We probably won’t know for sure for a few years whether the impact of Gore’s movie was net positive or negative. Reading the movie hype I wondered “Al, I think you’re fighting the last war” — i.e., the fight over the human contribution to global warming has been already won — the challenge is picking good policy, where you have contributed nothing useful.
Personally I’m coming to the conclusion that the movie results are positive. In spite of the film’s distortions and hype, it has raised general interest in reducing carbon pollution. Recent US polling shows an increase in people who list global warming in their top ten concerns. I hope that interest will translate into “yes I’ll vote for paying more for electricity, gasoline, etc.”
My bottom line is legislation. If the US passes a meaningful carbon tax in the next five years I’ll give Gore some credit for that shift in political sentiment.
0 Responses to “An Inconvenient Truth”