Twelve years.
Has this been enough time for humanity to heed former Vice President Al Gore’s warnings about the potentially catastrophic perils of global climate change?
In 2006, Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” explained in chilling and very specific terms that humans have already kick-started numerous events propelling us toward those potential perils.
It clearly stated that these changes are already happening and will get much worse during the natural lifespans of moviegoers who watched this documentary all those years ago.
Has the world embraced alternatives to fossil fuels during that time?
Enter the Grand County Public Library and the Utah Film Center. On Thursday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m., they will provide you with a kind of answer at Star Hall: a free screening of “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power.”
The 2017 follow-up documentary shows us how Gore now views the world’s climate-change situation.
Spoiler alert: “The basis is there, but it’s still not enough,” Gore says. The film makes it clear that in Gore’s eyes, our planet’s future is still uncertain, but that there is still time to repair the damage.
Some Moab residents may be interested to see a snapshot of what the “big players” of the world – such as country governments and industrial polluters – have been doing to address their roles in global warming.
“Many of the films we screen are in response to suggestions by community members,” Grand County Library Assistant Jessie Magleby said. “This movie has been strongly recommended for screening by multiple library patrons. Although world news and current events seem bleak at times, (this film) brings a message of hope and illuminates a way forward through use of renewable energy sources.”
This time around, Gore also takes into account an American president who has in the past dismissed climate change as a Chinese hoax and has withdrawn the United States from the Paris climate agreement.
“At the end of this season of fires and floods, you may have noticed that scientists are frequently unwilling to attribute specific events to climate change,” Utah Film Center Film Program Coordinator David Eyer Davis said. “Films like ‘An Inconvenient Sequel’ compress time and allow us to see the cumulative effect many individual events have on a rapidly changing planet. It is also instructive to see the counter pressure from climate-change deniers in the political mainstream, and the effects of those arguments on the legitimacy of the issue.”
The film shows us just how close we are – or aren’t – to an energy revolution. It’s a rousing mix of doomsday scenarios and strong optimism that through human spirit and ingenuity, people can fix and reverse the perils of global climate change.
“An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” may leave moviegoers with a strange and uncommon blend of feelings: sadness, optimism, fear and even a heightened sense of camaraderie with people in countries they may never visit.
Sequel to Al Gore documentary comes to Moab on Jan. 18
“Although world news and current events seem bleak at times, (this film) brings a message of hope and illuminates a way forward through use of renewable energy sources.”
When: Thursday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m.
Where: Star Hall, 159 E. Center St.
Cost: Free
Information: utahfilmcenter.org/events/category/moab/upcoming/
Watch the documentary and visit the movie’s website at: inconvenientsequel.tumblr.com/about to learn more. For more information about upcoming movies at Star Hall, go to: utahfilmcenter.org/events/category/moab/upcoming/.
