princessemmi-deactivated2013032 asked: How do you feel about An Inconvenient Truth?

Hey princess emmy!

Thanks for following me. Gore’s Inconvenient Truth is a great movie that is surprisingly highly accurate. It’s educated millions of people and spun off many projects to help people understand the carbon-climate connection.

I don’t believe any of it will work, which is a big reason why I don’t do this type of consulting. I’m into disaster management - dealing with actual impacts from climate change. I don’t do anti-carbon messaging because I don’t believe we’ll lower carbon to a point that matters.

There’s simply no evidence emissions will decrease. In fact, evidence shows the opposite, that carbon output is at all time highs and is increasing at historically increasing rates.

So, I accept that the climate will change and I advise governments and businesses to adapt. It’s not difficult to understand - if there was a flood or hurricane in the past that damaged a building, I show the owners two solutions: a) move or b) build stronger.

True, slapping a solar panel on the roof will save money. But it’s not going to stop damage from stronger storms.

I get a lot of hate mail because of this stance. In reply, I ask for empirical evidence that shows emissions will be reduced. I point to the IEA’s energy reports (the authority on emissions, among other things) and point out that the world is burning fuels at rates that are going up (more than ever), not down. I also point to economic reality. Billions of people are entering markets around the world (not just China). They all rightfully want electricity, cars, the internet, burgers, computers, a cup of coffee, and Nutella. Billions of people are going to get these things - like it or not. There’s no stopping them.

So, sorry for the doom. The movie is great education, but nothing will change. (Invest in agriculture, construction, and mining stocks.) Gore, by the way, runs a fantastic blog.

Cheers!

Michael