The real issue is political. Climate change is a concern that affects everyone, but still there is resistance. As Al Gore points out "In order to address the environmental crisis, we're going to have to spend some time fixing the democracy crisis." The subtitle "Truth to Power" is generally interpreted to speak truth to power and Gore bring up another aspect from Gandhi that the word "Satyagraha," a strong force in his efforts means "truth force." Truth has a force all its own.During the Zika scare a suggestion of "don't get pregnant " was made in parts of the United States. This crisis, as with other tropical diseases spreading was a direct result of global warming.
"An Inconvenient Truth" was criticized for projections of water hitting the World Trade Center Memorial, however less than a decade later it actually happened. Gore pointed out that drought in Syria, its worst in over 900 years forced the closure of many farms and many immigrants to the cities where many were unemployed. One of many factors leading to a civil war.
When I first researched this movie I checked as usual with IMDB and they had a rating of 5.8 which is normally where I avoid actually watching a movie. I had seen "An Inconvenient Truth" and felt not only did it tell a valuable story but did so in a professional manner. How could the rating be so low? One commenter noted that there were an unusual amount of 1 star ratings and easily I could see a lot of negative comments. This is only one example of organized efforts to deny climate change.
A common criticism is that the messenger is hypocritcal and greedy. I would say Al Gore looks like a wealthy man and is able to travel wherever he likes. Nobody listens much to scientists or poor people He has found a mission and a purpose. This movie certainly has an egotistical slant, but Al Gore rightly sees himself in a critical role in a crucial issue. The Supreme Court decided he would not be president--in reality a lot of corrupt political opposition played a big role (voter suppression, electoral college, big money disinformation). Just before the pivotal election Gore had succeeded in getting funding for a satellite that would observe the earth with regard to climate change, but after the Republicans took over the funding was ended.
At the Paris Climate Conference he helped bring together an American industrialist, with the Environmental Minister for India. India was planning to build a large number of coal based generating plants and when they thought of switching some to solar powered were told the interest rates would be beyond their means. Al Gore helped remedy that obstacle.
When scanning the world it is easy to become aware of an increase in the severity of storms, droughts and forest fires. Insurance companies are well aware of the risks and are making adjustments.
Nature speaks loudly and scientists are better able to interpret. Still vested interests have a powerful platform that slants opinions. Although the average person is becoming more sympathetic to the need to do something, politicians listen more to their rich and powerful donators. The problem might be summarized that renewable energy is a disruptive innovation that threatens established fossil fuel businesses; read more http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2013/03/the-innovators-dilemma.html
The movie was directed by the husband/wife team of Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk both of whom also worked with "The Island President" that I had seen recently about the environment. Music written by Jeff Beal who also wrote the theme for "House of Cards."
Donald Trump will be a blot on American history for many reasons, but his opportunist attitude on climate change will be a primary reason. Not all Americans voted for him and many others sat out, but it still reflects very poorly on the American electorate. Although there is increasing awareness of climate change there is a lot of highly financed opposition. The more people see this film the sooner that opposition will be overcome hopefully soon enough.
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