The Inconvenient Truth

I recently saw the award winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, based on former Vice President Al Gore's crusade to stop global warming. I had heard and seen snippets about temperature rise, polar bears drowning, and increased storm intensity. For me the convincing argument for drastically altering carbon dioxide emissions was provided in the data tables, illustration of global ocean currents and related videos of events. The Nobel Peace Prize that Al Gore received for the film adds credence. If you have not seen it, I'd suggest taking the 1-1/2 hours to see the film.

If you are cost-conscious and do not have access through Netflix or other sources, it is available on the internet (with Vietnamese subtitles) at:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1176502192861669578&hl=en&emb=1#docid=8847562857479496579

The table presentations were some of the best I've seen (i.e. not boring). The message I got from the film was that we do have to reduce carbon dioxide emissions drastically. If you do check out the video.google.com link you will also see a link to a video with alternative viewpoints.

Some additional ways that we could reduce CO₂ emissions include:

• import more electricity from Canada (primarily hydro and nuclear) until suitable changes are made in our coal plants or they are shutdown
• find usable products produced by chemical reactions involving carbon dioxide
• find low energy consumption alternatives for the activities for which we currently use electricity
• eliminate activities that result in inefficient carbon dioxide emissions (e.g. grass and leaf burning, wood stoves).

Related references

http://www.climatecrisis.net/

http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&newwindow=1&q=what+chemicals+will+carbon+dioxide+react+with&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=chemical+reactions+with+carbon+dioxide

http://www.simulistics.com/examples/catalogue/modeldescription.php?Id=chemical1

http://www.google.com/search?q=electrical+power+generated+by+canada&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe=

http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&newwindow=1&rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-us%3AIE-SearchBox&q=electrical+power+imported+from+canada&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epat6p3.html

Renewables Home - Virtual Nuclear Tourist - Tuesday March 29, 2011