This past week in class we watched Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth while Dr. Eisner was away giving a presentation in Michigan. We were told to discuss the video, it's impacts then and now, and what we learned. Here's some of what I had to say.....
I thought that the film An Inconvenient Truth was very interesting and helped me better understand the concepts we have learned thus far in class. It did make an impression on me, even though much of what Al Gore discussed in the movie was also taught in class; in particular, I think his use of photos, such as the photos of the receding glaciers, was very effective in illustrating how global warming was changing the planet. In addition, I think that his use of videos, such as the one where the greenhouse gas “gang” barred the radiation from leaving the Earth, was useful in explaining some of the concepts of global warming in laymen’s terms, so that even those who were less educated would still be able to understand his message that global warming was occurring and needed to be stopped. Since most of what Gore discussed in the film was taught to us both during our class and in the Dire Predictions book, I didn’t learn much more other than specific percentages and facts. I do believe, though, that this helped reinforce these concepts that we’ve learned and influenced me to reduce my ecological footprint even further. I would, however, like to learn more about global warming and its effects on the ocean currents and tropical storm patterns, because I found it particularly interesting that hurricane Katrina started out as a category 1 hurricane, but because it passed over warmed waters in the Gulf of Mexico, it developed into a category five.
One impact of the film, according to the companion website that was provided, was that five countries (England, Scotland, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Germany and British Columbia) incorporated An Inconvenient Truth into their secondary schools' curricula. When I researched a little online, I found out through one website that the High Court of London ruled that the movie was a form of political indoctrination, and as a result in order to show this movie to the children teachers must make clear that the film is a political work and promotes only one side of the argument and nine inaccuracies have to be specifically drawn to the attention of school children. So, even though the film is continuing to be shown in these schools, it is not able to have the complete lasting impact that was intended because of the court rulings. Another impact of the video, according to the website, was that President Obama created the new position of Assistant to the President for Climate and Energy. At first glance this appears to be a lasting impact because Carol Browner, who was the Assistant, for a couple of years. However, in 2011 Congress decided to no longer fund the position. Overall, I do not think that the film is as effective today as it was when first released. When it was first released, carbon was offset at first, but now it is still accumulating. But now, measures that had been set after the release of this movie are disappearing, and I think the only way to turn that around is to create another movie similar to An Inconvenient Truth, so that the public will see how much the climate has changed even in the few years after the movie was presented.
I thought that the film An Inconvenient Truth was very interesting and helped me better understand the concepts we have learned thus far in class. It did make an impression on me, even though much of what Al Gore discussed in the movie was also taught in class; in particular, I think his use of photos, such as the photos of the receding glaciers, was very effective in illustrating how global warming was changing the planet. In addition, I think that his use of videos, such as the one where the greenhouse gas “gang” barred the radiation from leaving the Earth, was useful in explaining some of the concepts of global warming in laymen’s terms, so that even those who were less educated would still be able to understand his message that global warming was occurring and needed to be stopped. Since most of what Gore discussed in the film was taught to us both during our class and in the Dire Predictions book, I didn’t learn much more other than specific percentages and facts. I do believe, though, that this helped reinforce these concepts that we’ve learned and influenced me to reduce my ecological footprint even further. I would, however, like to learn more about global warming and its effects on the ocean currents and tropical storm patterns, because I found it particularly interesting that hurricane Katrina started out as a category 1 hurricane, but because it passed over warmed waters in the Gulf of Mexico, it developed into a category five.
One impact of the film, according to the companion website that was provided, was that five countries (England, Scotland, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Germany and British Columbia) incorporated An Inconvenient Truth into their secondary schools' curricula. When I researched a little online, I found out through one website that the High Court of London ruled that the movie was a form of political indoctrination, and as a result in order to show this movie to the children teachers must make clear that the film is a political work and promotes only one side of the argument and nine inaccuracies have to be specifically drawn to the attention of school children. So, even though the film is continuing to be shown in these schools, it is not able to have the complete lasting impact that was intended because of the court rulings. Another impact of the video, according to the website, was that President Obama created the new position of Assistant to the President for Climate and Energy. At first glance this appears to be a lasting impact because Carol Browner, who was the Assistant, for a couple of years. However, in 2011 Congress decided to no longer fund the position. Overall, I do not think that the film is as effective today as it was when first released. When it was first released, carbon was offset at first, but now it is still accumulating. But now, measures that had been set after the release of this movie are disappearing, and I think the only way to turn that around is to create another movie similar to An Inconvenient Truth, so that the public will see how much the climate has changed even in the few years after the movie was presented.