I want you to picture something. Picture two polar bears, a mother and her cub, the largest land predator on the face of the earth. They stand tall and proud upon a chunk of ice in the middle of the ocean, as if daring you to take the last of their land away from them. As you watch, the ice upon which the proud beasts stands begins to melt and erode, leaving the bears barely enough room to stand. Distraught, you fear for the bears and cry aloud for someone to please save them. As the last of the ice melts into the sea, the bears slip stoically into the water… This is the essence of a picture that is given to you by former Vice President Al Gore in his Nobel Prize-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. Mr. Gore tells us that the polar ice caps are melting, forcing polar bears from their homes and decimating the species. To illustrate his point, he flashes a stunning photograph of the scene I just described: two polar bears, standing on a chunk of melting ice in the middle of the ocean. All of this, he tells us, is our fault. We’re killing the Earth and thus, killing the polar bear. Just tugs at your heartstrings, doesn’t it? It shouldn’t. Mr. Gore was gravely mistaken. The photograph that he showed us was taken in Alaska by one Amada Byrd… in August, a time when the ice in Alaska typically melts (Peden). The two bears in question were standing on an iceberg just off the shore. Ms. Byrd’s boat passed between the ice and the land, giving her stunning photograph the illusion of being much farther out to sea (Peden). So, why the lies? Or are they lies? Perhaps Mr. Gore was merely using a convenient photograph to illustrate a valid point. Why not? If the ends justify the means, then certainly the exploitation o... ... middle of paper ... ...graph took the shape of a hockey stick, giving it the moniker “The Hockey Stick Graph.” It showed a slight cooling trend starting at approximately the year 1000 and running until the early 1900’s, at which point it became a sharp warming trend that lasted until the present day (Peden). Mann’s report gave the problem of Global Warming its first global audience (Peden). Mr. Mann took seventy sets of data gathered from all around the globe and compiled them with a process called principal component analysis, or PCA. PCA is a means to extract component information from data sets that vary widely (Peden). Works Cited Peden, James A. “The Great Global Warming Hoax?” Middlebury Community Network. www.middlebury.net . 17 Jan. 2009. Web. 29 Dec. 2009. An Inconvenient Truth. Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Perf. Al Gore, Billy West. Lawrence Bender Productions, 2006. DVD
In the film, Gore talked about the ice core drills that were taken in Antarctica for studding carbon dioxide levels in preceding years. “When the snow falls it traps little bubbles of atmosphere. They can go in and measure how much CO2 was in the atmosphere the year that snow fell.” Gore’s partner pointed at the specific part of one of the core drills and said “right here is where the US Congress passed the Clean Air Act.” He could see a significant change, “just a couple of years after that law was passed, it 's very clearly distinguishable.” The Clean Air Act was passed in December 17, 1963, and the significant change from pollutants in the atmosphere was obvious. Generation of that time have experienced clean ecosystem. But what about present? The technology and industries have grown since then. Present pollutions contaminating the atmosphere more than ever before. New similar acts must have been passed decades ago. It is disappointing when candidates who are running for president pledge to something’s just to get more votes, and once they are, they would never bother about keeping the promise. Like the Al Gore said “in 2000 my opponent pledged to regulate the CO2 and that was not a pledge that was kept.” This is immoral and unethical concerning society and nature. Today, global warming issue is also politically ignored. When Gore showed the chart with predicted CO2 level in 50 years from 2005, the
Gore’s logical appeals emphasize the danger and significance of global warming in a cogent, engaging multimedia platform. Rather than monotonously expounding upon detail after detail, he uses interactive visual aids to clarify his claims. As Stefan Lovgren, in “Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’ Movie: Fact or Hype?,” abbreviates, “the documentary handles the science well.” Gore is confident in the delivery of his information; he talks to his audience with ease and precision. He states, “[t]he relationships are actually very complicated, but there is one relationship that is far more powerful than all the others and it is this: When there is more carbon dioxide...
Global Warming - A Problem Blown Out of Proportion It is ironic that fifty two years before hosting the 1997 United Nations Conference on Climate Change, the city of Kyoto had barely missed being destroyed. It was one of four cities considered as primary targets by President Harry Truman’s secretary of war, Henry L. Stimson. The others were Kokura, Hiroshima, and Niigata. Gale E. Christianson describes Kyoto in her book Greenhouse as a magnificent city surpassed only by Tokyo in the number of its institutions of higher learning.
Gore’s book, an inconvenient truth (herein “Inconvenient Truth”), is primarily referenced for the proposition that the totality of human activity (or more broadly, life’s activities) here on Earth, if left unchecked, has and will result in more and greater weather dislocations and disturbances arising from a general warming of the biosphere, and, that the trend to date displays an acceleration forming a rising an asymptotic curve (the first half of a sigmoidal curve).
Former Vice President, Al Gore begins his article“The Climate Emergency” telling a story of a time he gave a speech about climate changes in America. He describes climate changes as an urgent issue that many people don’t seem to take seriously enough to be able to address. He believes there are many leading causes that contribute to climate change such as greenhouse gases (methane) that people have brought into the Earth’s atmosphere. Gore mentions the studies of his friend Lonnie Thompson, who had noticed a skinkage of glaciers, that could possibly melt away in 20 years. By describing the dangerous outcomes of climate change and how it will affect people and the environment, he lets his audience know that people must change their actions
The 2006 movie, ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ is a documentary about United States Vice President Al Gore and his tremendous efforts to educate people about global warming and its horrible impacts on our environment.
She states that mans assault upon the environment is the contamination of the earths air, rivers, and sea. The basis for Carson’s idea is to exhibit the main cause of pollution, which is backed by McKibben’s point on global warming. McKibben’s states that, carbon dioxide is the enemy and the people responsible for its production are us. In support of his claim, McKibben produces evidence on the effects of global warming around the world to articulate the negative effect that man has caused. Mckibben uses examples of how rising water temperature could effect the coral reef and mentions that polar bears are already 20 percent scrawnier due to melting pack ice which lessens their opportunity to hunt. In support of McKibben’s statement Carson also adds that “man can hardly even recognize the devils of his own creation” further strengthening this point in both articles by expressing that man is the
Throughout history climates have drastically changed. There have been shifts from warm climates to the Ice Ages (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2009, p.204). Evidence suggests there have been at least a dozen abrupt climate changes throughout the history of the earth. There are a few suspected reasons for these past climate changes. One reason may be that asteroids hitting the earth and volcanic eruptions caused some of them. A further assumption is that 22-year solar magnetic cycles and 11-year sunspot cycles played a part in the changes. A further possibility is that a regular shifting in the angle of the moon orbiting earth causing changing tides and atmospheric circulation affects the global climate (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2009, p.205). Scientific studies suggest that all these played a role in past global warming and cooling periods. Today, however, there is a lot of conflict on whether humans are causing a global warming that could be disastrous to humans and all species of plants and animals on this earth. This paper will first explain the greenhouse effect, then take a look at both sides argument, and, finally, analyze the effect of global warming on world-wide sustainability
Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a multivariate analysis performed in purpose of reducing the dimensionality of a multivariate data set in order to recognize the shape or pattern of that data set. In other words, PCA is a powerful technique for pattern recognition that attempts to explain the variance of a large set of inter-correlated variables. It indicates the association between variables, thus, reducing the dimensionality of the data set. (Helena et al, 2000; Wunderlin et al, 2001; Singh et al, 2004)
Although Al Gore has proven to be both a capable politician and philanthropist, he has no credibility in regards to the scientific field he seems so concerned to inform the public about. Interestingly enough, some of the mistakes our esteemed presenter made were crucial details that weaken the anthropogenic global warming argument. In the film, Gore mistakenly asserts “that in each of the last four interglacial warm periods, changes in carbon dioxide concentration caused changes in temperature” (35 Inconvenient Truths: The Errors in Al Gore's Movie) . In reality it’s the opposite, because temperature is the factor that affects carbon dioxide levels. “Carbon dioxide,” Gore asserted, “is pollution.” That statement not only proves to be misleading, but also ignorant. Carbon dioxide is a food source for plants and a source of natural nutrition. Plants take in this carbon dioxide and in turn release oxygen, a component that all living species, including humans, breathe. In fact, “well-managed forests, such as those of the United States, are growing at record rates [due to] the extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere [, which] is feeding the trees” (35 Inconvenient Truths: The Errors in Al Gore's Movie). If one were to look at the concentration of carbon dioxide throughout the span of Geological Time, one would notice that carbon dioxide levels were significantly higher than present levels. Notably, the University of California estimates carbon dioxide levels to be approximately twenty times greater in concentration than present levels. This further strengthens the idea that carbon dioxide levels have existed at higher rates than before, so there is nothing “unnatural” or “man-made” in regards to carbon dioxide levels rising to higher l...
Polar bears, the largest land carnivores, feed on species, such as seals, fish, young walruses, and, sometimes, choose to scavenge on carcasses of different types of whales. Seeing as most of these animals live underwater, polar bears’ habitat is along the coastal areas of the Arctic tundra. They prefer areas with leads- water channels or cracks through ice which remain open to hunt seals- and polynyas- areas of water, surrounded by ice, that remain open year-round. The niche of male polar bears is to obtain food and protect their families. They can become so vicious that they kill other polar bears to obtain basic items, such as food. Female polar bears’ job is to protect their young and teach them how to survive in the Arctic tundra, so they can be prepared to live on their own when they leave their parents. ...
Imagine a world under 2 feet of water and in total chaos. Then throw in almost biblical floods, Fissures in the earth that can be seen from space, and Tornadoes that could uplift even the biggest buildings. This is what Al Gore wants you to think. These statements are completely and utterly false. These accusations upon the people of the U.S. are not true and must be silenced.
People say you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. Truth is, you know what you had, you just never thought you would lose it. The theme for the documentary “The Inconvenient Truth” by Al Gore and the article “Warm, Warmer, Warmest” by Kristof, revolves around trying to bring awareness on global warming and how it is human responsibility to act in attempt to stop global warming as much as they are provoking it. The purpose for both is to attempt to wake up the people about global issues. Both of their audiences involve everyone considering that humans are responsible for the on-going issue. For “The Inconvenient Truth” the tone tends to be serious but not as aggressive as it was for “Warm, Warmer, Warmest”. Al Gore in his presentation
There are many different views on whether global warming is actually real or not and possible catastrophic damage it causes. It is a big issue in politics now, everyone is arguing whether or not it is actually real or that it is just a weather pattern. People need to wake up and realize that it is real, just look at the shorter winters and the warmer weather. The Glaciers are melting, crazy weather patterns are happening, so what else could it be? We have more things to worry about as a government though.
While critical of global warming alarmism, this documentary does not doubt that the earth is warming. Instead, they claim that scientific evidence demonstrates that such warming is but a natural variation in earth’s climatic history, similar to the Medieval Warm Period of the Little Ice Age. The documentary uses several lines of evidence to back up this claim, including ice core data that they claim when rightly interpreted shows carbon dioxide as having a lag time when earth’s climate has warmed in the recent and distant past, making it doubtful that it could be responsible for the increase in temperature that has been observed recently. The timing of the recent warming, which was most pronounced in the late Nineteenth Century through World War II, stopped and reversed to a cooling trend in the mid-Twentieth Century, and then rapidly warmed again in the past three decades, is dissected. Since this warming began before the advent of major human sources of greenhouse gas emissions and the period of most dramatic industrial...