When he campaigned for President, Al Gore struck me as stiff and impersonal, a man without charisma. This cost him a lot of votes. Indeed, if he had come off on the campaign trail as compassionate, caring, warm and personal as he does in his crusading documentary about global warming, he may have won enough extra votes to make the outcome of Florida less critical.
Be that as it may, this is a strong, sad, moving and challenging documentary. The challenge is in finding the national political will to take a leadership role, as the major polluting nation, in facing the climate crisis head-on. We don't solve this by recycling at the individual level; individuals can refuse to contribute to the problem but can't solve it alone or in small groups. Massive collective action is necessary. This requires major shifts in thinking and life habits, which in turn requires extraordinary and inspiring political leadership. Will the right person gain power at the right time? I think the collective will can be moved into action if inspired to do so by clear facts, fair decisions and inspiring challenges. But it's been so long in our history that we've seen this kind of collective, selfless action ... I wouldn't take any bets on the outcome. Another reason I'm glad I'm not younger than I am. Sad but true.
Thornton Wilder wrote a play about crises in world history and how we managed to survive "by the skin of our teeth." Will we get it together in the nick of time once again? Or, as Hawking suggests, should we focus our energy on sending colonies to the moon so the species can survive?
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