Abstract
The portrayal of the science of climate change in An Inconvenient Truth is largely correct. Some aspects of the film, such as the discussion of Hurricane Katrina, oversimplify the complex factors involved, while others conflate global warming with other environmental changes that may not be related. However it is not in question that continuing emissions of greenhouse gases by human activities will cause greater climate change in the future, and that the impacts of such change are likely to be negative. The chief message of the film—that this fact places important moral and ethical choices before society—is therefore an accurate one.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alley, R. B., Clark, P. U., Huybrechts, P., & Joughin, I. (2005). Ice-sheet and sea-level changes. Science, 310, 456–460.
Dowdeswell, J. A. (2006). The Greenland ice sheet and global sea-level rise. Science, 311, 963–964.
Emanuel, K. A. (2000). Statistical analysis of tropical cyclone intensity. Monthly Weather Review, 128, 1139–1152.
Feely, R. A., Sabine, C. L., Lee, K., Berelson, W., Kleypas, J., Fabry, V. J., & Millero, F. J. (2004). Impact of anthropogenic CO on the CaCO3 system in the oceans. Science, 305, 362–366.
IPCC. (2007). Climate change 2007—The physical science basis working group I contribution to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Legrand, M. R., & Kirchner, S. (1990). Origins and variations in nitrate in South Polar precipitation. Journal of Geophysical Research, 95, 3493–3507.
Lorius, C., Jouzel, J., Raynaud, D., Hansen, J., & Le Treut, H. (1990). The ice-core record: Climate sensitivity and future greenhouse warming. Nature, 347, 139–145.
Mayewski, P. A., Lyons, W. B., Spencer, J. J., Twickler, M. S., Buck, C. F., & Whitlow, S. (1990). An ice-core record of atmospheric response to anthropogenic sulphate and nitrate. Nature, 346, 554–556.
McCallum, E., & Heming, J. (2006). Hurricane Katrina: An environment perspective. Philosophical Transactions—Royal Society. Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 364, 2099–2115.
Meier, M. F., Dyurgerov, M. B., Rick, U. K., O’Neel, S., Pfeffer, W. T., Anderson, R. S., Anderson, S. P., & Glazovsky, A. F. (2007). Glaciers dominate eustatic sea-level rise in the 21st century. Science, 317, 1064–1070.
Mölg, T., & Hardy, D. R. (2004). Ablation and associated energy balance of a horizontal glacier surface on Kilimanjaro. Journal of Geophysical Research, 109. doi:10.1029/2003JD004338.
Morgenstern, J. (2006). Film review. New York: Wall Street Journal.
Roe, G. H., & Baker, M. (2007). Why is climate change so hard to predict? Science, 318, 629–632.
Schlesinger, M. E. (1988). Quantitative analysis of feedbacks in climate model simulations of CO2-induced warming. In M. E. Schlesinger (Ed.), Physically-based modelling and simulation of climate and climatic change (pp. 653–736). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Steig, E. J. (2006). Al Gore’s movie. RealClimate.org. Retrieved 10 May 2006.
Stott, P. A., Stone, D. A., & Allen, M. R. (2005). Human contribution to the European heatwave of 2003. Nature, 432, 610–614.
Taubes, G. (1997). Apocalypse Not. Science, 278, 1004–1006.
Venteris, E. R. (1999). Rapid tidewater glacier retreat: A comparison between Columbia Glacier, Alaska and Patagonian calving glaciers. Global and Planetary Change, 22, 131–138.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Steig, E.J. Another look at An Inconvenient Truth . GeoJournal 70, 5–9 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-008-9130-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-008-9130-3