An Inconvenient Truth

“Global warming, along with the cutting and burning of forests and other critical habitats, is causing the loss of living species at a level comparable to the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. That event was believed to have been caused by a giant asteroid. This time it is not an asteroid colliding with the Earth and wreaking havoc; it is us.”

Here is one of the central theses of the book, controversial at the time and still, to some extent, now. Gore makes this statement in the Introduction, with no equivocation. Global warming is causing species loss, and it is caused by humans, he says. Humans are in the middle of a major planetary event, what scientists today call the Sixth Extinction, a the period of the Anthropocene (a geological age that is marked by human dominance affecting earth processes). Neither term was around at the time of An Inconvenient Truth’s publication, but they describe what Gore refers to. He states here what he believes as fact, which will be outlined in the book. 

“I’d seriously underestimated the resistance–and disinterest–this alarming prognosis of global warming would meet. It wasn’t the last time I would have that experience.” 

In a way, one could say Gore is still having that experience. In the anecdote “A Scientific Hero,” Gore speaks of his mentor, Roger Revelle, whom he credits with turning him on to the subject of global warming. He says he is still trying to communicate to people the epiphany that Revelle’s work inspired in him. Many years after publication, as Gore continues to be the principal “face” of climate change, he appears to be continuing that work. Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, this quote also presages the reception of An Inconvenient Truth. While the book did inform many, it also met quite a bit of resistance with the public.

“But I truly believe I was handed not just a second chance, but an obligation to pay attention to what matters and to do my part to protect and safeguard it, and to do whatever I can at this moment of danger to try and make sure that what is most precious about God’s beautiful Earth–its liveability for us, our children, future generations–doesn’t slip from our hands.” 

Gore makes this quote at the end of his personal anecdote about the life-threatening injury of his son. This example shows how Gore inserts his personal story into a longer, often faceless narrative to explain why he feels so deeply about the issue and how, for him, it is much more than a simple political issue. One of the themes of An Inconvenient Truth is how Gore feels global warming is a moral imperative, and this quote illustrates why he feels that way. He faced the mortality of his young son, and it made him want to focus on the things that matter–not just to him and his family, but to everyone on the planet.

“From my father, I learned about the duty to care for the land. But it was from my mother that I first learned about the Earth’s vulnerability to human harm.” 

Al Gore’s parents clearly influenced him in many ways, not the least of which was the development of his love of nature. Gore says that he continues to teach the lessons learned from his father to his children and grandchildren. Meanwhile, his mother’s reading of the book Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, taught him that humans could irreparably damage the planet. In this personal anecdote, he reflects on the fact that living in two locations–one urban, one rural–helped him appreciate the environment more because he wasn’t able to take it for granted. That, alongside his parents’ teachings, created a pattern he would follow for life. 

“As a result, the most dramatic impact of global warming in the Arctic is the accelerated melting. Temperatures are shooting upward there faster than at any other place on the planet.” 

For Gore, the Arctic and Antarctic are what he calls “canaries in the coal mine” (126) because they are especially susceptible to warming temperatures. These places are dramatically different underneath the snow, and global warming has implications for both areas, as well as animals and people. Buildings built on permafrost, Gore illustrates, are falling because permafrost is giving way. In a slight twist on how you would expect him to address the issue of drilling in the Arctic, he actually details the problems that oil companies are having with their plans for oil drilling. In Alaska, the permafrost melt makes it difficult for oil companies to travel across the tundra.

“In all of my journeys, I have searched for a better understanding of the climate crisis—and in all of them, I have found not only evidence of the danger we face globally, but an expectation everywhere that the United States will be the nation to lead the world to a safer, brighter future. And as a result, since every journey took me back home, I have returned with a deeper conviction that the solution to this crisis that I have traveled so far to understand must begin right here at home.” 

“From Pole to Shining Pole” features a personal anecdote about Gore’s travels, which allowed him to see the effects of climate change for himself and meet with scientists and others in the field. Clearly, it also gave him an appreciation for what needs to be done in the US, spurring his patriotism as well as his growing sense of urgency. For Gore, America’s world prominence is tied to its ability to spearhead the future, to provide leadership on an important issue, and to take the concerns of the world community seriously. He talks about his real journeys and his intellectual one, wanting to provide a sense of discovery for others that matches his own. 

“Today’s climate pattern has existed throughout the entire history of human civilization. Every place–every city, every farm–is located or has been developed on the basis of the same climate patterns we have always known.” 

After explaining that the melting of the Arctic has profound implications for the planet’s “nonlinear system,” which basically means climate changes are not gradual and can make big jumps here and there, Gore says that the current ocean currents have been the same for 10,000 years but are now changing as a result of higher temperatures. He also discusses “the Global Ocean Conveyer Belt,” which describes the movement of North Atlantic currents. Melting once caused a 1,0000-year ice age in Europe, and Gore says scientists are worried about this happening again. 

“The age-old rhythm of the Earth’s seasons–summer, fall, winter, and spring–is also changing as some parts of the world heat up more rapidly than others.” 

Effects of climate change can disrupt “millions of delicately balanced ecological relationships among species,” (153), says Gore. He adds information here about how bird hatchings, caterpillar hatchings, and other natural events were timed so that optimum survival could take place. But, with changes in the length and timing of seasons, nature becomes disrupted. Additionally, invasive species move into fill biological niches that did not exist until the seasons were disrupted. For Gore, the proliferation of bark beetles is an example of this, and such happenings are leading to species loss that may be irreversible.

“But what we do to nature we do to ourselves.”

Gore expresses the belief that nature has become much less important to people’s lives than in years past. He calls it “slow-moving, undemanding, maybe underwhelming to many people” (161). In that way, he says, people consider it something for using and abusing. Here, he says that humans are tied to nature, and populations cannot take from it without also feeling the harms from doing so. If humans take more than nature can replenish, they lose all the benefits of nature’s bounty and its resources. On a larger scale, of course, this relates to the issue of climate change in that one of Gore’s central premises is that the current crisis is caused by humans and therefore must be fixed by humans before the catastrophic happens. 

“Global warming pushes all of these boundaries in the wrong direction, thereby increasing human vulnerability to new and unfamiliar diseases, as well as new strains of disease once under control.”

Among the changes wrought by climate change, Gore notes, is the alteration of disease vectors such as algae and mosquitoes. Colder winters and climate stability help keep such vectors at bay, but the balance is being broken by global warming issues. He cites the example of the West Nile virus, which continues to be a problem today. He also notes that some thirty new diseases have emerged in the past few decades, bringing concerns about how global warming will affect human health.

“When it works the way our founders intended, the very act of self-governing can produce an indescribable feeling of goodness and harmony that no cynic will ever be able to diminish.”

In the section “Serving for the Public Good,” Gore writes about how he did not initially want to follow in his politician father’s footsteps, but eventually changed his mind. Here, he expresses deep faith in democracy and the way it works, and discusses the “thrill” he gets at helping to make democracy work. It’s part of his personal story, explaining to readers why he doesn’t feel as cynical about the democratic process as many and why it could still be the solution in America, in terms of fighting global warming. He ends this section with “I’m really chasing that feeling in writing this book” (213), referring to finding that same thrill. Years removed from its release, Gore has expressed disappointment that the publication of An Inconvenient Truth did not have the results he was looking for, and has wondered publicly if he was at fault for being unable to stir the public to action. 

“The way we treat forests is a political issue.”

One of the themes of this book covers how global warming isn’t just a scientific issue; rather, it is very much political as well. Gore illustrates this here with images of forests in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. While he does not discuss what the political differences are between those countries, he juxtaposes dramatic images of a decimated Haitian forest next to a lush Dominican Republic one–yet they are in the same location, just divided by an invisible border. He displays an additional juxtaposition of the Amazon over time, and also discourses on how much of forest destruction is caused by burning wood for agriculture and cooking, and that wildfires result from warming climate and dryer soil and leaves. Readers are not given much information on what the politics of the situation actually are—whether it involves deforestation or burning—but they see the results through these pictures. 

“We now have a much more profound ability to transform the surface of the planet. In the same way, every human activity is now pursued with much more powerful tools, which often bring unanticipated consequences.” 

Scientific and technological advances are one factor that has transformed human relationships with the Earth, points out Gore. Of course, civilizations receive major benefits from this, but old habits are hard to change. He uses war as an example. Another is agriculture: digging, plowing, and irrigating the land. Our tools are much more powerful now, Gore says, and the use of these tools can bring unwanted side effects, such as the disappearance of bodies of water like the Aral Sea. 

“And those with the most technology have the greatest moral obligation to use it wisely. And this, too, is a political issue. Policy matters.”

As with climate change in general, technology offers both opportunities and crises. In this section of the book, he explains how humans have profoundly changed landscapes using technology, and how many side effects have occurred as a result. He believes that technology, combined with rising human population, has made humans “a force of nature” (249). Pointing out that the US is responsible for 30.3% of greenhouse gas emissions, compared with 27.7% for Europe and lower numbers for every other country, he puts the responsibility on the United States, while harkening back to one of his themes–that of the need for politicians to act on this issue and help democracy work. 

“One reason it doesn’t consistently demand our attention can be illustrated by the classic story about an old science experiment involving a frog that jumps into a pot of boiling water and immediately jumps out again because it instantly recognizes the danger. The same frog, finding itself in a pot of lukewarm water that is being […] brought to a boil, will simply stay in the water–in spite of the danger–until it is […] rescued.”

Gore uses this analogy to point out one problem he believes dominates thinking about the climate crisis: humans are still viewing the matter in slow enough terms that they are not, to put it in Gore’s terms, jumping out of the water quickly enough, and will soon be boiled (if not rescued). On this same page, he quotes Mark Twain’s famous “Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt” to bring home the idea in even more stark terms. For Gore, this is a matter of planetary survival, one being ignored because global warming isn’t jolting the human population enough. 

“I know from this experience that it sometimes takes time to connect all the dots when accepted habits and behaviors are first found to be harmful. But I also learned that a day of reckoning might come when you very much wish that you had connected the dots more quickly.”

Here, Gore is speaking about his sister’s death. She remains, he says, a “powerful force” (259) in his life. He is also addressing a media criticism of his family, who did not immediately divest from tobacco companies even after his sister died of lung cancer as a result of her smoking habit. Following this, Gore’s political opponents labeled him a hypocrite. In this personal anecdote, he speaks of tobacco companies and how they misled customers, calling their tactics “immoral” (258). He connects the behavior of those tobacco companies with oil and coal interests, which Gore believes clearly know that they are sending pollution into the atmosphere but are using similar tactics to mislead the public. 

“There is a misconception that the scientific community is in a state of disagreement about whether global warming is real, whether human beings are the principal cause, and whether its consequences are so dangerous as to warrant immediate action. In fact, there is virtually no serious disagreement remaining on any of these central points that make up the consensus view of the world scientific community.”

One of Gore’s main goals with this book is to dispel the idea that there are two sides to the climate change debate. He quotes Science editor Donald Kennedy in a block of text over two pages, saying, “Consensus as strong as the one that has developed around this topic is rare in science” (260-61). This particular debate is one that still rages today; one that, Gore would no doubt say, is a result of certain industries and politicians distributing propaganda and misinformation. NASA reports that eighteen scientific organizations have consensus around the topic and 97% of climate scientists currently publishing agree that humans are causing climate change. Thus, scientists generally do in fact agree with Gore. In the court of public opinion, though, the issue remains a question.

“Unfortunately, the false choice posted between our economy and the environment affects our politics in harmful ways.”

In discussing the politics of the global warming debate, Gore tells readers that the current US administration sends out a message that a healthy economy and a healthy environment are inimical to one another. In fact, he asserts that doing the right thing will create jobs and opportunity. It isn’t a matter of choosing one or the other; capitalism can be an ally that assists in slowing climate change. He uses the example of mileage standards being slow to change in the US in order to protect the automobile industry from competition, when companies making more efficient cars are the ones doing well.

“Our prominent source of disinformation on global warming has been the Bush-Cheney White House.”

With this quote, Gore tenders a direct criticism of the then-current presidential administration; this is a polarizing statement that may very well turn conservative readers off. He accuses the administration of silencing scientists, appointing climate-change deniers to key positions, and putting lobbyist Philip Cooney into power “to confuse the American people about this issue” (264). While a comparatively mild attack, this sentence also hides much subtext when one considers that Gore lost the presidency to Bush in a controversial Supreme Court ruling in 2000, with the electoral vote given to Bush.

“The truth about the climate crisis is an inconvenient one that means we are going to have to change the way we live our lives.” 

Within this quote lies one of the main ideas of the book–that certain politicians and business interests ignore or deny climate change because they realize it requires a change in the status quo that they do not wish to support. This, in turn, leads them to discredit evidence, rather than move toward the structural changes needed to save the planet. Gore argues that there is enough evidence of damage and enough data to convince us to take action, and that this has moved beyond an ideological debate. Some critics of the book may take issue, possibly insisting that such an assertion is indeed political. 

“Now, all over the world we are on our way to solving the atmospheric ozone crisis.” 

As an example how Americans have led the way to solve an environmental crisis already, Gore points to the fact that a Republican president and a Democratic Congress drafted a treaty and put together an agreement to rid the world of chlorofluorocarbons, the chemicals behind the hole in the ozone layer. The issue seemed impossible to fix, Gore says, because the causes were global and international cooperation was required. Yet since 1987, levels of CFCs have declined because so many countries worked together under the leadership of the US. This story functions as proof of what can be done when parties are motivated.

“It is our only home. And that is what is at stake. Our ability to live on planet Earth–to have a future as a civilization. I believe this is a moral issue.”

One of Gore’s final statements, this quote starkly distills what he has been talking about all along. For him, the issue of global warming transcends politics. It’s so important that he feels we have no future unless we can find a way to deal with it. In a way, everything he has written about in this book comes to this message, and it’s the main takeaway he wants readers to get from the preceding pages.

“It is our time to rise again to secure our future.”

After spending the book outlining negative impacts, Gore devotes the end of his text to examples of ingenuity and effort helping humans accomplish amazing things, from desegregation to landing on the moon. So much of An Inconvenient Truth tackles dire situations, but here he focuses a bit more on the “opportunity” part of the crisis that he talks about in the Introduction. He has expressed a certain amount of faith, in the preceding pages, that politics and people can overcome major problems. Following this statement, he moves into the final part of the book, which is mainly a guide that focuses on actions people can take in their daily lives to stem the tide of climate change.