Movie Review:: An Inconvenient Truth

Al Gore's famous lecture on the perils of global warming finally made it to our living room yesterday to mixed reviews. The polemic, divisive flick earnestly attempts to make the scientific case for both the existence of and causation of global warming. Surprisingly humorous and thoughtful Al Gore compellingly demonstrated the former, but his dramatic tactics in support of the latter left something to be intellectually desired.

Powerful images of receded glaciers, disappearing icecaps and higher water lines bear witness to the profound changes happening on our planet. The icecaps of Kilimanjaro that now look like light sugar frosting on a cake, the ice shelf in Antarctica that has fallen off, thereby the shrinking the continent and dead coral reefs that no longer serve the pivotal role of supporting vibrant ecosystems are a testament to what is in store.

The analysis in the film then shifts to the shakier ground of explaining "why" the earth is warming. As the argument goes, the byproduct of industry and human consumption is increased CO2, which thickens the atmosphere and traps the sun's radiation that would otherwise be released back into space.

To illustrate the point, Gore points to a graph that documents the earth's temperature and corresponding CO2 levels for the past 650,000 years.

The top line, representing CO2 levels, erraticly but progressively ascends as it approaches the present, paralleled by a white line representing temperature. This, Al Gore tells us, is the smoking gun evidence that proves that CO2 levels are causing the temperature increases and wacky weather in many parts of the world.

It is on this point where skepticism set in. The age-old blurring of the line between correlation and causation is an intellectual pitfall that understandably ensnares the unwitting observer. Correlation, on the one hand, means "the degree to which two or more attributes or measurements on the same group of elements show a tendency to vary together." On the other hand, causation is "anything that produces an effect". Racial profiling is a good example of this intellectual fallacy. It may be true that there is a correlation between members of a certain race and commission of specified crimes, but it does not mean that the race of the person caused the person to commit the crime. Many other variables influence each result.

That CO2 levels and temperature levels correlate does not mean that CO2 increases cause temperature rise. Indeed, it could be the opposite.

All in all, however, it was a thought-provoking flick. Those who otherwise care about a healthy environment, clean water and breathable air do not need armageddon scenarious to scare them into moderating their consumption. One need only visit Beijing or Cairo to experience the destructive effects of unfettered pollution. And, for those who refuse to believe that the wastes generated by our society's ravenous consumption will ultimately be our downfall, no amount of reason will change their minds.

People should conserve resources, recycle and not be wasteful. Not because Al Gore peddled an end-of-the-world prophecy, but because it makes sense.