An Inescapable Moral Imperative

An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore tells us, is one we hold "at arm's length, because if we acknowledge it and recognize it, then the moral imperative to make big changes is inescapable." The titular issue of his new movie is global warming, and if you leave the theater unconvinced of its existence, or of our culpability in the matter, then you are probably corrupted by the same money that makes this truth inconvenient for those best positioned to effect change: the politicians. (That, or you take comfort in denial.)

But this movie is not about the politics (even though it is inescapably political). Gore has a genuine passion for and commitment to the issue that comes through in his drive to educate the masses. He has given this presentation thousands of times to hundreds of thousands of people around the world (including Googlers earlier this year), not the kind of effort you put into an issue if your goal is to score cheap political points. This adaptation is simply the culmination of his years of legwork evangelizing this message, dating back to his early days in the Senate. Don't confuse it with recent political hatchet jobs like Fahrenheit 9/11.


Obviously any discussion around global warming must begin with the establishment of its existence, a task that Gore carries out with a sledge hammer. But to me, the most interesting question he addresses isn't whether or not global warming is real, but rather, why have so many people remained skeptical about it to this point?

In keeping with the rest of his presentation, Gore cites a simple study with eye-opening numbers to tell the tale. Among a random sample of 1,000 abstracts on climate change in peer-reviewed scientific journals over the last ten years, exactly zero questioned that we were causing global warming. But over that same timeframe, over 50 percent of a random sample of 600 global warming articles in the popular media (not to mention Michael Crichton's recent best seller State of Fear) questioned our role in global warming. Controversy makes for better copy, and consequently, perception becomes out of whack with reality.

The media's obfuscation of the truth has enabled our politicians to do the same. They can play dumb because their constituents are dumb (or at least confused). And on this issue, our politicians are more than happy to play dumb. As Al Gore quotes Upton Sinclair, "It is hard to get a man to understand something if his living depends on him not understanding it."

The key, then, is to increase understanding among their constituents, and perhaps more importantly, make sure the response to that understanding is constructive. Gore muses that when it comes to global warming, so many people go directly from denial to despair. But rationally, we have not reached the point of despair. People need to not only believe in the existence of global warming, but also in our ability to do something about it. Both are necessary to put pressure on our politicians to take action. Their livings need to depend on it. Gore's presentation is a solid step in that direction. (It's also surprisingly entertaining.)