I expected this to be a documentary version of his slideshow, but it is a slideshow presentation that was filmed, mixed in with some autobiographical content that really belongs in a separate film. Gore's presentation is on the whole highly polished and quite informative, even just to frame knowledge you may already have in a new way. I didn't treat everything he said as gospel, but one internet poster's complaint about the scales he used appeared to be incorrect. For example, the parts per million graph if displayed in full shows a small change, but what we do with scales is change them to something meaningful (as anyone who's done high school maths will know). Running through my mind as I watched this is that it's not change that's the problem, it the rate of change that's the problem. If the sea level noticeably rises and rainfall rates change over the course of one lifetime, this is very disruptive.
As a government insider Gore has a unique perspective, for example on the US's fuel economy targets, which lag behind even some developing nations, and formerly classified Naval data on the Artctic ice sheet thickness. He's also picked a great selection of quotes that are quite cutting in regard to the oil industry and global warming deniers.
The presentation ended on quite a manipulative note though, attempting to inspire us to make change rather than letting the previous 50 minutes speak for themselves. I think a documentary like this by a former politician requires fact checking to be viewed comfortably (just did a little). Despite Gore's bias, at worst he's close to the mark. It's got me thinking about the subject again and I hope the human race pumps less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and burns less undisturbed wilderness before even the most ardent global warming denier accepts the accumulating evidence.
As a government insider Gore has a unique perspective, for example on the US's fuel economy targets, which lag behind even some developing nations, and formerly classified Naval data on the Artctic ice sheet thickness. He's also picked a great selection of quotes that are quite cutting in regard to the oil industry and global warming deniers.
The presentation ended on quite a manipulative note though, attempting to inspire us to make change rather than letting the previous 50 minutes speak for themselves. I think a documentary like this by a former politician requires fact checking to be viewed comfortably (just did a little). Despite Gore's bias, at worst he's close to the mark. It's got me thinking about the subject again and I hope the human race pumps less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and burns less undisturbed wilderness before even the most ardent global warming denier accepts the accumulating evidence.