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An Inconvenient Truth Responses to Preparing for the Film 1. Because scientists have confirmed that climate change is a reality, the concept has moved from speculation and theory to fact. Students will report their growing awareness of the extinction of many animal and plant species caused by pollution and extreme weather patterns all over the globe, deaths and destruction caused by violent storms, the measureable retreat of coastal glaciers and the irreversible retreat of the West Antarctic ice sheet that will result, in the coming centuries, in rising sea levels threatening many major cities. Because weather reports of dramatic changes and storms dominate media news, students will easily accept the statistics presented in An Inconvenient Truth.
2. Students may report reducing their consumption of gas, more frequently using bicycles or walking, sharing rides, and moving to a more fuel-efficient car or a motorcycle when the option of a new vehicle presents itself. Recycling has become law in many cities, and plastic bags—a non-decomposing threat in landfills and the garbage gyre in the Pacific Ocean—have been almost eliminated by conscientious shoppers and retailers. A serious response to reducing consumption and reusing or repurposing material goods has permeated the thinking of many young people. Perhaps a class discussion of specific ways individuals have changed their life-styles to help the environment will inspire others to adopt changes they had not previously considered.
3. Certainly the film presents material that is irrefutable and the warnings, while dire, also inspire viewers to make small changes that seem insignificant but collectively net significant results. If the survival of the planet Earth is dependent on our making those changes in our habits that will help it survive, this generation owes itself the obligation to see the film and start making those changes that can help the environment revive.
Responses to Reflecting on the Film 1.
Gore opens and closes his film with serene images of nature as if to remind us of the importance of this beauty in soothing our spirits and bringing tranquility to our harried lives. Gore notes that such quiet and peaceful scenes help us take deep breaths, slow down, and “shift gears” within.
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The town-hall-style captures the audience as well as Gore on stage and helps to mitigate what could be a dry and formal presentation. The movement of the handheld camera follows Gore, and the technique contributes to the informality, a folksiness of an amateur at a PTA gathering. This jerky movement contrasts with the technology and precision of the stage presentations which include graphs, animations, and NASA photographs. By following Gore in cars and planes, and recording his productivity at his laptop as well as his contemplative moments of reflection, the film
2 reveals alternative personalities of this brilliant, polished speaker who is also personable and candid. Gore’s humorous, self-ironic, and humble nature appeals to the audience and enlivens the film. 3.
Gore’s comment that he “used to be the next president of the United States” reveals his humor and sense of irony, evident throughout the film. It also sets the tone for his lively, candid presentation—moving beyond regrets and frustration to admit the facts and take action. Gore shows his humor when he recalls how his teacher put down a young classmate who wondered if the continents had ever fit together and then quips that the teacher is now employed as a science advisor for the Bush administration. Gore recalls the “fitting-together” joke when he shows a graph illustrating how carbon dioxide and heat “fit together.” He incorporates light-hearted animation to enliven the scientific charts: a Mr. Sun who is beaten by the evil CO2 figures who won’t let him escape the earth’s atmosphere and the frog jumping in and out of hot water and then staying in the warm pot. He also uses an elevator platform to raise him high into the air to dramatize the significant rise in global warming on the chart. Gore’s selection of quotes from Mark Twain and Upton Sinclair illustrate further irony as does his claim that our government perpetuates the myth that protecting the environment is bad for the economy but, in fact, Honda and Toyota with their fuel efficient hybrid cars have left American car manufacturers in the dust.
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Gore states that his son’s life-threatening accident “turned my life upside down.” Gore reveals that the weeks in the hospital watching his son come back to health prompted him to question: “How shall I spend my time on this earth?” Further, there is the thematic connection between the chance that he could have lost his son and that we can really lose the planet as we know it. He makes clear that we could lose what we value and take for granted. Gore’s mission was redefined by this possible loss. A further parallel exists in Gore’s political defeat, also covered in the film. This additional “hard blow” refocused Gore’s life, and he resumed his slide shows and lectures on global warming.
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Gore explains how his father was devastated and even stopped growing tobacco when Gore’s older sister Nancy died of lung cancer—a horrible way to die. This personal story is relevant because it underscores how all parents want to do what’s best for their children and not be left with regrets or a fear that they inadvertently caused their children any suffering. If we don’t act now to halt global warming, the results could be catastrophic for our children’s generation.
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Here are answers to help guide your students: We have global warming because the layer of atmosphere created by pollution-carbon dioxide or “green house gasses”--has steadily increased so that the heat that once radiated back into space has been trapped closer to the earth and has increased heat in all parts of the globe. There is an exact correlation between carbon dioxide and temperature. When there is more carbon dioxide, there is increased heat. As the oceans’ temperatures increase, evaporation off the oceans puts more moisture into the atmosphere. This moisture seeds the clouds so that more
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precipitation occurs and it comes all at once, creating the violent hurricanes and typhoons that have dramatically increased all over the world in the last generation. In addition to intense flooding caused by violent precipitation during storms, precipitation is relocated from its usual places and patterns. Further, as a result of increased global temperatures, water rapidly evaporates from the soil, causing conditions we recognize as drought.
7. Here are explanations for the references from the film: Core drills pulled from the ice layers in Antarctica reveal how much carbon dioxide has been evident in extracted and examined ice. Amazingly, the drills contain ice that has been building for the past 1,000 years. These drills reveal the relationship between the increase of carbon dioxide and increased temperatures: as temperatures have steadily increased, more carbon dioxide is apparent in the ice core samples. The core drills reflect increased amounts of carbon dioxide each year. As a result of increased global temperatures, the Arctic’s floating ice shelves are melting. The Ward Hunt Ice shelf actually has cracked in half, and the Larson Ice Shelf completely disappeared in 2002. The permafrost is thawing. Trees that have had their roots in frozen soil are twisted into “drunken” shapes. Roads that were once frozen and hence passable for 225 days of the year now are on solid foundation only 75 days a year. Houses built on permafrost have collapsed because they are no longer on stable, solid ground. The film notes that 40% of the people in the world draw their drinking water from systems fed by glaciers. Within decades, these shrinking glaciers will have disappeared, with profound consequences for people who need water from these sources. Another consequence of fewer frozen ice shelves is that polar bears drown, looking for ice masses to inhabit. The frozen Arctic Cap has worked like a giant mirror to reflect heat back into space. With the ice gone, the remaining water warms and absorbs the heat rather than reflecting it, contributing to higher temperatures around the earth. Even into the 20th century, a caged canary was brought into a coal mine to warn miners when oxygen was diminishing and noxious gasses were increasing. When the canary stopped singing, it was time to evacuate the mine. Gore uses the image of canaries in a coal mine as a parallel to our indicators of global warming. We see evidence that there are regions in the world experiencing serious changes, but we ignore the warnings and evidence. The frog placed in a boiling pot of water will jump out immediately, dramatically aware of the trouble he is in. However, if he is put into tepid water and the heat increased gradually, he will expire in the rising temperatures, unaware of what has happened. The analogy is clearly that we on Earth are in tepid water with the temperatures of global disasters rising, but we remain lethargic, unaware of the imminent peril we are in. 8. Five ecological consequences of global warming in the animal and plant communities are the following: the insects that feed birds are not appearing during their expected cycle and are not available to nourish the baby birds; insects are not killed by winter as they
4 should be so trees are destroyed by infestations; mosquitoes are multiplying without their natural enemies; species of fish and coral are in jeopardy; and new infectious diseases are developing and old diseases are re-emerging even though they once were thought cured. 9. Three factors are causing a collision between our civilization and the earth: Population increases have put more pressure on the earth for resources like water, food, and fuels. Our old habits continue but new technologies require us to react differently to avoid deadly consequences. Our ways of thinking need to change. Like the frog in the cooking pot, we can’t sit and not respond. It takes human nature time “to connect the dots,” but as Gore says, “You often wish you had connected the dots more quickly.” Gore cites his family’s tobacco farming and his older sister’s death from lung cancer as an example of wishing the family’s thinking had changed more quickly. 10. We provided these exact quotations from famous people to assist students in their discussions. 11. In an analysis of 928 articles on global warning written by scientists, Gore reports zero cases of disagreement about what is happening to the environment and why it is happening. Gore also reports a leaked government administrative memo that directs: “Reposition global warning as theory rather than fact.” Hence, a misconception has been deliberately perpetrated by a small group of people to produce doubt and create confusion about a problem that the members of the scientific community hold in agreement. Gore compares this deliberate mis- education program to the advertising campaign that told the public that “More Doctors Smoke Camels” than any other cigarette. Gore further exposes the problem of special interest appointments, citing a petroleum industry executive who was inappropriately appointed to an environmental agency. He was a non- scientist censoring scientific reports and when exposed, he resigned and went to work for Exxon. Gore stresses that scientists have an obligation to present the facts independent of special interests or politics, and government has a moral obligation to listen. 12. Gore uses graphics, charts, and statistics to expose the myth that we have to choose between the economy and the environment. Gore exposes this choice as a false dilemma, claiming that doing the right thing inevitably moves us forward as a country. Bad moral and ethical choices cause a country to suffer economically in the long run and they are not the way to balance the economy. Gore points to the car industry for support: Toyota and Honda have excellent, fuel-efficient, hybrid cars that are good for the environment and that significantly outsell American car companies’ inefficient products. Furthermore, even China’s environmental standards are higher than those in the United States and therefore American cars can’t be sold in China. 13. Gore reminds us that the history of the United States has included sweeping social changes from its conception as a new democratic country committed to securing rights for all: the abolition of slavery, giving women the right to vote, and implementing desegregation. Globally, we have cured once-deadly diseases, walked on the moon, brought down communism, and closed the hole in the ozone layer through legislation against polluting products. Individual American states and cities are supporting the Kyoto
5 Agreement that our country has not signed, even though every other advanced country except Australia has signed. Our history shows that we are capable of change. Thus some optimism concludes the film. Gore gives specific suggestions for individuals to implement changes in their own lives. Gore also encourages the audience to go to www.climatecrisis.net for more information. 14. Gore expected that members of Congress would find the scientific evidence as compelling as he did and would “cause a sea change” in values that would influence policies and habits. Gore feels that somehow he “failed to get the message across,” that global warming is a moral imperative and not a political issue to be derided and dismissed. He is convinced that every citizen, regardless of political affiliation, should care that the dramatic increase in global warming is threatening life as we know it. Gore points to 928 scientific articles on global warming, noting that none of the scientists have denied the severity of this problem. Gore cites statistics proving that in 650,000 years the CO2 level has never gone above 300 parts per million but is now “way above” that level and in the next 50 years will be so much higher. Global heat waves were the hottest in the year that the film was made, and there continue to be natural catastrophes worldwide. Referring to the politicians’ apathy, Gore emphasizes that “if an issue is not on the tips of their constituents’ tongues, it’s easy for them to ignore it” and claim that they “will deal with it tomorrow.” 15. The title of the film, An Inconvenient Truth, emphasizes that the truth may be “inconvenient” but it is undeniable. If we acknowledge the evidence we have, “the moral imperative to make big changes is inescapable.” To Al Gore, that imperative is inescapable, and throughout the film this mandate for change is the mission that drives his life.
