An Inconvenient Truth: I'm Open-Minded

[The Dude]

I just watched An Inconvenient Truth, and it got me thinking. I'm sympathetic toward environmental issues - especially when they deal with encouraging long-term sustainable activities and resource usage - but up till now have been relatively unconvinced of the urgency to deal with global warming. The Earth's eco-system is extremely resilient, and the things we've been doing to allegedly cause so much disaster have been going on for only a short amount of time (in the overall timeline of things).

However, if the data and conclusions presented in this film are to be taken at face value, this is not a problem for future generations. In fact, it could be a devastating global problem in the next 10 years, and is already having a noticeable affect on weather patterns (tropical storms, rainfall, polar ice melting).

So my general question is, How reliable is the information presented in this film? Michael Moore has a great ability to convince people by taking information/ words out of context and presenting half-truths and even blatant deception. It goes without saying that I have more respect for Al Gore than that, but that doesn't mean that I'm prepared to take everything in this film at face value.

I'd like to hear everyone's general statements on the film - and larger issue of global warming - but I also have some specific questions on things presented in the film.

1. There was a spot where Al Gore showed about a dozen pictures of snow-covered mountains and glaciers - past and present. Does anybody know if the past and present pictures were taken near the same time of year? Were all the past pictures taken around the same year (or year in which snow-level was typical), or were they hand selected to show the largest amount of snow ever recorded?

2. He showed a large graph of CO2 levels over the past 650,000 years, with a large spike over the past few years. He then projected what CO2 emissions would be in 10 years, and the projection was, literally, off the charts. Does anybody know if the calculations are explained anywhere? Is it legit? Has anybody looked over their website (www.climatecrisis.net)? Is it reliable and worth looking through? I'd really love to see detailed explanations of the projections given in the movie.

3. Many events around the world were linked to global warming, and I don't know how many of them have legit explanations other than global warming. For example, the drying up of Lake Chad was blamed primarily on global warming. Is this legit as a major cause of this event, or is some other combination of causes primarily responsible, leaving global warming's impact skeptical, at best?

I don't have the time to look through climatecrisis.net right now, but if it's a reliable source of information, I will in the near future.

As an interesting aside, it's possible my receptiveness to this issue has been encouraged by two fiction books I've read in the past 6 mos. The Lost World by Michael Crichton talked about changes in behavior being the probable explanation for the extinction of many species, and Xenocide by Orson Scott Card talks a lot about intentional shaping of planets' eco-systems, specifically regulation of CO2 levels.

[MrMon]

If it were true that in the next 10 years we'll see tremendous problems, then there's absolutely nothing we can do about it now, even if we wanted to. Might as well sit back and enjoy the ride. And if it doesn't happen? Wouldn't be the last time the fearmongers were wrong.

[lapoker17]

really good piece in the journal a month or so back called "is al gore melting" or something similar - quick google couldn't find it, but maybe someone has it. it addressed many of your questions/concerns.

[KMac4]

Dude,
I felt the same way after seeing the film. I'm a skeptic when watching many "documentaries" that are aimed towards persuasion. It was interesting to see all of the things that you mentioned, but all of your questions are valid points.

As MrMon stated, I guess we'll see in ten years.

[Jack of Arcades]

RealClimate Post
AP Article (Washington Post)

U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works about the AP Article

Canada National Post's scathing review

[El Diablo]

Dude,

Global Warming thread. You might want to copy your post/questions into that thread.