Project 4

Project 4 Essay

Always hearing about global warming in school and on the news regarding how it affects our planet, I never fully understood it. All I knew was that it was bad for our planet and things need to be done to improve it. After watching Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth, I definitely felt like I understood the whole meaning of global warming and what it’s really doing to our planet. During Al Gore’s film, he gets his point across in a very clear-cut way through a variety for rhetorical strategies like appealing to the audiences’ emotions, his logic and creditability. After watching this, I would definitely argue for the value of his film in trying to help stop global warming.

Al Gore’s overall argument in this film is to stop the spread of climate change on our planet. Gore does this through a very detailed slide show, which helps us get a better understanding of his message. He shows his audience what climate change is going to do to our planet in many visual examples, which help catch the attention of many viewers. Throughout the film, he brings up many problems that have started to occur and will take place in our planet’s future if this problem does not get addressed. Two issues that stood out to me that seem really important in the film was the issue on how different parts of the planet’s temperatures have changed dramatically for a more negative effect. The other issue was the effect that climate change is going on our animals.

One of Gore’s main points in his presentation is how the planet’s temperatures keep increasing because of the amount of Co2 our air. The more carbon dioxide there is, the more temperatures will rise. Gore mentions about how our carbon dioxide is already way too high and it will be even higher in less than 50 years. Researching about the carbon dioxide in our air, I found many defenses on this temperature change. In the environmental article "World Breaks Temperature Records," in 2007, two years after Gore’s movie, there were finds that the globe’s average temperature “combined land and sea surface temperature for December to February was the highest since records began in 1880” (Guardian). Two years later after his film, Gore’s assertions were correct, making his argument more logical and true. Another source I found was an article from the New York Times talking about specific weather changes that have recently occurred. The article mentioned how in the winter of 2009-2010, “freezing weather in Florida were seized by climate change,” and in the summer “heat waves and droughts occurred” (Subhankar). With the cold weather in Florida, it affects the crop growing to be slower and more damaging. Gore mentions how droughts have recently occurred in Darfur because of the lack of rain. Just in this past year we have seen odd changes in the weather. I even witnessed a weather change, which was very unusual in my area. Last winter, a large series of snowstorms came through the Washington, D.C. area that was shown nation wide. That winter, there were record-breaking snowfalls, and cold temperatures. These severe storms led to a lot of school closings, damage to buildings, homes, and roads. Seeing this research supports Gore’s point in being successful with his findings. Because of the temperature changes, Gore points out how oceans have been getting warmer, which causes more storms, hurricanes, and tornados. He brings up many examples that have been happening in the past couple of years to make his points in the film valuable. He mentions how recently the floods of Mumbai India were causing a lot of damage. Lots of people lost their homes and many had to walk long distances to get to places. Another example Gore used which really appealed to the audience was the event of hurricane Katrina. Using this example as a result of global warming would really catch the attention of Gore’s audience. It was a devastating destructive incident that caught the eyes of our whole country, and affected so many people in different ways. Him connecting Katrina to global warming catches the emotions of viewers. That example likely connects to the audience in some way, making his argument valid.

The other issue Gore brought up in his film was the effect that global warming is having on our animals. Gore discusses about how glaciers keep melting away everyday because of the sudden rise of the temperatures. Glaciers do normally melt a little each day, but it’s becoming faster. Because of this melting, it affects the polar bears. The bears rely on the ice and they need it to be able to survive. If these polar bears start dying, they will soon become endangered. It has already been seen that the polar bears are thinner and less healthy than in years past. Al Gore talking about how animals will suffer, it gets his audience’s attention. There are bound to be people in his audience who have an interest in animals, or cares about them. Since who would ever really want animals to suffer? I know it got my attention. Exploring Gore’s statement about the animals I found that he was correct with his facts. In an article titled "How Global Warming is Changing the Wild Kingdom," it mentions many other animals that are going suffer from the climate change. According to the article, “Many fish species are moving northward in search of cooler waters” (Than). This can affect a species’ ecosystem in that “the timing of natural events like flowering, migration, and egg-laying can shift” (Than). The disruption of the ecosystem can change behaviors, which can be a threat to the species’ survival. In another article, The New York Times states that because of the higher temperatures “coral reefs are under severe stress that scientists fear widespread die-offs, endangering not only the richest ecosystems in the ocean but also fisheries that feed millions of people” (Gillis). Not only does the coral reefs effect the ecosystems, but it can effect us too.

Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth definitely fulfills the intended message about stopping global warming. He gives the right logic, while appealing to the audience’s emotions at the same time. Researching his issues and then comparing them to what he says gives him even more creditability. His arguments were accurate with adequate evidence and viewpoints. Gore touches to the audience in some way or another during his film with his use of appealing to the emotions of his viewers. Overall Al Gore’s film definitely serves as a logical and valuable piece of information that people need to act on in this world of climate change.

Works Cited

Baneriee, Subhankar. “Global Warming.” www.nytimes.com. Associated Press, 6

Oct. 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html

Than, Ker. “How Global Warming is Changing the Wild Kingdom.” Life Science. 21

June 2005. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.

http://www.livescience.com/environment/050621_warming_changes.html

Guardian.co.uk. World Breaks Temperature Records. 16 March 2007. Web. 24 Oct.

2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/mar/16/weather.climatechange

Gillis, Justin. “Extreme Heat Bleaches Coral, and Threat is Seen.” www.nytimes.com. 20

September 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/science/earth/21coral.html?ref=globalwarming