Storyline
A sequel to The Inconvenient Truth, the follow-up documentary addresses the progress made to tackle the problem of climate change and Al Gore's global efforts to persuade governmental leaders to invest in renewable energy, culminating in the landmark signing of 2016's Paris Climate Agreement.
Cast: Al Gore -
Himself
Barack Obama -
Himself
(archive footage)
Donald J. Trump -
Himself
(archive footage)
Trivia:
Received two standing ovations at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. See more »
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Rating: 10/10
My wife and I attended an event last night at the Greek Theater in Los
Angeles, featuring a screening of the new film and an appearance by Al
Gore, who gave in an interview and update of what's been happening
since the release of An Inconvenient Truth in 2006. What I describe
below are features and conclusions expressed in the film and by Al Gore
during his interview.
The essential truth is that climate change and the warming of the
Planet Earth is not a political issue. It is not hypothetical. It is
not a projection for the future. It is here. It is reality. It has been
made a political issue in America by the fossil fuel industry and
well-healed and powerful people who are being made richer by denying
that reality. It's that simple.
The political ploys that they have used are nearly identical to those
that were employed by the tobacco industry in the suppression and
obfuscation of smoking related health data in the 1980's. The results
have also been similar. They have spent over two billion dollars on
their campaign to sway public opinion on the issue. Their efforts have
have been somewhat successful. A significant segment of the population
has been successfully misled, which has produced a widespread apathy to
to the urgency of the situation and to the issue itself.
Science is a major proponent of truth in our civilization. It is not
inherently wise, but it can tell us when something is broken, and
often, how to fix it. Climate science has already shown us how to fix
the climate problem physically. It has fallen short of helping enough
people in power to develop the will to do something about it.
In order to fix that, it has taken a serious advocate, in the person of
Al Gore, to champion the endeavor to educate and otherwise shift the
awareness of people toward the truth.
The most prominent example of this is Gore's negotiations with the
Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi during around the time of the global
climate conference in 2015. Modi was reluctant to lend his support for
a climate accord because he felt that the Indian economy was not strong
enough to shift resources toward the development of new alternative
energy technologies and industries. The need for the developing
nation's increase in energy production was immediate, with no room for
mistakes. Modi and Parliament were on the verge of authorizing the
building of 400 new coal based generation plants. Gore realized that
that would be a climate catastrophe. He also realized that it was not
their fault for their thinking that way. India was in a really tough
spot.
So, Gore contacted Solar City's CEO Lyndon Rive about negotiating an
agreement with India for the transfer of solar photo-voltaic technology
to India that would benefit both India and Solar City. After intense
negotiations, the deal was done, and Modi agreed to join the Paris
climate accord. Now that's deal making.
Gore admitted, both to the audience and in the film, that he was often
on the verge of despair regarding the trend of American politics on the
matter. Still, he persevered. The history of setbacks is long.
One of the first was the cancellation of the NASA DSCOVR project. It
was one of the first casualties of George W Bush's new administration.
The project was intended to launch a satellite into a solar orbit that
is synchronized with the orbit with the earth in order to observe the
earth from a constant "full earth" perspective. It could make make
measurements of the earth 24/7 which could then be analyzed to yield
useful climate data. For example, it would be a constant monitor over
time of the ratio of incident and reflected energy on the earth. That
would yield an accurate measurement of how much energy is being
absorbed by greenhouse gasses and the rise of global temperatures.
Many setbacks have occurred in America with the election of climate
denying politicians to government office, and most recently, the
appointment of many of them to federal executive cabinet and other high
ranking positions.
On the other hand, there seems to be a global trend for the adoption of
renewable energy sources. Even in the US, in Texas, no less, one town
proudly touts its 100% reliance on these resources. Some states have
nearly reached 100% fossil fuel independence. Across the world, the
adoption and use of renewable energy is accelerating dramatically. In
Chile, in the last year or so, the production of renewable energy has
grown by several thousand percent. China has committed to the movement.
When asked whether a tipping point has been reached in the industrial
and political adoption of renewable energy, Gore did not state
unequivocally that it has, but he indicated that he thinks it's
inevitable. He remains hopeful.
There were many examples shown in the movie of devastating events that
have occurred worldwide since the last movie that are directly and
unequivocally attributable to temperature and climate. Amid all the
massive devastation, one event really stood out as a surprising and
disturbing data point.
In 2015 a massive deluge was recorded in Tucson. It seemed to be an
aerial view of clouds dumping water (billions of gallons?) on Tucson as
if a giant barrel in the sky tipped over. You could actually make out
the splash of the water on the ground. Not drops. Barrels.
I don't recall any mention of tipping points with regard to climate
change itself. That is, the point at which the planet will not recover
sufficiently to stop the warming progression. This was a prominent
topic earlier on in the discussion.
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