Global Warming

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Global Warming

• The Issue and the Involvement
• Of a Major Politician, the Entertainment
  Community and a Very Capable and Hard Working
  Writer
• With thanks to Scott Burns and
• www.GodAndScience.org

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As the father of one of the insiders and
producers of this film I will try to convey some
of the background and relevant insights of An
Inconvenient Truth (AIT).
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He Is Devoted To Ecological and Social Issues and
Wishes He Could Be With Us Today

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The Film

• With wit, smarts and hope, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
  brought home Gore's persuasive argument that we
  can no longer afford to view global warming as a
  political issue - rather, it is the biggest moral
  challenges facing our global civilization.
• Paramount Classics and Participant Productions
  presented a film directed by Davis Guggenheim.
  Featuring Al Gore, the film is produced by Laurie
  David, Lawrence Bender and Scott Z. Burns. Jeff
  Skoll and Davis Guggenheim are the executive
  producers and the co-producer is Leslie Chilcott.

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The Challenge

• Turning a slide show into a major film that
  warrants distribution. Tough!

But, they did it.
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The Four Key Questions

• Is the world getting warmer?
• If so, can we agree that the actions of mankind
  are to blame for earths temperature increases?
• What can/should be done about these issues?
• Are the potential solutions worth the cost of
  implementing them?

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Why A Film ?
  The rationale for turning Mr. Gores slide
show into a movie was simple  as a film it could
reach millions of people whereas a slide
presentation it would always be limited to the
VPs schedule.   The exponential increase in
reach was really what persuaded Al to allow us to
film his lectureand it is important to remember
that Guggenheim, Burns, David et al pursued him
and not the other way around.
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This Is Scott BurnsCo-Producer
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Guggenheim The Director
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Al Gore - The Committed Humanist
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His Personal Journey

• As they began the film making process they
  (producers and director) realized that another
  dimension could be added to Als presentation of
  the case for global warming his own personal
  journey and his reasons for taking on the
  issue.(Chapter 5).  
• And so they built the film on two levelsa
  linear case for global warming and on second
  level  a connection between a person and an
  issue. (Chapter 1).

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And so we built the film on two levelsa linear
case for global warming . . .Historic Los
Angeles Temperatures
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Snow Melts Off Our Glaciers
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Polar Bears Have Lost Their Ice Floes
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Gore Not Only Talks - He Edits
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Keeping Science as The Rationale
The Al Gore we see when he speaks about global
warming was far more passionate then the Al Gore
we saw as a candidate in 1980 However, his
dedication to make a scientifically sound
argument frustrated the film makers.  They tried
to remove The following section from the film
because it seemed to esoteric but Al was vehement
about keeping it in. (Chapter 17)
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Im Still Concerned . . . Those Bears Have No
Place To Rest
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The Editing Team -- Movies By Keynote
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AIT -- Wrapping Up
AIT is the 3rd largest grossing documentary of
all time in America.   It has become part of
the science curriculum in numerous countries.  
Working for an annual re-release of the the DVD
every year with updates in the science. In the
end we benefited from a number of thingsKatrina,
the re-emergence of Al Gore for the first time
since his devastating defeat in 1980, and an
aggressive ad campaign.
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The Four Key Questions

• Is the world getting warmer?
• If so, can we agree that the actions of mankind
  are to blame for earths temperature increases?
• What can/should be done about these issues?
• Are the potential solutions worth the cost of
  implementing them?

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Are Solutions Worth It?

• DuPont cut its climate-warming pollution by
  seventy-two percent since 1990, slashing 3
  billion from its energy bills.
• Wal-Mart installed new, energy-efficient light
  bulbs in refrigeration units saving 12 million a
  year, and skylights that cut utility bills by up
  to 70,000 per store.
• The company, with the nation's 2nd-largest
  corporate truck fleet, saved 22 million last
  year by installing auxiliary power units that
  allow drivers to operate electric systems without
  idling their vehicles.

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Impact of A New Economy

• Developing a free market and a new energy economy
  will not only save the planet from overheating,
  it will create jobs in the process.
• For example, "We need to build a trillion solar
  panels," says McDonough, the award-winning
  architect.
• "There are four jobs installing solar panels for
  every manufacturing job in creating them. The
  Chinese can't capture those jobs, because the
  energy is inherently local. The Chinese can't
  steal our photons."

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The Dilemma
When AIT was finished there was much debate
about what solutions we could offer people.  What
could we tell them to do.  This was interesting
dilemma.   As filmmakers you are not obligated
to solve the problem, only illustrate it.
 Furthermore, the real problem we were trying to
solve was getting people to believe that global
warming was really happening.
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I Need To Wake Up
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vdjP-c7d_Oeoeurlht
tp//www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/m/melissa_etheridge
/i_need_to_wake_up.html
I want to change I need to shake up I need to
speak out Oh, Somethings got to break up Ive
been asleep And I need to wake up Now
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Whats Next . . . Its Up To US
The AIT battle was to remove doubt and attack
the big campaigns that kept people from
acknowledging the problem.   The next battle
will take more than a movieit will take an
unprecedented amount of change in government,
industry, education, religion, and peoples
personal choices. THE SEQUEL TO AIT IS A MOVIE
WE MUST ALL MAKE TOGETHER AND COSTA RICA -- AS WE
SAY IN THE STATES, GETS IT - AND HAS A
LEADERSHIP ROLE.
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Both Scott and I are sorry that he could not be
with you today . . . I am honored to have the
opportunity to present the work and vision of him
and his colleagues. Thank you.
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