An Inconvenient Truth

Phillip Dave C. Cachapero

As I witnessed the former Vice President of the United States of America crack jokes while
presenting a slideshow on the adverse effects of Global Warming on the entire world , I thought
to myself, how could a man convince a generation of peoples, spawned by a generation that has
been exposed to the glory days of industrialization , to stand up for the world and immerse
themselves in a lifestyle that contradicts , in some manner, the lifestyle that has been instilled in
them by their parents who have grown accustomed to such a lifestyle that contributed , to some
extent, to the danger brought upon by Global Warming? I was skeptical , at first, but as the movie
progressed to a point where his jokes got funnier and his arguments , more convincing, Al Gore
went from a mere 1 to a solid 10.
The world we live in, Earth, is indeed a beautiful place, and this is what Gore wants to
protect what he wants us to protect. Global Warming, as presented in the film, is a problem that
has been present for decades! This is a problem that affects not only the States , but also the entire
world, and we, as Gore says, should contribute to solving this problem.
What gets us into trouble is not what we dont know , its what we know for sure that just
aint so. (Mark Twain)
Now, do note that when I am asked to write a paper on something I have seen or read , I
often quote words that the characters use. In this case, I quote Gore who, in turn quotes Twain to
point out that the assumption the majority has about Global Warming is most likely
wrong. Global Warming, as presented, involves Carbon Dioxide Emissions. Roger
Revelle, Gores college professor, presented to them in class that since he started measuring the
levels of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere , the numbers have been steadily increasing, and this
is a bad thing. This bit of information scared me the most. I have an idea of how Global
Warming works and the effects it would have on the Earth , its temperature, and the level of its
seas. I am aware of these as we , as a family, often discuss topics involving apocalyptic scenarios
over dinner, and this particular topic is one that we often find ourselves discussing . What scares
me the most about this is that the data presented by Gore have been taken , more or less, seven
years ago. The sheer increase of the data they have measured over the past decades got me
thinking as to how much the numbers have increased in the past seven years , and if Gores
optimistic predictions of how much the emissions could drop if the recommended measures have
been taken would actually work. The marginally increasing number of typhoons wreaking havoc
over the Pacific and all around the world is also a sign of the negligence of the Global Warming
issue over the years taking its toll. Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Typhoon Yolanda, is one
of them. The typhoons being formed over the Pacific are getting stronger due to the heat being
trapped by the high levels of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere, and this, again, is a bad thing.

The Philippines has had its share of floods over the past few years , while countries such as
Africa have been experiencing droughts that have turned lakes into puddles , crippling irrigation
in the affected countries. This, too, is an adverse effect brought upon by Global Warming.
One might notice that the change in the temperatures and all the other presented data span
years or even decades, while the projections for the predicted levels of emission and all the other
data also look as far ahead as fifty years, hence, Gores witty imitation of how people would
react to any long-term problem, Well, lets deal with it tomorrow. This is something that
we, residents of the same ecosystem, should change. The speed of change may seem gradual to
us in our lifetime, but in the course of time , taking into consideration nature and the
circumstances surrounding it, this change is happening very, very quickly.
Another thing that really scared me was the melting of the glaciers in various places around
the world, the ice caps in the Arctic, and of the huge slabs of ice called Antarctica and
Greenland. The melting of these glaciers and ice caps could cause a huge increase in the sea
level, and in turn, submerge lowlands. Coincidentally, some of the lowlands that have been
predicted to be submerged under water include cities inhabited by millions , if not tens of
millions of people. With the steadily increasing population around the world , I dont think we
can afford to lose any more land.
The presentation also presented the adverse effect of Global Warming on various ecological
niches in various parts of the ecosystem. We would be witnessing species being decimated to
extinction due to the transition from one niche to another; the rise of infectious and deadly
diseases, and the various vectors of these diseases . This poses a problem to us as this could raise
another SARS or Bird Flu outbreak, or something different, but similarly terrifying.
Gore presented Global Warming as the collision between civilization and the Earth , and the
factors affecting the said collision. First is the population and its steady increase rate. The more
people in the world, the more mouths we have to feed; the more mouths we have to feed , the
more food we have to produce; the more food we have to produce , the more industrial
processing we have to perform; and the more industrial processing we have to perform , the more
we contribute to the Global Warming pollutants. Now, thats how I see it, but Gore presented
something different, but in some ways, quite similar. The more the people in the world , the more
pressure on food and water intake, but this pressure would account to an increase in the Carbon
Dioxide emissions in the long run. Second is the innovation in technology. It is true that
technology does contribute to the betterment of life of every living person in the world , but its
progress also contributes to the destruction of the world. Paired with the old habits our ancestors
have grown accustomed to, new technology could have dramatically altered
consequences. War, for example, is an old habit. Kingdoms and countries have been waging war

on each other since time immemorial . Paired with new technology, such as those involving
nuclear energy, the effect on the world could be catastrophic. The effects of nuclear warfare
involve not only a controlled, local scale as the radiation and pollution the blast would emit
would affect neighboring countries, ecosystems, as well as the atmosphere. Finally, the third
factor involves our thoughts on it, our reaction to it. The animated frog, as presented, explains
how we, like the frog would react to immediate danger and danger that we are unaware
of, developing over a longer period of time.
Lets move on to Gores section on cigarettes and tobacco . This is something that grabbed
my attention as this is something that I am exposed to most , as it may seem. Gore opens this
section with sharing a piece of personal, but relevant information. Gore lost his elder sister to
lung cancer caused by the heavy use of cigarettes. This might have been caused by the exposure
their family has had to tobacco as they used to own a tobacco plantation . Then again, I might be
wrong. Anyway, tobacco is something that is generally not good. Its generally neither good for
you, nor the environment. Its all over the cigarette pack, the commercials on TV, the billboards
along EDSA, and even on the mouths of the people who endorse them , but why is this harmful
substance still being commercialized by businessmen? Profit, of course! Why isnt the
government doing anything about it? Do I even have to say it? According to the memos
presented by Gore in his presentation, tobacco-selling companies aim to reposition the Global
Warming issue as a Theory rather than a Fact. Another memo, according to Gore, states
that Doubt is our product since its the best means of creating a controversy in the publics
mind. With that in mind then, why do people still smoke? Now that is an inconvenient truth.
Another inconvenient truth involves the cover up of the facts discovered by scientists after
being ridiculed, persecuted, and deprived of jobs simply because they chose to talk about it . This
bothers me since this is something that the public should be aware of . I would understand it if the
discovery involved aliens or other supernatural phenomenon that could cause national, and even
global panic, but this is something that everyone should be aware of since it could inspire people
to unite and work together towards a solution to this.
Pick your poison: the economy or the environment? Gore presented a still picture of
scales, having gold bars on one side and the Earth on the other. Now, most people would
probably go for the gold bars. I mean, seriously, who wouldnt? Gore, however, reminds us that
this is not a subjective test where any answer would be considered correct. This is something that
involves forces and factors beyond us. Choosing poorly could result to catastrophic
consequences. Go for the environment. Why? Well, to put it simply, without a world to live
in, what would we be doing with a hundred , a thousand, or even a million gold bars? Pretty
much nothing. Scratch that, nothing at all. Doing the right thing moves us forward, gearing us
toward a bright and environmentally-friendly future . Besides, having a company supporting the
environmental cause is profitable since the green movement is now a thing in the business

industry. More people nowadays prefer environmentally-friendly products over products that
emit high levels of Carbon Dioxide.
Humanity already possesses the fundamental scientific , technical, and industrial knowhow to solve the carbon and climate problems. (Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow)
We have what it takes to change the world , technologically-wise, since we have reached
the point where almost nothing is impossible due to the technological innovations our generation
has reached, and we arent even at the pinnacle of innovation! All we need , according to Gore, is
the political will to do so . We need leaders who are willing to stand up for the environment and
lead us into a well-thought-of and fully-developed environmental movement . After all, the world
we live in is just a pixel in the entirety of the universe , a mere smudge on the windshield of the
universes car. That smudge, though, that pixel, is what we, humans, call home.
To end this paper, I would like to quote, again, Al Gore, quoting Winston Churchill. We
are being called to act as the Englishmen were when Churchill was warning them of a
phenomenon that he considered to be different from anything that they have ever encountered
before. We, who care for the world we consider home , are called to communicate the Global
Warming problem. Let the whole world know; city-by-city; family-by-family; person-by-person
Make the youth aware of the Global Warming problem , as Al Gore was exposed to it, so that
they, too, would take the initiative to stand up for the world they live in , and protect it. Tell your
parents not to ruin the world that you will live in.
The era of Procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of
delays, is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of Consequences. (Sir
Winston Churchill)