An Inconvenient Truth

I watched the film version of 'An Inconvenient Truth' whilst studying Geography at GCSE and I was planning on watching it again seeing as it is relevant to what we are studying at present and to compare it to 'The Age of Stupid' which I watched a couple of weeks ago. However I found the book version of 'An Inconvient Truth' and, as I am a bit of a bookworm, I decided I would read the book instead......

I have literally just finished reading it and my head is buzzing with so many questions - most of which revolve around the idea that if we realise that we are harming the environment and that climate change is actually happening why don't we all do something about it? As I am sure you are all aware, the book/film is all about the Former Vice President, Al Gore, sharing his concerns on the pressing issue of climate change in the hope that it will provoke people to alter their lifestyles to reduce the negative impact that they currently have on the environment. The book is very thought provoking and whilst presenting some interesting ideas, makes you question your own lifestyles and the impacts that they have on the environment. After reading the book and looking at all of the graphs and statistics it contains I find to hard to believe that some people still don't accept that climate change is happening. I realise that it is quite a controversial issue and is often the topic of heated debates (I should probably apologise to my family for bombarding them with facts and statistics this evening and for possibly getting a bit too involved in a discussion over who's responsibilty dealing with climate change is and the sustainability of our current lifesyles - although, on reflection, I think they may have been trying to wind me up!) but how much more evidence to people need to persuade them that changes to our environment are happening and that these changes have been caused, or atleast accelerated, by human activity. I really enjoyed the book (and found it very hard to put down!) and I would even say that I enjoyed it more than the film. The book contained lots of images and graphs which made comparisions very easy to make and, the fact that I had it right infront of me, meant that I found it easier to make sense of and analysis what is was the graphs and images were trying to demonstrate. There is a slight political slant to the book (more so present in the film) but this, combined with the geopolitics stuff we have been learning about recently, made me realise that, whether we like it or not, politics plays a huge role in the energy we consume and the impacts our lifestyles have on the environment. There was one image, imparticular, in the book that really made me think about this.......

This picture shows the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic and it is very clear to see the difference between the two regions. Deforestation is a huge problem as developing countries, who's populations are growing rapidily, rely on wood as an energy source. Almost 30% of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each year is as a result of the burning of brushland for subsistence agriculture and wood fires used for cooking. It is evident that these two countries have different approaches to the way in which they treat the forest. The foundations of these approaches will be based on politics. Climate change is a global issue and so any efforts to solve this problem need to be universal ones if they are to have a substantial impact. The Kyoto Treaty was ratified by 132 nations but the USA, who are the biggest consumer of energy in the world, and Australia refused to sign it. Also many developed countries, due to the fact that most of the oil used is used for transportation, have implemented requirements on how many miles per gallon cars should do as a minimum. However America, who are well known for driving very large cars, have not followed the other developed countries. Surely, if we are to start to remedy this situation, politician's across the world need to stop focusing on where they are going to source their next barrels of oil and instead invest more time and money in deciding on an action plan, that can be implemented on a global scale, to reduce the impacts our current lifestyles are having on the environment.

So, is this book/film worth reading/watching................well my answer has to be yes. If you are unclear on the evidence for climate change that is avaliable or the impacts that rises in sea levels and changes in temperatures are likely to have on the world then this is ideal for you. In terms of the book vs film, I personally prefered the book as, like I said earlier, you can then really take your time when looking at the images and interpretting the graphs but, from what I can remember, the film has a similar impact and presents the same information. I would definitely suggest that you try and watch either (or both) 'An Inconvenient Truth' or 'The Age of Stupid' sometime over the next few weeks - 'The Age of Stupid' is in the library but I am not 100% sure if 'An Inconvenient Truth' is in there.

Next up on my list of books to read is another Al Gore book, 'Our Choice', which he wrote a couple of years after 'An Inconvenient Truth' to offer the solutions to the problems that were identified in 'An Inconvenient Truth'. I must admit that I am very interested to see what Al Gore believes are the actions that need to be taken to effectively address the issue of climate change and I will right a response to the book after I have read it to explain what his views are and whether or not I agree with him.