Old people. That’s all I saw when I undertook this Staller Center showing on Friday right before my lovely three day weekend. Old people who were directly responsible for global warming and excessive carbon emissions. Yet somehow, at the movie’s close, everyone thought it would be wise to clap. Hypocrites. It’s all the same - they’re going to love the message, drive home in their minivans and Hummers, and hope that everyone else watching the movie got enough out of it do to their part. As long as they don’t have to do their own. Is it possible to get this cynical at the tender young age of 21?
 

When you think of Gore, you usually think of impalings, blood, and excessive, delicious violence. You don’t expect Gore to help save the environment, or maybe even the world, but he might just be doing that. Al Gore brings to light a problem that has been plaguing the United States and the world for decades. And he looks damn good doing it. Global warming is real, as real as you and me, and it has been hiding for very many a year.

Or has it? Maybe it wasn’t hiding; rather, it was cleverly concealed by a swayed popular press to conjecture over whether or not global warming was actually occurring. This was of course at the same time where hundreds of publications in the scientific community agreed 100% that it was indeed a rising problem. At least, this is what you would believe after watching this movie.

In the past five years, twice now have I done research papers on global warming: one five years ago and one last year. The disparity in "findings" is enormous and shocking. Five years ago, I could not find any credible information online that stated that global warming was indeed occurring; rather, it was a collection of carbon dioxide emissions were increasing but global temperatures were also increasing before, and there are of course more people, and the planets became aligned in such a manner that light reflected off the surface of Venus onto Mars then through Jupiter into Neptune off Pluto and finally ricocheting back to Earth. But we know now that this was a complete lie. Pluto was never a planet.

So in short, it seemed global warming may have been occurring just like it seemed like Johnny Depp was the wrong person to play Willy Wonka. We had at best a hunch and at worst unfounded fears. But just like all things, perhaps it was all one big conspiracy to get the country to not care about a problem growing right in front of their eyes. And when you think of people not caring, what do you think of right away? Yup: politics.

Big businesses do not thrive off of environmental regulations. That was as obvious in the days of the Industrial Revolution as it is today. However, there is always a cost that must be paid when pollution is dumped haphazardly into the environment: cleanup, regulation, detox, and so forth. This cost historically falls into the hands of the government, or basically unto taxpayers. Thus, we pay big companies twice – once when we buy their goods or services, and a second time when we clean up after the mess they make. 

Is it then any surprise that these businesses have done everything they can to invoke confusion about global warming through mass media? You ask any regular Joe about global warming, and they’ll probably tell you: “Gee, I have no idea. I don’t think my actions do anything to hurt the environment though.” But face it, Americans have been deficit spending for decades - we use more resources than we can replenish. Finally, this deficit spending that causes big businesses to thrive has been exposed for what it is; hopefully, it is just the first step in running an energy conscious and sustainable society. 

For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, or are afraid of documentaries, “An Inconvenient Truth” is a brilliant watch: touching, classy, gripping, and ultimately, a wake up call. I applaud Al Gore for having the courage to put up a mainstream film on such a controversial topic, encouraging the will to do good, and doing it in an entertaining way that is sure to get the attention of millions not aware of the issues. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and watch. And be very, very afraid for your futures.

See the trailer on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUiP6dqPynE

Environmental Defense: co-founded in 1967 by SBU professor Charlie Wurster
http://fightglobalwarming.com/page.cfm?tagID=264

Everything you need to know and then some:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Inconvenient_Truth

Mount Kilimanjaro's ice cap formed about 11,000 years ago. At its current melt rate, there will be no snow left by 2015. The top image was taken by Landsat 5 satellite in 1993. The bottom image by Landsat 7 in 2000.