_(I wrote this a week and a half ago…)_ I don’t think I’ve written a film review before (or been particularly compelled to do so), but I’ve cracked open the laptop and I’m writing this on a huge Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 over the mid-atlantic en route to Havana, travelling at 556 miles per hour and at an altitude of 34,000 feet.
I’ve no idea precisely how much carbon this plane is producing as I type, but it’s too much.
I know it’s too much because I’ve just finished watching ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ on the in-flight entertainment system.
First off – if you haven’t seen ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, you really must…seriously. I’ve seen plenty of evangelism in my time, but this is the first I’ve ever actually been felt compelled to ‘spread the word’ about. Gore is like a modern-day disciple, touting his (superb) Keynote presentation from city to city (there’s quite a few ‘Gore ruminating on Powerbook shots throughout).
Several things struck me.
First, there must be a serious lack of ‘buy-in’ about this idea in the States. As a European, I simply don’t see any debate about whether global warming exists – it’s accepted fact in the media, in conversations, and well, we can _see_ the affects in our current ‘inclement weather’, not mention of course, the tsunamis and hurricanes, and smog, and melting ice caps, and temperature rises, and changes in season, earlier migratory patterns and sooty buildings, and depleting oil, and changing landscapes through deforestation, etc, etc, etc.
The second was the utterly contemptible position the current US administration has taken on Kyoto. It is a national disgrace. And the cynical way the lobbying of ‘special interests’ has perverted the energy policies of the US is nothing short of criminal. But Gore’s right, this isn’t a party-level issue, or even a country-level issue. This is, of course, a humanity-level issue.
Gore did an excellent job of comparing the dis-information campaign of global warming ‘scepticism’ with the way tobacco companies advertised tobacco as ‘safe’ – he showed that famous ‘Doctors smoke Camels’ poster, a point well made.
The other thing that hit me was the _speed_ in which the effects of global warming are taking place. The positive feedback loops create massive, seismic shifts in the current ecosystem within years…
But the final part of the film, perhaps the last ten minutes struck me hardest. It’s possible to change _all_ of this for the good.
Yes, it requires political will, but the massive increases in scientific skills over the past few decades have given humans the power to beat all of this stuff. But the real power lies in individuals and that most American of activities…
Shopping.
As a consumer, I choose, right now, to spend my money where it will have a positive impact. And it saves me money. My car is a Prius, I pay less form fuel. My electricity supplier is Ecotricity, they cost no more than any competitor in the area, but they fund WindFarms and other renewable sources. Participo, and my personal banking is with the Co-Operative bank, who have recently completed cladding one of their office towers completely in solar panels.
I make a deliberate choice to use my power, and it is _real_ power, as a consumer, to make decisions about the stuff I buy and consume. I’m nowhere no close to where I need to be, but I’m getting there.
I think this is the big difference between how I’m approaching the ‘green’ issue now and say, my parents, who were members of ‘Friends of the Earth’. They were 20 years ahead of their time. But ultimately, people are lazy – joining pressure groups and
A major step I’ll be taking on my return is to full offset all my carbon emissions for the last two years – personal and business. This will cost me money, but it’s a voluntary tax I’m going to pay to ensure that my daughter has a planet to live in. It’s that simple really.
And I loved the final line in the movie – political will _is_ also a renewable resource.