"An Inconvenient Truth"

So I finally got around to seeing this documentary this weekend. I've read all about it of course, but still didn't really know what to expect. But upon seeing it I can now say with confidence that everyone in America should see it. I'm serious. Everyone. I'll tell you why:

You'd be surprised how compelling a film about a man and his slideshow can be. For one thing, the movie's subject isn't solely global warming; it's also about Al Gore. I've read at least one review that thought that the parts about Gore's son's accident and the recap of his presidential run in 2000 were a little extraneous, but I don't think so. Gore says his son's accident taught him how easily things that precious to us beyond words can be lost, and his failure to win the presidency has left him with the time to tour the world speaking about global warming. But beyond that, the slideshow itself-and Gore's presentation-is compelling. The facts as Gore lays them out are stark, and the potential results are clear and frightening. It is not "alarmist" to point to the facts and say "We have a serious problem here" when in fact you do have a serious problem, and climate scientists generally do not dispute the facts as Gore lays them out in his film.

It's for these reasons that I say it should be required viewing by every American. Whether or not you like Al Gore, or agree with his politics, it is hard to rebut the scientific evidence that he clearly presents in his slideshow and in the film. And both go a long way towards clearing up the misconceptions and outright falsehoods that you hear regarding global warming. Whether or not you're inclined to believe that global warming exists and that we are at fault may be a matter of your personal politics. But in fact the problem of global warming is beyond politics, and ensuring our continued progress-even survival-on our planet is not an issue that belongs to the Democrats or the Republicans. Solving the problem of global warming requires an effort that goes beyond politics, and I think this film is a pretty good start.