It arrived yesterday, after almost three weeks and after having tracked (on and off, systems permitting) the shipment of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" from the US to Australia through Amazon. By the way, Dymocks in Australia might start selling the book Mid-September this year but I just could not wait and it worked out a few dollars cheaper.Well, I've only gone through the first 62 pages on the train this morning and let me tell you - this book must be taken seriously. It is not your ordinary 300-page book full of scientific jargon with graphs, quotes and summarisations of studies. It is "How to Stop Screwing our Environment" for Dummies - that is, for everyone.
The book builds up page after page; it states the problem by presenting the facts (the melting glaciers, the rising temperatures, the CO2 rising levels ) in both pictorial and scientific formats. Some of the photos are truly disturbing: as a kid, I remember this huge old volcano covered in ice all-year round; today, it is mathematically proven that Kilimanjaro will be snow-less in the next 2 decades or so. The same goes for glaciers in the European Alps.
The book's format truly surprised me: it is full of pictures. As you read the introduction, you understand why. Over the years, Gore developed and has kept on enhancing a presentation about climate issues, global warming and its danger. The book is effectively that presentation coupled with more context and narrative. It works very well because I found myself sucked in and almost missed my station (which is not really a problem in Melbourne...).
The format and layout of the book is also cleverly aimed at young people, with clever fold-out pages and very plain English.
I'll continue my reading tonight and come back with another mini-review and some interesting facts about the issue - in the meantime we should all start thinking again. It's not the kind of problem that will go away if ignored. It's the equivalent of cancer for the planet. By the time you realise, it's already late. And it takes years to find a solution and to monitor its effectiveness.
As Gore quotes Martin Luther King Jr, "We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today".
2 comments:
I got my copy today from Amazon (it actually arrived damaged and they said they'll send me a replacement!).
I agree, and other groups agree too: The book was nominated as the best teller of the way things are as far as global warming goes by Scientific American. It seems the only ones that wouldn't listen to the very clear message are our beloved heads of state: Howard, and his boss Bush.
Just imagine the potential had Gore won a few more votes in Florida. In the mean time, we're leaving our kids a dump.
P.S. The film that goes together with the book is available in bit torrent. It's supposed to be a bad quality copy, though.
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