An Inconvenient Truth
Go see it. I just watched Al Gore's documentary on global warming and it's shocking. It's scary. But it's accurate. I think that it really clarifies things for the layperson, and it is a call to action. I find it so sad to see how far behind the rest of the world the U.S. is when it comes to being environmentally conscious. Here is the website: www.climatecrisis.net
Hopefully the rise in gas prices will wake people up (it's not the destruction of our world, but the harm to one's pocketbook that opens eyes??? sad but true).
Gas prices have always been as high or much higher in other countries of the world. When I was in Europe and Scandinavia, I was seeing gas prices triple what the U.S. pays. Here in Seoul, gas prices are over $5 a gallon. I am SO glad to not have a car anymore. Taking the subway is great. I wish Milwaukee had that option. It's nice not to have to worry about driving....I can just sit there and daydream or read a book. And when it's winter, I don't have to worry about scraping my windows or digging my car out of 6 feet of snow before I nearly get into an accident by sliding into another car on a slippery road (it's happened to me before).
Anyway, I know that cars are a necessity to many people. It was to me in Milwaukee. The public transport just isn't there in a city of that size. Having never lived in such a large city before, I was very surprised to see how environmentally conscious Seoul is. All of our garbage is separated. We recycle everything....bottles, cans, plastic, paper, cardboard--even public receptacles in the subway and in fast-food restaurants have you separating things (you dump out your soda in the "liquid" area, put your cup in one area, lid and straw in another area).
They don't have garbage disposals so we throw our leftover food into food bins (and boy does it stink). The lighting everywhere is flourescent. Homes, schools, restaurants (yep, even there). It's harsh and unattractive but much better for the environment (they use 60% less energy than a regular bulb--IKEA sells 'em!). It's just interesting to see how much more advanced Seoul is in taking initiatives to be nice to the world.
Anyway, I'm done ranting and raving....as a global citizen, I ask you to go see the movie. It will hopefully get you thinking.
Hopefully the rise in gas prices will wake people up (it's not the destruction of our world, but the harm to one's pocketbook that opens eyes??? sad but true).
Gas prices have always been as high or much higher in other countries of the world. When I was in Europe and Scandinavia, I was seeing gas prices triple what the U.S. pays. Here in Seoul, gas prices are over $5 a gallon. I am SO glad to not have a car anymore. Taking the subway is great. I wish Milwaukee had that option. It's nice not to have to worry about driving....I can just sit there and daydream or read a book. And when it's winter, I don't have to worry about scraping my windows or digging my car out of 6 feet of snow before I nearly get into an accident by sliding into another car on a slippery road (it's happened to me before).
Anyway, I know that cars are a necessity to many people. It was to me in Milwaukee. The public transport just isn't there in a city of that size. Having never lived in such a large city before, I was very surprised to see how environmentally conscious Seoul is. All of our garbage is separated. We recycle everything....bottles, cans, plastic, paper, cardboard--even public receptacles in the subway and in fast-food restaurants have you separating things (you dump out your soda in the "liquid" area, put your cup in one area, lid and straw in another area).
They don't have garbage disposals so we throw our leftover food into food bins (and boy does it stink). The lighting everywhere is flourescent. Homes, schools, restaurants (yep, even there). It's harsh and unattractive but much better for the environment (they use 60% less energy than a regular bulb--IKEA sells 'em!). It's just interesting to see how much more advanced Seoul is in taking initiatives to be nice to the world.
Anyway, I'm done ranting and raving....as a global citizen, I ask you to go see the movie. It will hopefully get you thinking.
posted by Shannon at 11:26 AM
5 Comments:
I've been debating on going to see it ever since the definition of the word "documentary" has been rewritten due to Michael Moore, but your case is so compelling I think I will!
Gore isn't quite as green as he's led the world to believe
Al Gore has spoken: The world must embrace a "carbon-neutral lifestyle." To do otherwise, he says, will result in a cataclysmic catastrophe. "Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb," warns the website for his film, An Inconvenient Truth. "We have just 10 years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tailspin."
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Graciously, Gore tells consumers how to change their lives to curb their carbon-gobbling ways: Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, use a clothesline, drive a hybrid, use renewable energy, dramatically cut back on consumption. Better still, responsible global citizens can follow Gore's example, because, as he readily points out in his speeches, he lives a "carbon-neutral lifestyle." But if Al Gore is the world's role model for ecology, the planet is doomed.
For someone who says the sky is falling, he does very little. He says he recycles and drives a hybrid. And he claims he uses renewable energy credits to offset the pollution he produces when using a private jet to promote his film. (In reality, Paramount Classics, the film's distributor, pays this.)
Public records reveal that as Gore lectures Americans on excessive consumption, he and his wife Tipper live in two properties: a 10,000-square-foot, 20-room, eight-bathroom home in Nashville, and a 4,000-square-foot home in Arlington, Va. (He also has a third home in Carthage, Tenn.) For someone rallying the planet to pursue a path of extreme personal sacrifice, Gore requires little from himself.
Then there is the troubling matter of his energy use. In the Washington, D.C., area, utility companies offer wind energy as an alternative to traditional energy. In Nashville, similar programs exist. Utility customers must simply pay a few extra pennies per kilowatt hour, and they can continue living their carbon-neutral lifestyles knowing that they are supporting wind energy. Plenty of businesses and institutions have signed up. Even the Bush administration is using green energy for some federal office buildings, as are thousands of area residents.
But according to public records, there is no evidence that Gore has signed up to use green energy in either of his large residences. When contacted Wednesday, Gore's office confirmed as much but said the Gores were looking into making the switch at both homes. Talk about inconvenient truths.
Gore is not alone. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has said, "Global warming is happening, and it threatens our very existence." The DNC website applauds the fact that Gore has "tried to move people to act." Yet, astoundingly, Gore's persuasive powers have failed to convince his own party: The DNC has not signed up to pay an additional two pennies a kilowatt hour to go green. For that matter, neither has the Republican National Committee.
Maybe our very existence isn't threatened.
Gore has held these apocalyptic views about the environment for some time. So why, then, didn't Gore dump his family's large stock holdings in Occidental (Oxy) Petroleum? As executor of his family's trust, over the years Gore has controlled hundreds of thousands of dollars in Oxy stock. Oxy has been mired in controversy over oil drilling in ecologically sensitive areas.
Living carbon-neutral apparently doesn't mean living oil-stock free. Nor does it necessarily mean giving up a mining royalty either.
Humanity might be "sitting on a ticking time bomb," but Gore's home in Carthage is sitting on a zinc mine. Gore receives $20,000 a year in royalties from Pasminco Zinc, which operates a zinc concession on his property. Tennessee has cited the company for adding large quantities of barium, iron and zinc to the nearby Caney Fork River.
The issue here is not simply Gore's hypocrisy; it's a question of credibility. If he genuinely believes the apocalyptic vision he has put forth and calls for radical changes in the way other people live, why hasn't he made any radical change in his life? Giving up the zinc mine or one of his homes is not asking much, given that he wants the rest of us to radically change our lives.
I saw the Gore Zinc mine article on the Drudge Report. Its too bad people have to get more of the truth from a "right wing" web site. And liberals claim that television media is controlled by conservatives, yet they won't air the story. Everybody who lives in an industrialized country and makes a living is a polluter. I just think that if the 10 years to oblivion is correct, then why aren't the Gores and every scientist/environmentalist they know building some kind of Bio-Fortress in Antarctica or in the deepest reaches of the Pacific ocean? A fortress powered by pig feces, mood crystals, or even Energon (the life-blood of all Transformers whether they be Autobot or Decepticon). Perhaps such a place is in the works and they are selling codo units already. I myself predicted this desolate future long ago and have begun hording gasoline. Futhermore, I have started construction on my own Thunderdome which will serve as a colliseum for the new era. All outlanders will be welcome.
Brian Joyce
OUTLANDER!!!!!
Wow, it's so nice to see you boys read my blog....you must miss me afterall!
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