often feel obliged to buy gifts - this is seen as greedy in my opinion! It is different if you need something but to accept lots of gifts for the sake of it is wasteful especially when you don't use half of them and they stay in the packaging for half a year. I could recycle christmas presents this year! That is sustainable!

I shall add some more sustainable living ideas on a new post later on in the week, but I hope I have done this correctly? I am sure Greg you can let me know as I haven't quite got my head around this blogging idea.

My First Ever Blog

Not sure I have done this right!