Gore, Al. An inconvenient truth: the planetary emergency of global warming and what we can do about it. Emmaus, Pennsylvania: Rodale, 2006. ISBN 1-59486-567-1.
Summary: By burning so much fossil fuel (oil, natural gas, and coal), we are increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and thereby raising the Earth's mean temperature, so rapidly as to endanger many of the ecological systems that we rely on and need, and incidentally to cause immense economic, cultural, and social damage to ourselves. We can and should change our habits and our system of production, reducing the amount of energy we consume and replacing fossil-fuel combustion with renewable sources.
Gore assembles attention-getting graphics and presents some sound and powerfully phrased arguments to demonstrate the magnitude of the problem. However, he is unwilling to propose any remedies except the feeblest and least troublesome. I speculate that this is because he is determined to reconcile his environmental advocacy with his need to guarantee prosperity and economic growth. My own view is that it is not possible, at this point, to limit global warming without also sacrificing some possible sources of wealth.
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created July 23, 2006
last revised July 23, 2006