An lnconvenient Truth

Yesterday I watched a film at work. Before you get funny ideas, it’s actually screened at the big hall, organised by the company for the HSSE Week (HSSE stands for Health, Safety, Security and Environment). Aptly chosen for the theme ‘Protect Our Environment’, we watched An lnconvenient Truth. It is very good and well-presented; I was truly impressed. An lnconvenient Truth is a documentary film about global warming, presented by AI Gore. I can’t remember what he was like when he was the US Vice President, but after watching this film, I really admire his passion to champion this cause. The film, which is a little over an hour, presented a thesis that global warming is real, potentially catastrophic and caused by humans. The keynote presentation by AI Gore is alternated with clips of his stories of childhood, events that changed his worldview, travels (when giving presentations on global warming) etc; weaving scientific facts with the human connection. I absolutely recommend this film!


These are some of the points elaborated towards the end of the film:

There a 3 reasons that have sped up global warming:
i) population that is increasing exponentially – needing more food, energy etc,
ii) old habits + new technologies = drastic change to consequence, for example forests got cleared faster because of better machines, and
iii) mindset

There are 3 misconceptions regarding the global warming:
i) that it’s a theory rather than facts,
ii) that we have to choose between economy and the planet, and
iii) that the problem is too big, and there’s nothing we can do about it

We can do something about it. This is the Top Ten Tips taken from their official site. There’s actually much more ways on how we can reduce our carbon footprints.

- Change a light (use more energy-efficient bulbs and appliances)
- Drive less
- Recycle more
- Check your tyres
- Use less hot water
- Avoid products with lots of packaging
- Adjust the thermostat (or in our case, reduce the aircond temperature or use them less)
- Plant a tree
- Turn off electric devices (some device continued to draw electricity even when - they’re turned off, so unplugging helps too)
- Spread the word!

Here are some other little things that I pledge to do more (‘more’ being the operative word, ie not completely, but as best as I can):
- Refuse plastic bags when possible
- Use cups rather than disposable paper cups
- Use cloth rather than disposable kitchen/toilet towels
- Use containers rather than polistyrene foam when buying lunch

The following is copied and pasted from their site.

Carbon dioxide and other gases warm the surface of the planet naturally by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere. This is a good thing because it keeps our planet habitable. However, by burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil and clearing forests we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere and temperatures are rising.

The vast majority of scientists agree that global warming is real, it’s already happening and that it is the result of our activities and not a natural occurrence. The evidence is overwhelming and undeniable.

We’re already seeing changes. Glaciers are melting, plants and animals are being forced from their habitat, and the number of severe storms and droughts is increasing.
- The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years.
- Malaria has spread to higher altitudes in places like the Colombian Andes, 7,000 feet above sea level.
- The flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade.
- At least 279 species of plants and animals are already responding to global warming, moving closer to the poles.

If the warming continues, we can expect catastrophic consequences.
- Deaths from global warming will double in just 25 years -- to 300,000 people a year.
- Global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet with the loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide.
- Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense.
- Droughts and wildfires will occur more often.
- The Arctic Ocean could be ice free in summer by 2050.
- More than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction by 2050.

There is no doubt we can solve this problem. In fact, we have a moral obligation to do so. Small changes to your daily routine can add up to big differences in helping to stop global warming. The time to come together to solve this problem is now.

UPDATED: The dvd can be bought from Speedy Online here. Disclaimer: I haven't really searched thoroughly so I don't know whether there's anywhere else that sells it cheaper.