Al Gore movie at the Palm, a must see

August 16, 2017

OPINION by JAMES DUENOW

The 2017 movie, “An Inconvenient Sequel,” at the Palm Theater, is a must see! It is a documentary, narrated by Al Gore, about global warming; its causes, effects and possible solutions.

Gore first asserts that warming is real and caused by human activity. He points out that about 98 percent of climate scientists supported this view.

Those few scientists who deny warming are most often financed by the fossil fuel industry.

The good news is that countries around the world are concerned and are turning to clean energy, solar or wind and the like, as soon as politically and economically possible.

Our president, on the other hand, calls the science a global warming a hoax. It is, of course, clear that he is a lackey of the oil industry.

Al Gore made it clear that continued warming would be disastrous for the planet.

In fact, its effects are all around us. We have more and more planetary droughts, an astonishing number of monster storms and hurricanes doing horrendous damage. As the Arctic melts, the seas rise and warm, threatening cities like Miami Beach and scores of others. As the seas and air continue to warm the tipping point into disaster nears.

On the good side, batteries and solar panels are getting cheaper and more efficient. By far the best news was the cover story of the recent issue of the Economist. That lead story predicted the demise of the internal combustion engine. In a decade or two most all cars will be essentially electric.

The fossil fuel industry is now threatened! If we have nothing but electric cars they are about out of business. As a result they are now, with the help of their friends in the government, doing all they can to block or slow the move to clean energy and electric cars.

So the road to clean power and electric cars will be bumpy but it will happen.

It must be tough for an executive in an oil company. These people know the science. They know their business causes warming and will hurt the planet. They will have grandchildren who will have to suffer through what they are causing for current profits. I wonder how they sleep at night.

There are things that we can do to help! If you can afford it, buy an electric car and put solar panels on your house. If you can’t afford that at least use a car as little as possible. Walk or ride a bike or take public transportation. Use as much clean electricity as you can.

Don’t despair, as there are better days ahead if we do our part. Keep the faith, pay attention, see the film and make a personal commitment to our planet. It’s the only one we have.