Vice President Al Gore
This movie is a documentary presented by our former Vice President Al Gore. As the title states it is an informational documentary giving us a visual display and intellectual discussion about the destruction of our planet and shows how humans are the cause of its ruin. Through documented evidence that is at times horrifying he appeals to the audience emotional aptitude with graphic pictures in a power point presentation showing the destruction of our planet. Such as the destruction of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the science that made that particular so devastating.
Through pictures of the polar ice caps melting he shows some of the most disturbing events happening in global warming. These pictures show the flooding that will happen when the land glaciers melt, how mass populated areas will be under water, using the same science that showed the devastation that Katrina would cause before it ensued. These instances are not just in other countries but in the United States as well. How the people of Nepal will suffer because the glaciers of the Himalayans are vanishing and these glaciers provide these people with their water supply. The most upsetting, I feft is that polar bears are being found dead.
They have drowned because they can’t find any ice upon which they rest in their trips around the artic circle. Polar bears can swim over 70 miles this is just heartrending. He further appeals to our moral competence with his speech. He takes us back to his childhood. As he shows the comparison in science and how they try to cover up evidence that will in most cases cause the government a loss in money. He states “we use to grow tobacco when the surgeon general said it caused lung cancer we didn’t stop growing tobacco. ” He compares this to the facts that we know that burning coal is destroying the planet by causing global warming.
However, we continue to burn it because it contributes to the states economy. He goes on to say that his sister died of lung cancer because she had smoked since she was a teenager. This brings us closer to the speaker as he shares his life through out the documentary, mostly from college but he does share his earlier life with us as well and this creates an emotional connection with the audience. Through scientific graphs he further proves his points by showing us how the average temperature of the planet has risen, that the hottest years on record have been within the last 10 years, 2005 being the hottest year ever.
He shows us all of the heat related deaths in that year. Not just in the United States but in other countries as well. Through graphs he also shows us the regular cycle that the earth has went through for the past billion years. Until we started messing with the heat on the planets surface, and with the melting of the ice caps, it makes it worse since they help reflect 90% of the suns rays away from the planet helping it stay cool. With them gone however out earths oceans just absorb the heat cause further and faster melting of the floating glaciers.
One picture that I think will perhaps stay with me a long time is of a set of scales on one side and gold bars and on the other is the earth. He states “our government wants a lot of those” pointing to the gold at the risk of this pointing to the earth. He then states “what good are those with out this? ” Even though he never really comes right out and says it I think he was upset that he lost the 2000 election. As well as how President Bush has messed with our environment. I say this as there where several instances in the documentary when he referred to the election in 2000 and the Florida recount.
In one instance he refers to the Kyoto protocol and how we still haven’t signed off on it. I believe he thinks that is because of President Bush. There is evidence he showed that members of President Bush’s cabinet falsified records about global warming. He also believes that if he had of been in office we would not be having problems with global warming. I have to say that I would agree with him on this point as well as all of the other points he made during his presentation. I think the presentation of this documentary overall was very effective it brought me to tears more than once.
He showed us that saving the planet is not as big of a task as we imagine. In the end he showed a pie graph that showed if we all started using energy efficient appliances, less energy, and drive economical cars that we could be back at pre 1991 CO2 levels. I think it would have been perhaps a little more effective if he didn’t narrate other parts of the documentary as well. He is the main presenter he should have had someone else that has a well known voice, like James Earl Jones narrate other parts of the documentary.
I thought the way he had a cartoon in the first part of the presentation that showed how global warming happens in an average Joe way it made it more effective. People could understand the whole global warming phenomena when it was basic opening understanding for the rest of the presentation. In closing I think that this movie is very informative and everyone should watch it if they believe in global warming or not. Global warming is not like aliens it does exist and everyone needs to help save the planet and this documentary is a great beginning.
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