"An Inconvenient Truth"

[mirrodie]

Hey all,


We finally got a chance to see this documentary and the information was overly compelling. It's about the earth and conservation.

Now, before I go further, realize the narrarator is Al Gore. If you are a staunch Republican, you have to get the politics out of your head before you watch this. Otherwise, you will find yourself claiming a political agenda that isnt there. Gore does take maybe 2 or 3 political potshots in jest, but overall, its not a political film. It's about our world.

We (S+M) are not the world's best conservationists, but we try. Having just put in hardwood floors, we opted with the more earth friendly bamboo, an easily renewable resource. We've upgraded our appliances to be energystar efficient. We are insulating to reduce our oil heat usage and make the home more efficient. We recycle as much as possible.
My parents have had both their homes fitted with Solar Panels and that is in our near future as well.


Anyway, I just have to persuade you all to watch this film. It was an eye opener. And if you doubt any facts whatsoever, just consider this extremely mild winter we are having.

Watch it. Share your thoughts.

[Mellyrose]

I saw the documentary in theatres with my co-workers back in June - my boss has actually been to one of Gore's slide shows that this film is based on and he claims that the movie was a bit "done."

Anyway, if you posted this a year ago, it would probably just be another thread that I'd consider myself ignorant to and let it pass me by, but now that I work, live and breathe this industry, I have to chime in.

For any skeptics out there, do yourself a favor before you bash this movie....RESEARCH. Look at the cold hard facts, charts, history, etc. See how we are evolving as humans and in turn ruining our planet. Also, whether you believe it or not, there is a LOT that one person can do. The people who believe otherwise are the same ones who sit home on election day because they think that their one vote can't possibly count.

One can do such simple things everyday to improve their carbon footprint and reduce their personal emissions. It will SAVE YOU MONEY TOO!
(for more info, check out: http://www.carbonfootprint.com/)

Also, if you travel a lot (whether by plane or car or whatever), buying carbon offsets is a GREAT and affordable way to counteract your emissions. It's a really cool concept too. (Buying offsets can help in home living as well, not just travel)

(for more info, check out: http://www.terrapass.com)

If anyone has any questions, I'd be more than happy to try and answer them. :)

[Matt Molnar]

Hope you're ready to hand over lots of cash to the government to maybe or maybe not save the world. Tony Blair has already hinted at creating special "global warming taxes" for UK residents, and if global warming mania grips the world, it's only a matter of time before our own government does the same.

I don't dispute the fact that the planet is getting warmer. I am not at all convinced that this is being caused by humans. I have seen the evidence. No, I have not seen the movie yet, but given the way Al Gore and his ilk adore the films of Michael Moore, I would take this movie with an massive grain of salt.

[hiss srq]

I have to agree with Gotham as I think this is more of a cycle that our planet goes through. Global Warming is a lot more minor than people make this to be. I think that all of these movies about a sudden change in Earth is adding to the hype. I am not marking off global warming as somthing that is not happening. It is to a level taking place but not in as dramatic a state as many make it out to be lately. I just think that earth has cycles and well we are reaching one of these cycles.

[Mellyrose]

Matt....I actually wasn't convinced by Gore's movie at all. It wasn't until I started learning more through my job just about what we can do to prevent some of the damage, that I realized what we must be doing to make it worse by not doing these things.

People are so lazy nowadays....as a result of this laziness comes energy inefficiency and overusage of many resources (the list goes on). Baby steps can be made to change the way you live and help you become more sustainable on your own. It's really not that hard to do.

[nwafan20]

My dad is an expert in this subject, he received 2 masters degrees and went to school for 11 years. He has a masters in Environmental Engineering and Water Environmental Engineering. He recently wrote a report for MIT basically showing how "global warming" isn't man-made, and that the Carbon Dioxide isn't the cause of global warming, rather it is the effect. We are in the high-stage of a mini ice age that happened in the 60's and 70's, it is all a cycle. When it gets warmer, the water releases more Carbon Dioxide, pure and simple, Al Gore is full of Horse Sh*t.

I will ask my dads permission to release the report to you guys, but I can't promise anything because it technically belongs to MIT now.


Oh, and about the "mild" winter, there have been more mild winters, it is just a coincidence. Look at last years winter, that was one of the worst (at least out in Michigan), Speaking of mild winters, Al Gore last year gave a speech on Global Warming on the coldest day recorded in 10 years :roll:

[Mellyrose]

P.S. I want to emphasize that I am NOT a global warming treehugging activist. I just believe that we can all do little things to make our planet more livable, cleaner and greener. ;)

P.P.S. I agree that Earth goes through cycles and we may very well be entering some sort of ice age, but there are facts that prove that our carbon emissions have greatly affected and damaged our environment and atmosphere - that can't be denied.

[nwafan20]

I would deny that fact, more Carbon Dioxide is released in one second from water heating up then you could release in your lifetime. It is all a cycle, does anyone remember about 30 years ago when they were (same group of people) were complaining about global cooling?

[GrummanFan]

Even if global warming does turn out to be a bunch of hooplah (even though I highly doubt it will), all of our waste and inefficiency certainly cannot be doing the Earth any good. There's no reason why we shouldnt try to live "greener" lives. Every little bit can help.

[Mellyrose]

Exactly.

[nwafan20]

I don't disagree, but we could concentrate our money and effort on stopping something real, something that actually threatens the environment, like terrorism, more specifically Iran blowing up half the US with a nuclear weapon where the fallout kills all plant and animal life in the Continental US. Vs. something that I believe (and have the proof to back it up) is made up.

[jran225]

Don't mean to change the subject or anything, but I just noticed that on the carbonfootprint.com page there's a picture of a Tupolev smoking in. Classic! :P

Greets,
-Omar S.

[nwafan20]

Global warming claims 'based on false data'


FRESH doubt has been cast on evidence for global warming following the discovery that a key method of measuring temperature change has exaggerated the warming rate by almost 40 per cent.


Studies of temperature records dating back more than a century have seemed to indicate a rise in global temperature of around 0.5 ° C, with much of it occurring since the late 1970s. This has led many scientists to believe that global warming is under way, with the finger of blame usually pointed at man-made pollution such as carbon dioxide. These records are shown to be innacurate by almost a 40% margin"

Yeah, heres to Al Gore's fact-based movie! :roll:

http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/2004/ ... cience.htm

Heck even one of the worlds most famous authors, Michael Crichton, (who wrote Jurassic Park, and the Aviation thriller "AIRFRAME"), has made a novel showing doubt in man-made global warming! The Novel is called "State of Fear"

He spent three years researching "State of Fear." It's a thriller with footnotes, graphs and scientific references. In it he argues that the threat of global warming has been exaggerated by environmentalists.



"I'm saying that environmental organizations are fomenting false fears in order to promote agendas and raise money," he said.



In "State of Fear," environmental groups set off terrorist acts to focus attention on global warming.



Crichton agrees the Earth is getting warmer. But he says there is little to worry about because the climate is always changing and there is no evidence to determine if the changes are manmade or natural. In fact he says, climate scientists admit they can't predict what temperatures will be in 100 years.



"My view of this is that the media is like the guy going down the street with a sign that says 'The End of the World is Near,' and he picks a date and the day comes and goes, and the world doesn't end. So he doesn't stop with the sign. He goes home, makes another sign, puts a new date on it, and starts marching again. That's the way the media is," Crichton said.



He argues that researchers who study global warming often exaggerate the problem in order to get grants, often using celebrities to promote their cause.

Yeah, Al Gore and friends are REAL popular! 8)

[jran225]

I don't disagree, but we could concentrate our money and effort on stopping something real, something that actually threatens the environment, like terrorism, more specifically Iran blowing up half the US with a nuclear weapon where the fallout kills all plant and animal life in the Continental US. Vs. something that I believe (and have the proof to back it up) is made up.

I think the odds of us destroying our own environment are much greater than those of Iran nuking us, at least assuming the current situation. The good thing is that it is much simpler for us to stop ourselves from polluting the environment than to stop Iran from doing so. I am also somewhat sceptical of the global warming theory, not so much of it's existance, but more of the proposed timeline of events in the future. That doesn't change the fact though, that 99% of the people in this country and around the world (but mostly in this country) could do much more to protect the environment. I think most of you know yourselves what steps can be taken, and if not, there is plenty of information out there as Mel pointed out. I have yet to see the movie (hangs head in shame), but I'll be sure to rent it sometime this week and chime in again once I've seen it. Interesting topic! :)

Greets,
-Omar S.

[jran225]

In "State of Fear," environmental groups set off terrorist acts to focus attention on global warming

I don't disagree those groops trying to "set off" the attention on terrorist attacks in favor of something more tangible like the pollution of our environment. The fact is that no matter how much we do, there is no way to prevent another terrorist attack on this country, it's just not possible. I also don't understand why many people seem to worry more about terrorist attacks than their environment. While the fallout of an attack such as that of 9/11 might be devistating to most, the fact is that the greater part of the global population remains unaffected. The environment, on the other hand, affects everybody and unlike terrorism, it does not happen on occasion, but remains for the long haul. Once the damage has been done to the environment (ozone layer for example), it is impossible to reverse and the consequences could be alot more devistating than those of 9/11. Just my $.02 before I go to bed, good night everybody! :D

Greets,
-Omar S.