"An Inconvenient Truth" or "I feel like I'm fixin' to die." AL GORE!!!

[autorank]

This was a remarkable film and should be seen by every American.

As far as I'm concerned, Gore's film is the only, ONLY statement by a prominent leader in any of the major nations on the impending human and environmental catastroophes we face in the NEAR FUTURE.

FACTS

1) A few months ago CBS ran a story on the rapid collapse of the glaciers in Greenland. The scientific consensus was that there would be a resulting 3 foot increase in sea level. This was accurate at the time.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1729253,00.html
... Greenland is shedding sheets of ice far faster than previously realised; that the West Antarctic ice cap is dwindling at an unexpectedly high rate; and that the Gulf Stream is showing worrying signs of being disrupted by Arctic meltwaters.

The last effect is particularly worrying, because the waters of the Gulf Stream play a key role in keeping Britain and Europe from freezing in winter. Should it disappear, the consequences for the country would be profound.

2) Then The Independent ran a story on the "tipping point" for atmospheric pollution. Uh, we've passed it.

Global warming: passing the 'tipping point'
Our special investigation reveals that critical rise in world temperatures is now unavoidable
By Michael McCarthy, Environment Editor
Published: 11 February 2006
Full article at GNN: http://www.guerrillanews.com/headlines/7523/Global_warming_passing_the_tipping_point

A crucial global warming "tipping point" for the Earth, highlighted only last week by the British Government, has already been passed, with devastating consequences.

Research commissioned by The Independent reveals that the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has now crossed a threshold, set down by scientists from around the world at a conference in Britain last year, beyond which really dangerous climate change is likely to be unstoppable

3) Science being what it is, this information was quickly integrated and a new consensus was formed due to some good collaboration.

SEA LEVEL WILL RISE 20 FEET BY 2100. THIS WILL BE INCREMENTAL AND WE WILL LOSE:

JUST ABOUT EVERY CITY IN FLORIDA - THE ENTIRE NETHELRLANDS
- LOWER MANHATTAN -
DOWNTOWN LONDON - NEW ORLEANS - oh, and btw, BANGLADESH!!! AND
much, much more

4) Gore's film is out.

It's the only unified statement of all these facts presented in a comprehensible fashion.

Of all the poo bahs, he's the only world figure with any stature who is making the case.

He covers the emergence of the climate change thesis in 1957, the numerous congressional hearings on the subject form his time in the House, the near universal dismissal of the argument and implicaitions

Gore brings up several key points:

A) The 20 foot seal level increase and the implications -- hundreds of millions displaced or dead.

B) The narrow window of opportunity we have to do something.

C) Political inaction EVERYWHERE.

D) These wonderful facts:

50% or more of CM (corporate media) stories on the subject cover "the other side of the debate;" while

0% (zero) of peer reviewed scientific journal articles, zero (as in none), cover "the other side of the debate." There is no other side, never has been really.

THE "DEBATE" IS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CM FABRICATION (Unless we assume they don't know what these words mean: "peer review" - "scientific" - "objective study.")

The film is a skilled exposition. The only part I found annoying was the periodic sequences of Gore preparing his "slide show" (that's what he calls it;)) . It kept coming back to me and then I realised what was going on - the filmmakers were pointing out that he is ALONE in making these statements and calling for immediate and dramatic action...ALONE...can you imagine...

I think that this film is the only vehicle we have, for now, of focusing people on this most profound story. We're literally finished and probably quicker than the estimates right now. The rapidity of change can be found just looking at the front page of any major news paper. "Scientists concerned at rapidityi of climate change data."

I can't think of one single issue of greater importance than the survival of the planet. What's the Democratic Party doing about it? What should it do?

I'd urge you to see the film and get others to do so. It's just that important and the case is made extremely well.

www.An-Inconvenient-Truth.com

[leftchick]

1. excellent summation auto!

I am taking my husband to see it this weekend! He is still in denial because he does not read all of the bad news I read daily. He believes the worst won't happen in our lifetime! I think I will have him read this post as a primer.

peace,
lc

:)

[autorank]

2. Thank you leftchick...

Can you believe this? We've really screwed things up and now we're going to have a real tough
time fixing things right, hence the title of this thread.

Gore is using a 50 year figure for calamity. The full effect won't hit until 2100 BUT it's
'incremental' - happening all along...oops.

I think those dippings in Hitchhikers Guide had the right idea.

"Thanks for the fish!"

:hi:

[leftchick]

3. a little dark humor here...

we were at a NC beach this past week and my husband always starts talking about buying property while we are there. (not that we can afford it! This is after a few cocktails! ;) _ I told him we would be better off buying property in Raliegh because it would be the new NC coastline in a few years. :(

[autorank]

15. Right, and Carolina will be the tropics. What a mess.

You'd think we might have selected something a little bit better than dinosaur corpses to power our
grand and glorious achievements since the automobile.

Was this worth it?

[Gabi Hayes]

32. check your PMs!

[goddess40]

4. we still have to drive almost 3 hours to see it

I'm hoping it comes to town, but I won't hold my breath.


BTW, what is the red thing in the bottom of the picture on your posts?

[leftchick]

6. my son's art....

he drew that one night and left it on the kitchen table for me to see with no explaination. I saw it after he went to bed and it moved me so much I made it my sig line.

It is a drawing in marker and he taped a lego arm on the paper to represent bush's hand. Then drew the hand dripping blood with marker. I guess you could say he used mixed media. ;)

[goddess40]

9. Your son gets it, I was that more Americans would too!

Smart kid!

[deaniac21]

20. 3 hours? What kind of carbon footprint will that be?

[Land Shark]

24. Let's be fair. Are U against self-defense because it involves "violence"?

nt

[deaniac21]

28. Yes.

[Triana]

5. CONservatives worry that if they do anything about greenhouse gases

or climate change, it will negatively affect the bottom lines of too many corporations and therefore negatively affect the economy.

What they don't get is that if global warming (SHOWN to be caused by humans and greenhouse gasses produced by them) continues, WE WON'T HAVE ANY ECONOMY! Manhattan will be UNDERWATER. There won't BE ANY ECONOMY TO WORRY ABOUT! Money won't matter. We'll be beyond it.

God how these TFMs (Total Fucking Morons who are evidently lacking even two brain cells to rub together) can possibly not GET that most-important point is beyond me.

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze!

[autorank]

8. Oh, you mean these folks;)

http://drinkingliberally.org/blogs/coloradosprings/archives/2006/06/bush_losing_cor.html

Can you imagine...Ask them how they'll do when they won't be able to breathe and there's no where else to go. They'll probably say, "well, we won't know the difference." They don't now. This is going to be a quick spark. In 2002, a public tort law firm began gathering evidence on people claiming that there was no global warming. They announced it and that was that. They will make a fortune on the law suits. There will be no place for the scoundrels to hide. Unfortunately, they will have ruined the earth. Imagine hordes of people, millions, from Bangladesh moving toward India, starving, parched.

This film melts denial and resistance. It's that good.

Now I know why Gore is serious about not planning a run for president. He has a bigger task. Right now it's all about him walking alone...next, he'll keep the crooks honest when they try to spin the solutions into half baked bull shit. He's on point.

[stepnw1f]

18. Pure Greed and Obsessiveness

trumping their own survival. Pretty goddamned stupid. Why is the bottom line so important again?:crazy:

[rosesaylavee]

7. The movie gives you hope at the end

and provides valuable information on what an individual can do to start reversing the damage... I very much liked that.

Lots of details and facts on what is happening but we currently have the technology and tools to turn it around - but we have to start NOW.

This is a very important movie for our times. I am very grateful that Gore has the passion and the heart to get his message out there.

[calmblueocean]

10. Makes you wonder what people in 75-100 years from now are going to say

...when they look back.

"You mean you KNEW this was going to happen, and you STILL did nothing?" They will see us as backward, selfish, and amoral as we see the slaveowners of 150 years ago. I'm hoping "Inconvenient Truth" does for global warming what "Uncle Tom's Cabin" did for the anti-slavery movement.

[Lorien]

33. What will people 20 years from now say?

based on the facts I've read in many articles in the environment forum and on the data I've heard from a friend studying climate change in the Antarctic, I think the changes will come very quickly-within a decade or two. Food will become scarce, storms will be more severe, there will be more wars over dwindling natural resources. All current estimates are based on current levels of fossil fuel use and deforestation, but the number of humans on earth will DOUBLE to 13 Billion in 20 years, then double again to 26 billion ten years after that. The planet can comfortably sustain 2 billion. 26 billion is completely out of the question-but that's where we're headed.

[mom cat]

11. Kicked, reccommended and bookmarked. ... I had not seen the study

that shows that we are already past the "tipping point" on CO2 equvalent concentrations.

I have made my vow to the planet:
No air conditioning in the summer
Thermostat at 45-50 in the winter.
I did the lowered thermostat this winter and kept my fuel oil (bio-diesel)usage to 300 gallons for the whole winter.
All energy used to "condition" the air just adds to the heat in the air, making things worse for people in countries that are already suffering from brutal temperature rises. We are all interconnected and what we do matters.

[autorank]

12. You're talking about "The Independent" article...they figured it out!

Amazing. They shouldn't hide that for fees, it's the best thing a news paper has done in 100 years or maybe ever. They were doing a story review on a conference and they noticed that the various reports put the levels over the "tipping point" the leading people at the conference had established. Since this was all very new, when they went off for their interviews, the scientists were startled since they'd not talked yet. The news paper collated, analyzed, and delivered the findings.

I commend you. You are an "early adopter," we're all going to be doing that soon if more people don't get on board in very short order. Amazing times.

I want "The Independent." "The Guardian," and the "Times of London" to get awards.

I want our press to get free transport to the hottest spot on earth.

[autorank]

13. Map of Ocean's Encroachment of Coastal Areas: Times of London

Times of London (Great Article)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2100776,00.html

DOZENS of the world’s cities, including London and New York, could be flooded by the end of the century, according to research which suggests that global warming will increase sea levels more rapidly than was previously thought.

<snip>

The historical data, however, show that the last time that Greenland became this warm, the sea level rise generated by meltwater destabilised the Antarctic ice, leading to a much higher increase than can be explained by Arctic ice alone.

That means that the models of sea-level rise used to predict an increase of up to 3ft by 2100 may have significantly underestimated its ultimate extent, which could be as great as 20ft.

Such a rise would threaten cities such as
London, New York, Bombay and Tokyo. Large parts of the Netherlands, Bangladesh and Florida
would be inundated, and even smaller rises would flood extreme low-lying areas, such as several Pacific islands and New Orleans.

http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,281997,00.jpg

[OneBlueSky]

14. the other side of this is "the Earth will survive" . . .

humankind, on the other hand, may not . . . and maybe that's not such a bad thing, given how we've continued to rape this marvelous Garden of Eden with our insatiable greed and limitless stupidity . . . maybe the Earth needs a few million years to clear her systems out and start over, without the parasites that humans have become . . .

unfortunately, though, a lot of other marvelous species will also likely not survive . . . to me, that's at least as good a reason as human survival -- if not better -- to fight to do everything we can to reverse the planet's decline . . .

if it's not too late . . .

humans the Earth can do without . . . it would be a damn shame, though, to lose all the lions and tigers and bears, oh my . . .

[autorank]

43. This is the ultimate shift in "power" - the earth will, we may but then

again, we may not. And to think that Gore was mocked as he tried to spread the word on this.

[katinmn]

16. It's "funny" how neocons and media friendly to them

present "both sides" of the debate over destruction of Earth.

As a fellow watcher of the corporate-owned media morphing into the State Media, I applaud your post. :)

[autorank]

27. I have one word for the media (check this out): BANGLADESH

...but first, the nearest major population center, Calcutta, or it's new spelling

Kolkata:

" Pollution is a major concern in Kolkata, and the Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) level is high when compared to other major cities of India, leading to regular smog and haze."

Elevation: - 9 m (minus nine meters)

Bye, bye Kolcata, no more black holes...completely finished. But this is not the most mind bending catastrophe awaiting us....there is....

Bangladesh

"Most parts of Bangladesh are less than 10 meters above sea level, and it is believed that about 10% of the land would be flooded if the sea level were to rise by 1 metre."

But sea level is going up 6.1 meters (20 feet)..

141,822,000 without a place to live...

Imagine tens of millions of people displaced ...

[hatrack]

17. Thank you, Autorank! After years of howling in the wilderness . . .

. . . of the Environment/Energy board, good to see somebody else with the baton!

:toast:

[IndyOp]

19. Watch Gore online at TEDTalks - Laugh out loud funny! More AIT info, too

All of the TEDtalks are great - Gore's is just fantastic!
http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/index.cfm?flashEnabled=1


Did you know that Al and Tipper are going to open a Shoney's restaurant? ;-)

[earth mom]

21. Know when it will be out on DVD? nt

[dogday]

22. K&R

[Land Shark]

23. It is a very important film, great at explaining science in easily

understood terms. EVERYONE should go see it!

[mnhtnbb]

25. I have been having nightmares since seeing the film

a week ago. Then our local paper ran a story on the Greenland ice melt which is occuring FASTER than computer models had predicted.

At 55, I don't think I'll see the rise in sea level take out the US coasts during my lifetime, but I imagine my children will certainly be affected.

Here's a link to a terrific ad regarding the fact that we've created this mess for our children.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjlJ_CS_xWw&search=global%20warming%20train

[autorank]

42. It is a shame that our legacy will be so much pain and that the

means of control by the * types have become son exquisite. I specifically blame the CM/MSM for their role in this. Deliberately presenting climate change as though it had two sides. Their utter arrogance will come back to bite them. Maybe if we get a reprieve, we can take the time to make sure that the information channels are clear and open in the future.

I feel terrible for my daughter and the dilemma she will face when she's ready to have children.

[Uncle Joe]

26. Thanks for the review autorank.

I believe this to be a most historic time for us, as someone mentioned up thread, "An Inconvenient Truth" could be for the environment what Uncle Tom's Cabin was for slavery, I concur.

Kicked and recommended!



:kick:

[autorank]

31. Perfect, that's what this film is...the unifying narrative of outrage at

a system that has NO MORAL FOUNDATION. Thanks for the kind words!!!

[happydreams]

29. OK, So why am I in favor of global warming?

Florida, a hotbed of neo-fascist thuggery, will be swamped? Now tell me what's so bad about that? :evilgrin:


Gore tells an important truth. I just don't understand why he folds up when challenged as in 2000. He should have fought the bastards. Also he points to Big Oil, but doesn't specify the role of oil in making and maintaining the Bush Dynasty.

[Lorien]

34. Florida went to Gore in 2000

I worked at a polling place down here and watched as the police tried to shut down polls early in African American districts and intimidated voters (Greg Palast has written about my experiences here). We ARE NOT a "hotbed of neo-fascist thuggery"; our votes were stolen by the same bunch who rule the nation.

[happydreams]

55. OK, we should send

lifeboats to save brave souls like yourself. }(

[Admiral Loinpresser]

37. Would you have supported Gore in an armed uprising?

I think civil war was his only option after the infamous 5-4 SCOTUS decision which stopped the counting. He said he strongly disagreed with the decision in his concession speech. The ironic thing is that besides Bradley, Gore was the only one who consistently told the truth and yet he is remembered by the MSM as the "dissembler." The MSM attack on him was so strong that it even became fashionable for Dems to criticize him.

But now it is fashionable to praise him because of the movie and his early stance on the IWR, etc. I think his consistency on our greatest threat (climate change) shows he is tough minded in the right way.

[happydreams]

54. Anarchy was not the only option. If he beleived he was

robbed he should have not conceded. He should have demanded that the voting irregularities in Florida be investigated and kept the fire of dissent burning under that fascist chimps ass from the get-go. Instead he folded like a wet glove and then never pursued the matter even academically.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

56. I think I understand your position.

Resistance to Bush is a critical thing in trying to preserve our republic, because his approach is authoritarian and without respect for our democratic traditions. But I have a different take on the advisability of Gore leading an ineffectual protest campaign against the SCOTUS. Most of Bush's anti-democratic ideology wasn't appreciated then.

Gore had extremely little support for such a protest. The Democratic Party did not adequately back Gore in the campaign or in the aftermath of the election. Even his running mate sold him out by ad libbing about invalid military ballots. Many Party leaders had been saying for weeks he should concede. The country was mainly ready to get it behind us, as much as you and I and MoveOn weren't. Indeed our website was founded out of that frustration we share. Many more get it now than did then.

Most Democrats were not willing to take to the streets. The Gore family was besieged in the Vice Presidential residence. There were 24 hour freeper crowds yelling "Get out of Cheney's house!" Tipper told a mutual acquaintance that when she sat down to talk with one of the girls at the dinner table, that they could hear the chanting from the street. The Republicans outnumbered the Dems on the streets. We failed Gore, ourselves, the party and our country. I thought about going to Florida and to D.C., but I did neither, I am embarassed to say. I went to some protests in KC but it wasn't the same thing.

Remember how fashionable it was to criticize Gore? That didn't start after the election. It started in March 1999, when the MSM started typing up the GOP spin and publishing it as fact. Gore was stiff, he was a dissembler, he had no core identity, all he did was attack and go negative. These were the themes the MSM hit on a daily basis. That is why my sister (who had been an enthusiastic Gore supporter) came to believe during the summer of the 2000 campaign that he was no good. I finally got her to admit, about a year ago, that she had been brainwashed about Gore by the MSM but it was tough, because she's never read the Daily Howler and she gets most of her news through the MSM.

So my perspective is that in the most hostile MSM climate that any political candidate has ever faced in American history, with a party that won't support you, a protest campaign is counterproductive and quixotic at best and maybe close to insanity.

You may not agree with much of my perspective, that's OK with me. You are entitled to a belief which I'm sure is sincere. I'm happy for you to follow up to this, because I've had my say. I hope we see each other on the street in D.C., if that becomes necessary again.

My thoughts these days are mainly looking ahead, both to November and to 2008. I feel Gore is the Churchill or our times, only facing a much greater foe than Hitler: planetary ecological catastrophe. Gore is the only one who has ever done anything really meaningful about it (Kyoto) and he is best qualified to lead the next global steps. Gore 2008!

[leftchick]

30. k&r

of course! :)

[Viva_La_Revolution]

35. Animated Maps of Susceptible Areas

from Univ. of AZ

scroll down to list...

http://www.geo.arizona.edu/dgesl/research/other/climate_change_and_sea_level/sea_level_rise/sea_level_rise_old.htm#images

[autorank]

47. Many thanks. These are superb. Where's corporate media?

I guess going to leading university scholars studying the issue is a bit too much.

Thank you.

[bloom]

36. I noticed that most of the stories that you posted were from the UK.

What does that tell you?

It's my impression that Tony Blair and other politicians HAVE BEEN pushing efforts to deal with Global Warming for YEARS.

Like Kyoto - for one thing. Many countries signed it. The US has been the big hold out.

Maybe if enough people see this as important - our government/ our society will get more mobilized. But I wouldn't discount the efforts of the rest of the world. The problem is that US has been the worst offender - when looking at overall misuse of the environment. 30% of the pollution for 5% of the world's population - or something like that.

[autorank]

38. Right on the UK Press, absolutely. This is a journalism honor roll.

The Independent science reporters actually put together the passing of the "tipping point" and interviewed separate experts to confirm it. The Guardian is always great and the Times of London article shown up thread was early out of the gate.

Blair is OK on Kyoto, which compared to * is outstanding. However, his environmental folks are
pushing an "adapt to it." I don't know enough about Blair's positions on this but I suspect he
capitulated at some point. "Adapting to it" means a very, very cold United Kingdom (due to the
ending of the Gulf Stream).


Excellent point on the press. Where are our news hounds?

[blueinchicago]

39. Six corporations run the "media"

They don't report on issues, they parrot the opinions of the oligarchy.

http://www.corporations.org/media/

American Mainstream Media is a fifth column, not a fourth estate.

Blue

[bloom]

40. With the international push

these days to go conservative (favoring business) - it's hard to tell what will happen with global warming issues.

I think that at least Pre-Bush, Pre-PNACnuts - international leaders were more likely to push for solutions. Blair used to. Now - who knows?


It's good to see Gore getting re-involved.

This was a great article by Hansen.

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19131

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=218407

[AlGore-08.com]

45. F.Y.I. Gore was just over in the UK, having climate talks with their gov

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5107024.stm

Brown and Gore in climate talks

Gordon Brown and ex-US vice president Al Gore have jointly chaired a seminar on climate change at 11 Downing Street.

Environment Secretary David Miliband, other fellow ministers, MPs and think tanks also took part in discussions.

(snip)

Earlier Mr Gore said he believed people would conclude climate change was a moral rather than a political issue which would ultimately force politicians to alter their views.

He said a few wealthy polluters were spending millions of dollars on persuading the public that scientists were not yet certain climate change was caused by human activity.

(more... )

[mdmc]

41. great film

k/r

[understandinglife]

44. Excellent post. Must-see film.

Recommended.


Peace.

[autorank]

48. Thanks. Check out the great images upthread - Vive La Revolutoin

These are first rate graphics/animations. What have we done? What a sorry testimony.

Of course, there is a minority view in geoscience that we're heading towards an "Ages of Chaos"
scenario where the earth turns into a cauldron. Yikes. Wonder if the nit wits would cover it then.

This is all the more reason to 24/7 the bums and get them out of power. Cheers.

[understandinglife]

57. Agree.

BE THE BU$H OPPOSITION - 24/7

[Swamp Rat]

46. kick and recommended n/t

[autorank]

49. Ahoy, still admiring your TIA graphic. What a great job you did.

He's thrilled...:)

[Swamp Rat]

51. He saw it???

:woohoo:

The thing, or person to admire is TIA! :patriot:



TIA :patriot:

[autorank]

52. He saw it in living color on a thread somewhere;) Loved it!

[Cybergata]

50. I've been pondering global warming for a few years,

and figured no one wanted to hear. I accepted that as a species we were doomed. The earth isn't doomed. Once we are gone, it will heal and trillions of years plus a few trillion more there will be another dominate species evolving. Gore gave me hope again. I've always been an environmentalist and have used very little resources, but now maybe the small percentage of us who do will be joined by others. Why do we have to reinvent the environmental movement every 20 years of so. It should be a constant and on going movement. I have a new step-granddaughter and she is so beautiful and innocent. I'm filed with sadness because of what I envision her future to be.

[DemReadingDU]

53. Saw the film last week, Excellent!

Anyone know if/when this will be on DVD? I want to get this and share it with my family.