An Inconvenient Truth

MagnoliaApples

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Apr 26, 2006
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I saw An Inconvenient Truth yesterday.

I wasn't necessarily surprised with what i saw. I think it's a good thing that Gore made this documentary.

However, i came away from it feeling kinda helpless because, after hearing everything that was said, who's going to stop the major money-maker corporations and businesses from doing what they are doing?

I can recycle, use the public transit system, use eco-friendly lightbulbs and everything else i can to help reverse the damage we have created but how in the world do you stop big business from polluting our planet??

Example - That friggin' oil pipe line up in our North. I never wanted that. Many of us didn't think that it was a good idea. Many people said so but it's there anyway. And no amount of complaining to the government or signed petitions was gonna stop that from happening.

So with that as an example to show that regardless of what the people of a country think and feel, the almighty dollar seems to speak much louder than us to the ears of our government. With that said, how can we change anything?

PLUS- just try to convince a family to get rid of their SUV. Watch the looks on their faces when you try to explain it to them.

I'm just wondering what other people who have seen this documentary think about it and if they think that a documentary like this can change anything?
 

#juan

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Aug 30, 2005
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I think the message of "Inconvenient Truth" is gathering strength. Even the oil companies are now putting money into alternate energy sources. I thought the movie had a few flaws but it was generally very well done.
 

darleneonfire

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Jan 12, 2007
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I

I'm just wondering what other people who have seen this documentary think about it and if they think that a documentary like this can change anything?


I haven't seen it, but I've heard a great deal about it. Reminds me very much of a 1970's scare book and movie called "Future Shock". Anyone remember that?

Anyway, would you suggest this is a good film to see? Is it in book form do you know? I tend to prefer reading the book over seeing the movie.
 

MagnoliaApples

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Apr 26, 2006
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Juan > What flaws?

DarleneonFire> I don't know if it's out in bookform but it's not a movie - it's a documentary. I would suggest anyone seeing it. It relates to our planet and what is happening to it. It's not fiction so it's probably not like the scare book you mentioned. His findings are based on scientific fact which he explains to you in the documentary.

I would say it's worth giving it a boo. Also - i'll add that maybe you could watch it with a friend or something because it will make for great conversation afterwards.
 

AndyF

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Jan 5, 2007
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MagnoliaApples:

That's cuzz the poor can never hope for the privledge of gaining polution points that's reserved for the privledged big business.

You know Suzuki may portray himself as the guardian angel of the climate, but you note that he never goes into plans on how to equally distribute the sacrifice among the populations. That's why the focus is on the SUV guy when we should attack the major polluters first.

Any grade school kid would realize that if your industry makes up 33% of atmospheric polution as it is with the coal fired generators in the US, then you should carry 33% of the burden. But alas the small guy will take the brunt of all sacrifices, and has long as he gains 2 percentage points of clean air, another industry will be there to suck up the gain by adding 2% pollution. We need a watchdog with no personal interest in the outcome. We need a UN of pollution monitoring and authority.

AndyF
 

MagnoliaApples

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Apr 26, 2006
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AndyF > We need a UN of pollution monitoring and authority.

Well, i agree with you on that. Maybe we've come to the point where we need to 'police' these things.

That idea may have come into question before but was probably put down because the people or companies that would have been brought into the spotlight had enough money to buy themselves out of it.

But if we could trust that the organization that would be behind such an idea was in it for ethical and moral reasons and wouldn't be 'bought' by majors in the pollution game, then maybe we could make a huge difference in the state of our planet. That would make me very happy.
 

Colpy

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Nov 5, 2005
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I'm reading an interesting book Being Human by Mary and John Gribbin.......

It traces the evolution of mankind from the ocean forward, and speaks of the immense effect climate has had on our species.......

They also point out that mankind has dominated the earth because we are adaptable, and have survived calamity after calamity............

They also say the the average temperature on earth during the existence of Homo Sapiens Sapiens has varied by over 10 degrees Celcius..........that there have been extensive shifts back and forth in climate even over as short a period as the last 2000 years...........and that we are currently in a moderate cycle, neither so cold, nor nearly as warm as the earth has been in the last two millenia.

So. DON'T PANIC!!!!

Yes, search for alternative fuels. Yes, try to be kind to the earth.

But disaster this is NOT!

We must ADAPT, because the earth will change with us, or without us.

The greatest evidence of our silliness, IMHO, is NOT the continued use of fossil fuels, it is the fact we are re-building New Orleans in the same place it was.......

ADAPT!
 

L Gilbert

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Nov 30, 2006
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.......However, i came away from it feeling kinda helpless because, after hearing everything that was said, who's going to stop the major money-maker corporations and businesses from doing what they are doing?
That's one of the things we develop societies for: to look after our interests. Unfortunately, people have become apathetic and lazy so societies have been allowed to evolve into aids for determined people and entities.

I can recycle, use the public transit system, use eco-friendly lightbulbs and everything else i can to help reverse the damage we have created but how in the world do you stop big business from polluting our planet??
Stop societies from working for themselves and get them to work for people.


So with that as an example to show that regardless of what the people of a country think and feel, the almighty dollar seems to speak much louder than us to the ears of our government. With that said, how can we change anything?
Hold them accountable for the results and let them change "anything".
For example, I was in Nelson shopping when I noticed that the city had been plowing snow into the disabled parking spots. It didn't take much imagination to see some old geezer in a wheelchair being stuck in the snow. I emailed the city and told them I was going to advertise their thoughtlessnness. No more snow in disabled parking spots.
 

hermanntrude

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Jun 23, 2006
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colpy: "If aliens blew up the earth, leaving me as the only surviving human, then I'D PANIC!

true, but it wouldnt help!
 
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MagnoliaApples

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Apr 26, 2006
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Well, i wouldn't say that i'm panicing BUT if you were from New Orlenes and were in the middle of what happened, wouldn't you panic? (I'm not but i'm just looking at it from their shoes).

What i understand is that if we don't make major changes and fast things like Katerina will be a regular occurance. As it stands, it already is. The problem is that we don't hear about it because our news isn't reporting all the weirdo weather that has been happening all over the world. Flooding and droughts, tsunamis and hurricanes. I know these things have always happened but it's the rate in which they're happening today that makes it unique to our age. We are in an era of destruction and not that i'm panicing but if we don't start changing things and pronto - i feel that we will ALL be panicing later. It's kinda hard not to panic when you can't breath.
 

Tonington

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Oct 27, 2006
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Anyone who lives near the coast should know of the dangers of such a location, especially one which relies on levies and dykes to keep the water--which would be over your head--at bay. I agree 100% with what Colpy said in regards to rebuilding there.

Personally, I think if we continue to rely on our "ingenuity" to take care of us, we will eventually get a cold hard, or perhaps hot and liquid slap in the face.

By the way, one of the flaws from the movie, my favorite part actually, is where Gore visits Antarctica, and proclaims "Here in the ice (points finger), you can see where congress passed the clean air act."
 

MikeyDB

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Jun 9, 2006
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Yeah just remember the words of the purser on the Titanic..."Don't panic it's just an iceberg.... we're unsinkable remember....!
 

MikeyDB

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Colpy

Remind me again if you would...which geologic epoch are we saying existed before as an example wherein as many people and as many cars and so-on existed....

Models that don't factor in the rate of increase in greenhouse gasses (natural) from the artificial ones created by humankind might not be all that dependable...
 

MikeyDB

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Jun 9, 2006
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Since 1906 (birth of window air-conditioning) how many millions upon millions of window air conditioners have been made and sold?

Does this number compare favourably with the number produced and sold during say the "Bronze-Age"....or any time earlier for that matter....
 

#juan

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Aug 30, 2005
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Yeah just remember the words of the purser on the Titanic..."Don't panic it's just an iceberg.... we're unsinkable remember....!

As I recall, his next words were, "glub...choke...cough...sputter...help...help........