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Al Gore
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Book
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Publisher | Bloomsbury | ||
ISBN | 978-074758906 | ||
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Reviewer
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Gareth
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Synopsis
The truth about the climate crisis is an inconvenient one that means we are going to have to change the way we live our lives. Our climate crisis may at times appear to be happening slowly, but in fact it has become a true planetary emergency and we must recognise that we are facing a crisis. So why is it that some leaders seem not to hear the clarion warnings? Are they resisting the truth because they know that the moment they acknowledge it, they will face a moral imperative to act? Is it simply more convenient to ignore the warnings? Perhaps, but inconvenient truths do not go away just because they are not seen, rather, their significance grows. Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States, has been a passionate advocate of action to halt climate change for many years. In "An Inconvenient Truth" Gore writes about the urgent need to solve the problems of climate change, presenting comprehensive facts and information on all aspects of global warming in a direct, thoughtful and compelling way,using explanatory diagrams and dramatic photos to clarify and highlight key issues. The book has been described in the "New York Times" as one which could 'push awareness of global warming to a real tipping point'. The documentary film of the same name, based on the book, premiered at this year's Sundance Festival to great acclaim.
Review
I have mixed feelings about this book. It's a thoroughly absorbing read and makes a very cohesive argument for looking after our planet, and being careful with our natural resources. I feel Mr Gore has gone out on a limb here and gathered a lot of the evidence from a wide variety of sources - some of it first hand, through travelling across the world - and cannot be faulted for his passion and singlemind-set and if he can make America change its position on rapidly raping the planet then I say more power to him.
What I do not agree with is the conclusions he draws that it is purely man that is causing the rapid changes in the climate. Whilst there is certainly the case that man has increased this rise in climate change I don't feel it's as marked as he is making out. I've always been sceptical, but this was brought to the fore when I read Michael Crichton's "State of Fear" which provided the flip side to the argument that a lot of what we're seeing now is possible the tail end of a cycle that possibly stretches over 100,000 years or more; and when you factor in such "extra-terrestrial" elements such as solar flares and sunspots.
There is so much that we don't know about the long term cycles of this planet and rather than jumping to, what I feel are, erroneous conclusions it would be more beneficial to show just the obvious results of what we're doing -like the rain forests. I'm not saying that we shouldn't take responsibility for our planet - I'm all in favour of that, as long as it starts from the top down - but I do think it's a gross injustice when we have to shoulder the collective blame for something that is, very possibly, out of our control.
It doesn't matter how much the individual does all the time the society and the big business carries on regardless. For all the changes we implement will all be for nothing if the big corporations do not change their ways - and if Al Gore can make that change happen then all the more power to him - I just don't agree with the conclusions he's drawn, or the methodology he's used on the way. As I said earlier, I can't fault his passion or what he's doing against the odds.
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