An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It

Liberalism at its Worst

The weather changes, people! The Earth goes through warm spurts. Now, you can't tell me something that has been happening long before cars or lightbulbs or anything like that were invented is now our fault. Despite his 'Inconvenient' thought process, there is many convenient things about this book. Namely, it gives Gore money and power. The publicity and popularity of this book is sickening. How much more gullible can you get?

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Exaggerated Hyperbol

As a scientist who has studied this issue for decades, I can tell anyone interested in the science that this book is garbage. If you love him and his politics, go ahead and read it, nothing I say about the true science will sway you anyway. But on a scientific basis, this book is trash and yellow journalism of the highest order.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great logic and presentation of data

This book is well organized, has wonderful photography and presents the information in a clear and concise manner. The general public would do well to read this book and appreciate the world's need to change its perception of what is happening to the environment.

ain't that something

I think its interesting that all the reviews that give this book 1 star came from reviewers that talk about Al Gore as a politician, instead of a person who wrote a book about the environment. How easy it is to write a critical review instead of taking any action. We're ALL living on the same singular planet, folks. You either want to help it or not.

A reviewer

Gore misses with this book. As with Silent Spring (Rachel Carson), it presents a shallow, one sided story that uses junk science and misleads the reader. Yes, the environment is something special that should be nurtured, but I find it funny that all the Global Warmists are also anti-capitalist and that the only countries that are screamed at are capitalistic countries. Like Silent Spring, this book is important for raising the the questions, but harmful in trying to squash any real debate about the subject

A reviewer

Excellent - do buy this book! I loved it. While you are here, check out Trash Talk (ISBN#141372518X) which helps individuals make a real and measureable difference in their communities and in the world... simply through better waste and resource management!

Should be called 'Convenient Lies'

Without getting into the obvious political slant and nature of this book, Al Gore's book and movie do not represent the issue accurately. It is slanted to the 'Average American' who does not have the desire or ability to do their own research or even checking both sides of the issue. As a scientist myself, I am not in agreement that the 'debate' is over. Although we are most likely in a warming period, the earth has gone through these in the past...well before fossil fuels came into large-scale use. So before we go accepting these 'facts', lets not ridicule nor slander and unfund those seeking to look at the alternate views.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Weak Writing

Gore has a good topic here but he fails to describe it in a techncially unbiased manner. There are better books on this subject.

A warning to be heeded.

This book, by the former U.S. Vice President, serves or should serve, as a 'wake up' call to all of the inhabitants of this (our only, so far) planet. Mr. Gore gives many instances of how humanity's wasteful, and dangerous, consumption of fossil based fuels, primarily oil, have contributed to 'green house' gases which have let global warming develop at an alarming rate. It's easy for Conservatives to dismiss this a 'tree hugging' and 'liberal nonsense'. They are endangering all of us with such as dismissive view. It is not too late to save our planet, if we would heed Mr. Gore's words. Let's hope more of us are listening.

Al Bore spreads more lies

Please read the political Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and learn the truth. Global Warming is much like the 1970's Global Cooling (remember that Al?) and is based on the same lies and pseudo science. The liberal media here and in Europe is either lazy and wont invest in the truth or is just as guilty as Al Bore.

Politics or common decency?

This book is very compelling, but the video is better. The current administration has set this nation back at least 50 years, and its environmental policies are actually inimical to the general welfare. We really must get away from red or blue and start doing the right thing. Addressing our impact on the environment is not a political issue, it is a moral one.

Brilliant and persuasive

This is an awesome book even if you know nothing about the climate whatsoever. Provides excellent background knowledge and all counter arguments i thought of have been discussed by the end of the book(not a scientist so i dont know everything about the subject, just a few tidbits). A must read book.

Bad Power Point in Book Form

The only redeeming value of this book is that is does have some really cool pictures, besides that, the actual content is rather flawed. First off, most of what is spit out from this book is made to just be taken as 'fact.' However, much of global warming is still very much 'theory' and is a matter of where one is taking their data points. There is still very much we still do not understand about climate, but Mr Gore just presents that the Earth, for sure, will die by 2050 as a result of our carbon emmissions. It is also missing several characteristics about carbon dixoide as a greenhouse gas. Graphs and figures are at many times highly exaggerated for effect and some citations are poorly referenced. I have no problem with the message that he tries to convey in this book in that as human beings we should be concerned about conserving our resources, but he does not present the full picture and seems to have 'magical' solutions for many issues concerning our enviroment. If you want to have a book where you can roll your eyes at for a couple hours, this is it.

Why didn't Al tell us that Kyoto won't save us?

Al Gore has been pushing the Kyoto Treaty on Americans since he was Vice-President, as the solution to global warming. Here's the sum total of all that he had to say about Kyoto in his book: Mr. Gore 'helped ... at the negotiations in Kyoto, Japan,' 'helped to write' the treaty, listed U.S. cities living with the Kyoto Protocol, and countries that ratified it. [Intro, p. 41, p. 288, p. 282] Thus, Al Gore was an 'insider' with inside knowledge of the limits of the Kyoto Protocol, yet he gave us no detailed information on it whatsoever. Richard Lindzen, PhD, the chair professor of meteorology in prestigious M.I.T. university, reviewed the movie version of this book. He said that he found Mr. Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth' highly inaccurate, and in regard to Gore's 'shrill alarmism,' commented 'To believe it requires that one ignore the truly inconvenient facts.' [Wall Street Journal, 'There is no 'Consensus' on Global Warming,' June 26, 2006] That's what I found, too. When I noticed that both the range of temperature rises to 2100 and the value of Kyoto's cooling were missing from the book, I put together the math involved in the action of the Kyoto Treaty on the final temperature in 2100 and saw the whole picture. Using the best known values* in F [preferred by Gore], we have: [4.5 to 7.2] - 0.3 = [4.2 to 6.9]. In other words, the range of the temperature increase by 2100 is only reduced by 0.3 degrees F and thus remains almost the same as without Kyoto. THUS, KYOTO WON'T SAVE US FROM GORE'S DISASTER NIGHTMARES AT ALL! It only cools the increases by about 5%, leaving 95% of the temperature increase by 2100 untouched! Either those disasters aren't going to happen anyway, per the actual convictions of many scientists who disagree with Mr. Gore, or we may as well get prepared to withstand whatever amount of them happens, Kyoto or no Kyoto! Now, I see why Mr. Gore withheld the values. He probably saw this result and recognized the same conclusion, since he wrote the book and must have known all the numbers. He knew he couldn't get people to make the economic sacrifices of Kyoto if that wouldn't even save them from his disasters. So, like Richard Lindzen commented, he just 'ignored the truly inconvenient facts.' *The numbers 4.5 to 7.2 come from an average of modest estimates by global warming advocates that predicted increases from 2.5 to 4 degrees C all the way to 2100. That translates directly to 4.5 to 7.2 degrees F. The 0.3 F given as the cooling effect of Kyoto comes from the definition in the Kyoto treaty, modified by estimates of scientists since then to about .08 degrees C by 2050. That is .144 degrees F, extrapolated to .288 F by 2100, rounded up to 0.3 F.

Seeing the big picture

This book is highly educational and very accessible, even if you don't know much of anything about climate change before you read it. I found it very compelling, because Gore makes a very strong case for all of us to stop viewing the global warming crisis in terms of politics. It is indeed an 'inconvenient truth' that no matter how much power or money a person has, it's utterly meaningless if the planet is dying. You will really see the big picture if you read this book. The strongest example is in the fact that Gore only discusses the political aspect of global warming in the context of the crisis as a whole. This is not a politically motivated book, and that is the whole point in my opinion. Let's just get past this red-vs.-blue thing and focus on what matters, the earth that sustains us and that we must work harder to sustain.

Act now

I think it was an outstanding movie although I have not yet read the book. People should act now on what you are trying to persue. Although I am only 13 years old (I want to start to help out the enviornment at a young age.)I have a great impact on things like this. We should all be aware of these disasters that are happening in the world and help now. Thank you Al for making a difference in me and in many others out their. ( can't wait to read the book!)

This is truth, not politics.

All those doubters who believe global warming to be a hoax should take careful note: the information in this book systematically shows that our best science in the present era is indisputable. Global Climate Change as accelerated by human fossil fuel use IS occuring. Mr. Gore does a fantastic job of presenting evidence that anyone can relate to. Someone unfamilliar with the topic might not understand 600,000 years of ice core data, but they can understand that birds are migrating differently, species are cropping up where they shouldn't be, and wild weather disasters are more common. This book is not going to teach a seasoned environmentalist much, but the stunning clarity of the writing and the presentation of the facts as such is enough to prompt a thorough reading.

Take politics out of it, this is just plain true...

No matter what your politics the overwhelming majority of scientific evidence points to the fact that we, as a species, are changing our environment in a way which is already detrimental to our wellbeing and that of future generations. We do have the ability to turn this process around, but first we have to accept the reality of our impact and then we have to CARE... if not for our own wellbeing then for that of our children - who will inherent our legacy. We simply must realize that we cannot continue to see ourselves as somehow seperated from the earth system, somehow immune to all of the toxins that we continue spill onto the surface and into the atomsphere of what is the only home that God gave us to experience as human beings. We simply must take seriously our responsibility as stewards of the planet. If we continue to function under this delusion of psychological disconnect - or lack of responsibility - we will nonetheless be held accountable. It is as simple as cause and effect. Truly everything and everyone is subject to the laws of cause and effect. Gore's message isn't about politics. Democrats and Republicans alike, we are all down stream from somebody and we are all upstream from somebody. We are in this together.

Right on the ball

As a graduate student of environmental modeling and climatology, I can say that Al Gore's account of the current scientific knowledge is thoroughly accurate and summarizes what I have learned in my field. This book provides a strong and powerful lesson for the citizens of this country and the world, in that we must all be accountable for our actions. This not only means that we should change our outlook on our role as one species on this planet, but also that we should strive to strengthen our understanding of the political and scientific discourses as well as support innovative technologies that can lead us to a sustainable system of life.

About time

It is always difficult to digest bad news. But the when a major part of the cause is us the truth must be told. I respect the author for the effort to bring this very important issue forward. It's a must read. But will we take the inconvenient truth seriously or stay with our convenient lies?