I saw it. It wasn't at all what I thought it would be. It's almost entirely science, and not touchy-feely as I expected. In fact, aside from a few minor jabs at Bush, and some personal notes about why Al Gore is so into this cause, it was mostly science.
And not voodoo or dumbed-down science either. Most of it is stuff I already knew, but there was one key set of facts that really took me by surprise, and squashed any lingering doubt about whether or not global warming is a man-made phenomenon. As you've probably seen on Discovery, scientists have been able to map out more than 650,000 years of climate change and atmospheric CO2 content by drilling out ancient ice cores. Plotting that data out, they can see that over this 650,000 years, climate change was almost directly proportional to CO2 content, through every ice age. Also during that entire time span, it never went beyond 300 parts per million. We're well over that now, so it stands to reason that the temperature will rise as well. 650,000 years of data is pretty hard to dispute.
And here's the thing that also surprised me. While the future looks grim on the current course, Gore was quick to point out that we already have much of the technology in place to do something about it. We can indeed fix this. He gave the example from the 90's where we, as a planet, stopped using CFC's in propellants and cooling systems, and in the process actually reversed the growth of the hole in the ozone layer. All we had to do is decide to do it.
Most of the world gets it, but clearly we in the U.S. don't. The consequences are pretty dire if we don't adjust, and sadly, the millions of people most affected won't be people here (except for beach front property owners, some in Manhattan, and a huge portion of Florida).
If you're a skeptic, you should see the movie. If you think Gore is full of shit, then you're simply unwilling to engage in thoughtful and logical observation of real science. It shouldn't be a political or emotional issue. Gore is right that it should be a moral issue.
I'm as shocked as you are that he's not the dumbass he appeared to be when he was running for president.
Where was this Gore during the 2000 election? That's what really bugs me.
But yes, this was an amazing movie. It's hard to believe that what is essentially a science lecture can be so engaging. And it is endlessly frustrating that politics stands in the way of doing what needs to be done. Science and technology can provide solutions if they would be given the chance. But I guess it is hard to convince the people who believe the earth is only 6000 years old that 650,000 years of climate data mean anything.