Anyone who has been paying attention to the news lately probably already knows the facts laid out in Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. The book was published in 2006 and thanks to Gore’s tireless promotion its message has entered our consciousness.
What I did get new from reading the book was a real sense of urgency and shared purpose. Gore describes global warming in all seriousness as a planetary emergency–something that will be our generation’s greatest challenge on the level of (or exceeding) previous generations’ fights against global fascism, poverty, and communism. Facing its challenge will transcend anything else we’ve faced as a planet.
Gore mentions several times throughout the book that he has spent the last 20 years or so gathering its material and it shows. Just like a poem, every graphic, every example, and every page has an impact. This careful choice is important because the book is not at all dense and is a very easy and short read.
