Monday, January 08, 2007

An Inconvenient Truth

"For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

I've had this Newtonian quote in my head for years now. It seems applicable to more than just the laws of motion. I've used it for story telling and for making choices in my own life. I also see how it applies to the Environment.

You've probably already noticed my sidebar.
We watched An Inconvenient Truth a couple of nights ago and were both impressed with it. D., having recently read the Weathermakers was particulary moved.

Before seeing the film, I've always been listening with interest to what information is presented in the media on the topic of "global warming" and how it is presented. Obviously a CNN newscast has a different approach than a CBC newscast or a Fox newscast. What I have noticed is the growing frequency of this topic being included into newscasts. However, it is coupled with a good dose of skeptical "scientific proof" to conclude the newsbite of info so that we can all feel relatively safe again. In other words, the media is covering it's ass by addressing the fact that global warming may be a significant factor, while at the same time it suggests that there is no real proof since that oh-so-large group called "scientists" cannot agree 100%. Instead we are told there is also a "natural progression" of climate change and global warming is just another "trend". The choice of words make something that is quite catastrophic seem to be a benign phase that we somehow must put up with until it passes.

Since seeing the film, I've been wondering how long it is going to take for people to change and to believe in change? How many floods, hurricanes and tsunamis do we need in a year to realize our human impact on this one small planet?

Gore's argument is very convincing and he addresses the antithetical viewpoints and what "science" generates such viewpoints and why. Even if you can't fully swallow the entire argument (unlike me I bought the whole package as you can see by my sidebar) there must be some acknowledgement of responsibility for our actions.

1 comment:

Wandering Coyote said...

My brother has this somewhere and I really want to see it. I've heard nothing but good things about it. For an advanced species, we are pretty stupid and lacking in forethought. When will we change? I'm a pessimist, I'll have to admit, so I don't think any change will happen until the last minute. Too many people are making too much money off of exploiting the environment, so we need political will, too.