Thursday, March 30, 2017

Climate Change & an Inconvenient President


Tuesday was a black day for those with green aspirations and hopes around the planet. The Trump administration in the United States began the process of dismantling Environmental Protection laws created during the Obama era. The hope was that greenhouse gas emissions would be significantly reduced for the sake of a better future. Instead Emperor Trump has the goal of reviving a coal industry that was dying a natural death, as well as dismantling protections for the Great Lakes and other waterways. This is more than incompetence in my estimation, it is evil.

A movie poster displays industrial smoke stacks whose emissions form a hurricane eyewall

In the midst of this come the press releases for a follow-up documentary to the influential An Inconvenient Truth, which is now nearly eleven years old. That doc was not without its critics because of its rather dry, PowerPoint lecture approach. Of course it was former vice-president Al Gore who was the professor. Still it caught the attention of millions and explained climate change in terms that most could comprehend. While there were some errors leapt upon by the climate change skeptics, most climate scientists agree that its core points are accurate.

The new film is called An Inconvenient Sequel. One reviewer has described it as "catching up with Al," featuring Gore for most of the first half. There is a more hopeful message this time around, which we probably all need given inconvenient president Trump's assault on the environment. Putting climate change skeptic Scott Pruitt in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency and ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State doesn't inspire me with confidence.

Image result for if you really think the environment is less important than the economy

We are already hearing that some large American cities will follow their own courses of action on climate change. The state of California will chart its own path as well, and it has a population equivalent to Canada.

Would you watch An Inconvenient Truth again, all these years later? I'm considering showing it here at Bridge St. How about An Inconvenient Sequel? It will be released at the end of July.


2 comments:

roger said...

Yes, I would watch An Inconvenient Truth or Inconvenient Sequel, however I would rather watch Trump's impeachment. I'd bring the popcorn.

Trump has set the bar so low for becoming the president of the United States, I wouldn't be surprised if Miley Cyrus is the next POTUS.

David Mundy said...

Well, they both seem to have a Wrecking Ball. Thanks Roger.