An Inconvenient Truth

[rioters bloc]

i went to a film screening of a documentary called 'an incovenient truth' today .. it was on global warming and it was (for the most part) great (it was also free - hurrah for perks of doing enviro activism ;)) basically a slideshow that al gore does around america and the world... while i disagree with some of the 'solutions' he proposes (for one, he doesn't even mention the fact that corporations are the biggest culprits when it comes to climate change) it's a real fucking eyeopener. i really recommend people watch it, and then use the material presented to activate people.

it's probably already out in other places, but in australia its being released on september 14 but its also being screened at the sydney film festival which is in a week or two i believe.

[FriedFrog]

The BBC is running a climate change 'season' at the moment, also. There was a documentary on last night that sounds similar, presented by David Attenborough.

Again, it chose to highlight the pollution the individual causes rather than the corporations. It also pointed out that China is soon to eclipse the USA as the worlds greatest polluter ( 1 Coal fired power station per week for seven years is planned) which is hardly suprising (blame the east, not the west).

Whilst it does highlight some things that we ourselves can do (although my family is adament we need three TV's) it is really up to the big men and women in charge of this world. And I don't think they're up to the challenge.

I'll try and catch the film when it gets released here.

[rioters bloc]

yeah, it made me angry afterwards because it's freaking cold here right now and i felt guilty that i was going to go home and switch my heater on - and while i think that people should be concerned with how much energy they're using and how their own lifestyle is damaging the earth, no matter how conscious we are it's no fucking use if the real climate criminals aren't targeted. argh.

haha what shit me too about the film was that at the end, al gore goes through a bunch of things that have been accomplished globally - like women getting the right to vote etc. and then he goes, "together, we abolished communism!" or some such tripe.

so. funny.

[FriedFrog]

no matter how conscious we are it's no fucking use if the real climate criminals aren't targeted. argh.

Exactly. I <3 Capitalism :P

Weve got the technology, but actually doing something with it is gonna crush the oil producers, so what happens? WE IGNORE IT&#33; Of course, like any sensible person would. Not.


together, we abolished communism&#33;

The brute that it is :P

And they havent even abolished what they think is communism... We&#39;ve still got China, Cuba and N.Korea still going and dictating. And didnt the Soviet Union break up of its own accord?

In some ways Mr Gore should be applauded for his work, but it&#39;s been going around that its just a big political stunt.

[rioters bloc]

Originally posted by [email protected] 3 2006, 02:35 AM
In some ways Mr Gore should be applauded for his work, but it&#39;s been going around that its just a big political stunt.
i kinda got that impression too. really irrelevant shots of bush and gore with his daughters and of him in congress (or whatever its called). but if it raises awareness i think it&#39;s a lesser evil.. and he really does have his facts down, it&#39;s just his opinions and suggestions that are off :P

[rioters bloc]

http://streams.cei.org/

hah&#33; these guys are hi-larious <_<

[Janus]

So, did anyone see this documentary?

Most of the info. presented shouldn&#39;t be groundbreaking for anyone with a basic grasp of environmental issues but I&#39;m glad at least that it&#39;s raising awareness for those unfamiliar with it.

I was also confused at certain times about whether it was a documentary about Gore or the environment. :wacko:

[Shadowlegion]

after watching it I thought it was about 80% politically motivated. I do applaud him for bringing the issue to the forefront, but at the same time initiating hysteria for something that we don&#39;t even know the root cause of is a little irresponsible it seems like to me.. most people in the US and all over the world obviously don&#39;t want to destroy the earth but they also don&#39;t want to suddenly be pushed back to the 1700&#39;s and have to take the horse to work.. I think this documentary almost brought a moderate face to environmentalism.

[Janus]

but at the same time initiating hysteria for something that we don&#39;t even know the root cause of is a little irresponsible it seems like to me
There are several root causes of which we know of. It&#39;s not like there&#39;s some secret contributing factor to global warming out there.


I think this documentary almost brought a moderate face to environmentalism.
The environmentalist movement is generally pretty moderate. The primitvists which you alluded to only make up a very small portion of the entire movement.

[Shadowlegion]

Originally posted by [email protected] 10 2006, 08:31 PM

but at the same time initiating hysteria for something that we don&#39;t even know the root cause of is a little irresponsible it seems like to me
There are several root causes of which we know of. It&#39;s not like there&#39;s some secret contributing factor to global warming out there.


I think this documentary almost brought a moderate face to environmentalism.
The environmentalist movement is generally pretty moderate. The primitvists which you alluded to only make up a very small portion of the entire movement.
these are both good points, but what I was getting at is how sometimes the left let the least common and loudest parts of causes like environmentalism (the primitvists) reach the mainstream the most often, and it almost taints our cause in the eyes of the masses. I think there should be more moderate environmentalism prevalent for everyone, and it seems almost non-existent in the US. my point was one more of the alienation of people who might not be so active in environmentalism than a characterization of the environmentalist movement itself.

[Janus]

but what I was getting at is how sometimes the left let the least common and loudest parts of causes like environmentalism (the primitvists) reach the mainstream the most often
Well, that is because people generally pay attention to the most radical elements of a group. No one cares much about the average Muslim but look at all the media attention given to the fundies. It&#39;s done more or less to discredit one&#39;s enemies.


I think there should be more moderate environmentalism prevalent for everyone, and it seems almost non-existent in the US
Not really. There are many environmental groups trying to spread awareness on environmental issues. One only has to look around. The great majority of them are not primitivists.

[Shadowlegion]

Originally posted by [email protected] 10 2006, 08:44 PM

but what I was getting at is how sometimes the left let the least common and loudest parts of causes like environmentalism (the primitvists) reach the mainstream the most often
Well, that is because people generally pay attention to the most radical elements of a group. No one cares much about the average Muslim but look at all the media attention given to the fundies. It&#39;s done more or less to discredit one&#39;s enemies.


I think there should be more moderate environmentalism prevalent for everyone, and it seems almost non-existent in the US
Not really. There are many environmental groups trying to spread awareness on environmental issues. One only has to look around. The great majority of them are not primitivists.
I suppose you&#39;re right and it&#39;s more a media type problem where people like the radical elements for shock value and whatever other sick entertainment they can get from it. It just seems like even the most just causes on the left are shunned even by the venues that would benefit from them. But I suppose the capitalist society I live in more often takes the well-being of a product into consideration than the long term consequences. If our society was more focused on just progression we wouldn&#39;t have to worry about being victimized by a company squeezing every last dollar out of dated and obsolete technology simply because they can halt the progression of it.

[Janus]

I agree with you.

All I was saying is that most environmentalists advocate sustainable development rather than primitivism and that there are many environmental groups out there that focus on many different types of environmental issues (local issues, energy, etc.).

It&#39;s pretty much accepted that we can tackle these issues without having to put a full stop on progress and technology.

[Janus]

after watching it I thought it was about 80% politically motivated.

I guess some think that since Gore lost the election, he has latched onto this issue even more in order to gain attention. I think that this is true as well since there was a lot of criticism placed on the current administration.

But at least he didn&#39;t say something like "Here&#39;s how you can help fight global warming. Vote Democrat 2008". :lol:

[cubalibra]

I don&#39;t think any US administration has done more to harm the environment then the Bush administration has just so they can line the pockets of their buddies.

[Mare]

Produced by Al Gore, anyway, a movie that was rather interesting. I found it scary that if 50% of Antartica melted, the worlds oceans would rise 20 feet. That would mean destruction for the entire world -- the world map would have to be redrawn, millions of people would die.

[Janus]

I saw it and also made a thread about it in Lit & Films.

Merged.

[rioters bloc]

i saw it and made a thread about it too :) merged.