As I watched “An Inconvenient Truth,” featuring Al Gore, one quote particularly affected me. Gore stated, “I don't really consider this a political issue, I consider it to be a moral issue.” When talking about global warming, its effects on our population and world, Gore, in my opinion, made a great point with this statement. Even though the majority of his societal fame comes from politics, people should not relate this cause to the same category; this is much larger. Gore later continues with, “You see that pale, blue dot? That's us. Everything that has ever happened in all of human history has happened on that pixel. All the triumphs and all the tragedies, all the wars all the famines, all the major advances.....it's our only home. And that is what is at stake, our ability to live on planet Earth, to have a future as a civilization. I believe this is a moral issue, it is your time to cease this issue, and it is our time to rise again to secure our future.”
My chemistry professor is very adamant about letting people know about the near future affects of global warming and how we are our world’s only hope. He, however, does not present his information with the same type of sarcastic wit that Gore does. No matter how the material is explained, or how the facts are presented, this is real. I thought this movie was wonderful in its ability to motivate our young population and inform everyone of what awaits us if we do not change.
-- I had made arrangements with my chemistry teacher to take my exam late (during the time you watched the movie as a class), and I had to watch this by myself. So, I am very interested on everyone’s opinions on how the movie (or if the movie) motivated you.
2 comments:
“An Inconvenient Truth,” has made me think twice about the actions that I commit daily that could potentially contribute to Global Warming. Dealing with climate change is a moral issue, and the way Al Gore has framed the issue, has opened people’s eyes to the problem. While I do hear people explain, that the only reason Vice President Gore is talking about the issue, is to prepare for a possible 2008 Presidential bid, I feel those people are diminishing the importance of what Gore has done. Whether or not he runs, Gore has been championing the environment since he entered the world of politics….somewhat of a modern day Rachel Carson….not a scientist….but an important public figure, who brings a human face to the issue.
One of the great things about, “An Inconvenient Truth,” is that does not scare people into thinking that Global Warming is the end, but that humans can do things to stop the problem. Many of the solutions can be completed at home or right here at BGSU. One is recycling… classrooms and the student union, have bins to recycle newspapers, plastics, and glass. While it may take a little effort, starting to ease the problem is the first step in saving the planet.
When I first heard that we were going to be watching a movie on global warming I thought..."Oh gosh, there is no way I am going to be able to pay attention through a whole movie about global warming; how much could there possibly be to say?" Once I actually watched the movie I realized how wrong I was. I ended up really liking the movie and have been thinking about it a lot since then. I have even been telling other people to watch it. I definitely agree that the statement of global warming being a moral issue is correct. This is not something that needs to be done for political reasons, it needs to be done for us, our children, and our grandchildren. I think that it is really important for each of us to take responsibility for ourselves and our own energy use. People say there is no way that our country can change, but there is. Starting small and trying to spread the effort will really help. I also hope that more and more people will watch "An Inconvenient Truth" and be as impacted by it as I was. People need things like this to really get them thinking, and getting people to think about an issue is definitely a start.
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