Shannon

Justin, his parents and I saw Gore's documentary, An Inconvenient Truth on Saturday. There were at least 15 other people in the theatre, which is notable since San Antonio isn't exactly "green city USA". I was probably among the youngest there, at age 32, though. Where are the younger folks? I know it's summer and it's not a date flick, but...?

We all learned something from it, and we all thought it was a well produced documentary and that Gore did a good job communicating it. I will be buying a copy on DVD for our home theatre library. His delivery was perfect. My only aggravation were the overt political bits -- flashing back to the election, etc., but I'll grant him that; politics aside that kind of personal/career setback can create a paradigm shift in one's focus, and in that respect it fit the rest of the documentary. In multiple ways he addressed why this issue is so important and why he's been so focused on it for so long, and in a renewed manner in recent years.

I wish everyone would go see this, regardless of their political or environmental views.

Incidentally, the marquee at the theatre (inside and outside, both) only had enough room for the movie to be listed as "INCONVENIENT". It was rather comical. Vertical list of movies on the interior marquee:
LAKE HOUSE
FAST & FURIOUS
CARS
INCONVENIENT

__________________
- Shannon Moore
Your Host @ WildTexas.com

Purchases in the Wild Texas Gear Shop support our continued operation. Thank you!

BigBendHiker

Thanks for your post. I plan on seeing it, although I doubt it will make it to the town in which I live. Thus, will have to wait for DVD.

From personal experience, I have seen how the visibility in the Big Bend region has decreased noticeably in just the past 25 years as a result of the burning of fossil fuels. And, Big Bend is in the middle of nowhere. Climate change is an important issue and one which cannot be ignored. An Inconvenient Truth will hopefully focus debate and attention on this important subject.

stingrey

Happened to see this movie this past weekend (before studying for three exams) and I found it disturbing considering the changes that I have seen in my own local ecosystems both here and in my old stomping grounds. I KNOW that things are changing here, but to see it on a larger scale is pretty upsetting.

toejam

What is Truth?

The smart people I know say the earth has always gone through climate change cycles and that the affect we've had can't alter what the earth does to herself. That's no reason to be irresponsible, but I remain unconvinced.

This inconvenient "truth" seems like a very convenient excuse for controlling the people and their money.

rockhill

Has the earth gone thru climate changes before modern man? Scientist tell us it has and there does seem to be plenty of evidence the common man can see and understand. Have we accelerated or adversly affected the enviroment? I believe that we have done so. The decrease in visibility, crud floating in the air and water can not be beneficial. Now how much of the melting ice cap do we blame on "natural changes" and how much on greenhouse gases? That is the tough question that I believe no one can say for certainty. To be safe, we need to do those things required to lessen our foot print on the eco system.
Just one man's opinion to be sure, but open debate and concern is a good thing.

DamonH

Seconded. I am for people not wasting and being irresponsible like you said. I thought this was pretty funny:

POWER: GORE MANSION USES 20X AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD; CONSUMPTION INCREASE AFTER 'TRUTH'
Mon Feb 26 2007 17:16:14 ET

The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization committed to achieving a freer, more prosperous Tennessee through free market policy solutions, issued a press release late Monday:



Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.

Gore’s mansion, [20-room, eight-bathroom] located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).

In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.

The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.

Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.

Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.

Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.

“As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk to walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,” said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.

In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.

For Further Information, Contact:
Nicole Williams, (615) 383-6431
editor@tennesseepolicy.org

Shannon

It's easy to discount the message due to the messenger (a politician, a wealthy individual, etc.), but I think it's a mistake to do so. Write off the message of the documentary on other grounds, but not simply because you dislike Gore or his personal actions.

While natural processes (that we still don't fully understand) do indeed cause dramatic changes to our Earth, I also think it's fool-hardly to think that we don't do damage and have the capacity and capability to accelerate said changes or modify them in ways that are less-than-desirable for the habitability of our planet. All you have to do is look at pollution on a local level and extrapolate that out to your city, state, nation, continent, and the globe to know that these things compound and have unintended and undesirable effects/affects.

Recycling, using gasoline and energy more efficiently/effectively, properly disposing of dangerous wastes, and so forth, certainly can't HURT the environment and are thus viable options for those who wish to participate in doing something vs. maintaining the status quo.

As for benefitting special interest groups, there are special interest groups, lobbiests and so forth representing the oil, gas, coal and so-forth industries so I don't see why there can't or shouldn't be comparable special interest groups and lobbiests involved in energy efficient or alternative energy (solar, wind, hydroelectric, and yes, nuclear), in hybrid and electric vehicles, in "green" building materials and recycling, etc.

__________________
- Shannon Moore
Your Host @ WildTexas.com

Purchases in the Wild Texas Gear Shop support our continued operation. Thank you!

MissionCamper

Fair enough, but for many of us it's a perfect example of do as I say.. not as I do philosophy...has nothing to do with liking/disliking his actions. Doesn't exactly add credibility to his cause. My response to this is simple: If you want me to make sacrifices, show me you're willing to do the same.