Opening weekend I saw this homage to Al Gore and his Apple Powerbook. (I saw The Corporation too, which made for a thoughtful double-feature.)

I think everyone should see this movie even as I find it hard to explain to people why they should. We are so obsessed with having fun that it is hard to explain to people why they should even be aware of things that are unpleasant. "It's good for you" just doesnt compute anymore.

I took away three things from the movie.

1. The graph of atmospheric CO2, ie greenhouse gases.
2. The graph of population.
3. The statistic on scientific papers and media reports.

I also left the movie with a deep sense of resignation, not the optimism that Gore tries to instill.

People can learn a lot from this movie but only if they go. From the conversations I have had, it is hard to get the people who should see the movie to go see it. People like their SUV's and their way of life. It is going to be very hard to convince them that they need to make drastic changes since it is hard to get them to even learn about the environment. Especially when Fox News shows there is so much to be made by making them feel better just the way they are. Without the people, politicians certainly wont lead the way.

Some of us are much more aware of and informed of global issues, but that wont save us either because we all share the same planet. No, we are all in this together. Christian and Muslim. Democrat and Republican. New Europe and Old Europe. All of us.

In our democracy, it will take a groundswell of voters to force change and I dont see that happening; we cannot even agree on science and evolution! I agree with Gore that we could make huge changes but only if we wanted to and people wont want to until they see a personal benefit for the costs.

Modern society allows us to live completely divorced from the consequences of our actions and focus all our energy on fun and entertainment. It is hard to see how we personally connect with this "global warming" thing in our daily lives. Which is to say, it is very easy to make the false argument that environmental damage is a fiction because that is what people want to believe anyway. I dont see this changing without some severe tragedies to make the mental connections and drive the message home.

Europe had a heat wave that killed 13,000 people. Katrina destroyed New Orleans just last year but those are things that happen to someone else, far away, not to us. I dont see any big changes as a result of these warnings.

Nature includes gradual, continuous change as well as sudden, discontinuous change. We have been comfortable in a long period of continuous change; I hope that we survive the coming discontinuous change.

See the movie and if you can, get your friends and family to see it too. At least with movies like this, those of us that choose to know wont be totally surprised when the shit hits the fan.