An Inconvenient Truth

[miriam_e]

I just finished watching Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. It is an excellent piece of work. It is careful, considered, and neatly lays bare the information needed to understand what big media have done such a reprehensible job of clouding. I implore everyone to watch it.

I notice there has been a piece of crap circulating about Al Gore's mansion using far more electricity than the average house. Most people seem to simply pass it on without looking at it any further.

Who is the group who made these statements about Al Gore's house? Not surprisingly they are an extreme right wing think tank who seem intent on mounting a smear campaign. They said they got the electricity figures from Gore's electricity supplier, but when asked about this, it seems nobody ever approached them asking for such information. Al Gore's place uses renewable sources of energy with solar panels being fitted and buying from renewable sources on the grid. Al Gore also invests heavily in carbon offsets and alternative energy so that he has a net carbon impact of zero.

So when you hear someone unthinkingly echo the accusations, now you know well enough to tell them to go back and find out the whole story. It is easy to be duped by gossip.

Comments

[xengar.livejournal.com]

Just passing through, but thought you might want to know:

sa·la·cious /səˈleɪʃəs/ Pronunciation[suh-ley-shuhs]
–adjective
1. lustful or lecherous.
2. (of writings, pictures, etc.) obscene; grossly indecent.

it might not be quite the word you intended.

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

why not? grossly indecent as in salacious might be a good word to use in this case, since all indecency is not necessarily sexually related.

What an odd remark to be passing by with, in relation to this post.

Let's Hear it for President Gore!

[slave-driver.livejournal.com]

Gore presents the information very well. I think if he could find a way to translate those same communication skills into a political message he could win the next U.S. presidential election hands down. He's my favorite choice for president right now, but he insists he's not going to run. That's a shame. I hope he can be pursuaded to change his mind. I hope he'll decide to run out of a sense of duty, if for no other reason. The world is in bad shape right now and a Gore presidency could be one of the best things for the entire planet. We're still the largest producers of greenhouse gasses here in the U.S. and it would be such a good thing to see a president who would try bring this problem under control.

Jimmy Carter has been bugging him about running, to the point that Gore has actually gotten upset with him about it. I hope someone can convince him to run.

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

Al Gore is one of the few American political figures who's somewhat well respected and trusted outside of the US - in Sweden he is well liked, and of course the Bush administration is widely disliked. It always surprises me when Americans wake up and realize just how their nation and their politicians are viewed outside of America.
I saw "An Inconvenient Truth" a few weeks ago, and although these things aren't news to me, I too thought it was a very good documentary presented in a easy-to grasp and interesting way!

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'll try to think of a better word. I appreciate the note.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

Yep, you are completely correct. Not all indecency is sexually related, but if the word impairs my message I'll change it.

:) I kinda like how the net lets people pass by and drop a casual thought. It is unlike face-to-face interaction in that way.

Re: Let's Hear it for President Gore!

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

If I was Al Gore I'd be worried about surviving the presidency. The dark forces arrayed against him make those who were out to get Kennedy look like amateurs. It may well be that he can do much more out of government than he could while hamstrung by the job.

There are a lot of individuals at the moment who are achieving far more than any government:

• Michael Hart started up Project Gutenberg, and with a veritable army of volunteers has made more books freely available than all the world's government or the world's richest corporations.
  
• Brewster Kahle, in an attempt to provide universal access to knowledge, has vans touring the poorest regions of the world with a satellite dish on top. They stop in villages and print out books for people, for free.
  
• Janine Benyus has been publicising changes in technology that let us use low temperature, non-toxic chemistry that mimics life to reduce pollution and energy needs.
  
• Travis Bradford has been aiming at managers and business people a message of solar power being good economic sense.
  
• Ethan Zuckerman founded Geek Corps, which is a non-profit organisation that provides technological help to the poorest people.
  
• ...and there are many more that I can't bring immediately to mind.
  

This is a strange time in history. Non-profit organisations have quietly risen to become the 8th biggest economy in the world. Enlightened individuals are fixing problems that governments and corporations are a part of -- governments and corporations are unlikely to ever fix those.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

Ever since I was a little kid Sweden has been one of the very few places in the world I have wanted to visit. It amazes me that there has been a concerted campaign to discredit Sweden in the US, Australia, New Zealand, and UK. Sweden has got it right more consistently and for longer than any other country on Earth. Australia, UK, and USA are an embarrassment to the rest of the advanced countries.

I've been reading mostly scientific literature since I was a primary school kid, and I avoid big media because of the way they lie and distort, so Al Gore's message was nothing new to me either. It scares me that it is new to a large number of people.