"Deeply unethical"

"Deeply unethical" was Al Gore's comment about American involvement in the accumulation of greenhouse gases.

An Inconvenient Truth is a documentary movie in which the former Vice President of the United States talked about his environmental protection efforts as a politician in the last 20 years. He talked about the causes of global warming (greenhouse gases), its effects on world weather, the reluctance of governmental support on its prevention (such as the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol) and a lot more.

In this movie he said many, many times that global warming is "a moral issue" not political. In this very same movie, however, we can see that it can be as political as you want it to be. Indirectly he criticized the Bush administration for her over-emphasis on "War on Terror" and neglect on the environment. He claimed that the reluctance to adopt environmental friendly policies were supported by oil company lobby groups. It almost looks like it is part of a smearing campaign against the Republican government. There are more problems to this. One of which disturbs me a lot is "Carbon Neutrality" ...

Mr. Information Superhighway said you can reduce your Carbon Dioxide emission to zero. It is impossible unless you do not use any petroleum products. Carbon offset only make you feel better but does not mean you emit no net CO2 gas throughout your life. No amount of tree planting can compensate for the fact that crude oil has been pumped out from beneath the ground. Biofuel will eventually force us into using genetically altered crops, but it is at least a good start for a change.

There are more problems to this movies as Googling can show you, but it is nonetheless a good sign. It means that mainstream American politicians are aware of the environmental impact their country is bringing to this world and believe environmental-friendliness can attract voters. This movie may have been made for political motives, but it also gave the issue an attention it deserved. It is important to note that sustainable development can, and should go hand in hand with profit. Afterall we cannot expect anyone to invest in a company because it makes them feel good. Al Gore's investment company, Generation Investment Management, started investing client money last year based on sustainability research. I hope we will see more of it.

More links:
The moral flaws of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth: "admirable in intent", but ...
Key to "An Inconvenient Truth": Hey, Al Gore is a director on the board of Apple Computer!
絕望真相「影」真絕望: sordinmui's review of the movie

Impressions on An Inconvenient Truth: 7/10

Also watched recently ...
詭絲: 6/10
男たちの大和 (on DVD): 4/10


UPDATE: On USATODAY there is an article revealing how green Al Gore's lifestyle is. Apparently he did not go green energy when it is available, and turned a blind eye on his river-polluting mining concessions. That begs the fat doctor question.