Movie Review of
"An Inconvenient Truth"

In Davis Guggenheim’s "An Inconvenient Truth" Al Gore brings his environmental message regarding global warming to the silver screen. The film is an unusual combination of documentary, thriller and power-point presentation, but most of all, it is a plea for action. The film follows Gore as he travels around the world to provide us with evidence that global warming is a fact. Pictures vividly portray where the snow has disappeared from Mt. Kilimanjaro and the dwindling ice sheet of Greenland. At times Professor Gore brings out the alarming statistics of carbon dioxide increases and the concomitant rise in air temperatures. At other moments he shows us a multitude of early warning signs (he labels these the canaries in the mine) of global warming: from Hurricane Katrina to tornadoes, from the Great Lakes to Antarctica, and from Africa to Latin America.

One important aspect of the film is that Gore brings the ethical dimensions to the forefront. Although at times Gore comes across as dry and nerdy, at his best Gore lays bare the moral consequences of our actions (and inactions). What kind of earth will we leave to our children and grandchildren? How does our consumption affect our neighbors in other parts of the world? What will happen if we continue along the same road without changing our lifestyles?

As followers of Jesus Christ we should be extremely concerned about the state of our earth. This world is the creation of our God and it is the home of our neighbors. Scientific evidence overwhelmingly suggests that our world is ill and getting worse. Of course, not all scientists agree on every point. But even if Gore’s scientific prognostications were only 20% accurate, this would require a change in the behavior of Christ’s followers. I was deeply challenged by this film, because it urged me to demonstrate better love for my neighbors around the world and in future generations.

More information about the film can be found at http://www.climatecrisis.org.