Al Gore is back and doing what one of his passions: warning us about the dangers of global warming. The problem of global climate change is a complicated one and the film didn't do justice to explaining the whole issue, but it was lively and is bound to provoke a lot of discussion on our own personal impacts on the warming of the earth and what we can do as individuals to force our leaders to address this problems.

Global Warming: Danger Today and Tomorrow

The evidence for global warming with today's emissions levels is clear and the movie does a good job at showing it. It brings it home to most of us, and not just fringe environmentalists who already are quite happy driving around in their little hybrid cars and with their florescent bulbs in their houses. It's does not go into the science of global warming besides a basic explanation and briefly covers the effect of other pollutants in the air. For example, Gore notes the impact of the Clean Air Act of 1970 on global warming as our air became cleaner then more light got down to earth.

Yet, the movie misses the most scary prospect of all – the future. Our emission levels of carbon dioxide are dangerously high now, but it's only going to get worst. Many studies suggest our air emissions are expected to rise drastically in upcoming decades due to population increases and economic growth. Simply said there needs to be curbs on future growth, and a focusing on how we can conserve energy and produce less carbon dioxide in the future.

Gore as a Man of the People

Too many environmentalists seem distant and far out with their ideas. The movie seems to bring Gore home, beyond abstract politics and arguing for what he believes is right. He loves all the same things that we love, and his soft-spoke voice from his farm and along the river bank seems to touch a cord. Global warming is not something that's a problem for the elite to talk about, it's a question of all our livelihoods. Particularly for us rural people who live so closely to the land, it's such an important issue that is not at all abstract.

Some people say that the movie is over biographical of Al Gore's life or that it's his latest cynical attempt to run for president. Yet, the personal nature of the movie is what makes it so touching and so real. It's more then some kind of liberal environmentalist telling us from massive city apartment on how to live our lives. You can not help but start to sympathize with Al Gore and the whole issue of global warming.

Conclusions

This is one of the must see movies this year, particularly if your still somewhat cynical about global climate change. This movie does not illustrate the moral corruption on the issue of energy and global climate change as well as Who Killed the Electric Car but still is an excellent movie. If you have to decide between this movie and the Who Killed the Electric Car, go for the later, but it's still very instructive on the problem of global climate change.

This movie had excellent quality animation and a mix of photography and sound bits. Very professionally done, and did a great job at explaining the wonkish subject of global warming. Far better visuals then movies done by filmmakers like Brave New World and Michael Moore's productions. Makes global warming almost fun.

We can do a lot to deal with global warming, and while the movie offered some hope it didn't discuss the issues as boldly as I would have hoped. It should not have focused so much on our present carbon dioxide emissions but of the great danger of dramatically increasing carbon emissions as China becomes more industrialized and as our economy grows. While our current emission levels are problematic, the future can only be more bleak should they grow dramatically.