I am the Messenger of Fear
I am one of Al Gore’s “chosen ones” or messengers—selected to help spread the word on global warming. I spent three days in Nashville with Mr. Gore and The Climate Project, learning his slideshow presentation inside out—reviewing every one of over 300 slides. In other words, I and 1,000 other “Climate College” graduates have learned the fine art of scaring the pants off of people.
Is it scary?”
That was the question a concerned teacher asked me a few days before I was to give a slideshow presentation of An Inconvenient Truth to her fifth- and sixth-grade class.
I couldn’t believe the question.
Hadn’t she seen the movie? The Earth is getting hotter, our snow-capped mountains and glaciers are melting, ocean levels are rising (whole islands, like Manhattan, will probably be underwater). Violent hurricanes like Katrina will become more common. We’re losing our species at an accelerated pace. If we don’t change our ways, we’re all going to die.
Hell yes, it’s scary!
And no, I would not change or sugar-coat my presentation!
A few days later, I gave a 45-minute presentation to about 50 sixth-graders, their teachers and parents. I don’t know if they had any nightmares that night, but the kids did ask good questions, so they were paying attention.
But let’s start from the beginning.
I am one of Al Gore’s “chosen ones” or messengers—selected to help spread the word on global warming. I spent three days in Nashville with Mr. Gore and The Climate Project, learning his slideshow presentation inside out—reviewing every one of over 300 slides. In other words, I and 1,000 other “Climate College” graduates have learned the fine art of scaring the pants off of people.
Al Gore has been sounding the alarm on global warming for many years. Today Americans, led by the Awakening Consumer, are wide awake on this issue. A recent poll by the The New York Times says that 90 percent of Americans are very concerned about global warming—that’s up 40 percent from 2005.
Al Gore put global warming on the map. And he did it through fear! Three years ago the number-one environmental concern in America was drilling in Alaska. Today it’s climate change.
Our presentation follows a very simple script—global warming is real and is here today in a big way. It is man-made, and if we don’t quickly change our ways, we will destroy our way of life.
These points are illustrated through several “fear facts”:
1. The hottest 10 years in the past 140 years (since we’ve been recording weather) happened in the past 14 years. 2005 was the hottest year on record.
2. Warmer ocean temperatures mean more, bigger and more violent storms, including tornadoes and hurricanes.
3. Our ice caps are melting rapidly. If Greenland or part of Antarctica melts, ocean levels could rise up to eight feet, causing many parts of the world—including Florida and New York—to be under water.
4. We’re losing species at an accelerated rate, including polar bears, which are drowning because the ice caps are melting under their feet. They could become the first large predator to fall victim to global warming.
5. American car companies (car emissions are one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gases, which are causing global warming) are fighting government gas standard regulations. We have the lowest standards in the world, including China.
6. And scariest of all, rising temperatures could cause our global conveyor pump to shut down, stopping most ocean currents in their tracks (last time that happened, Europe went into an ice age for 1,000 years).
Yes, at the end of the presentation there is some HOPE to counter the fear. There are solutions to help reverse or slow global warming. As Mr. Gore says, you need to give people HOPE. If not, they will be paralyzed with fear and do nothing.
One of the conditions to be one of Al Gore’s messengers in his Global Army is that we have to give at least 10 presentations a year. I have given a few to both students and adults.
The most engaged audience I got was eighth-graders—and yes, fear got them. But their fear quickly turned to outrage and disbelief that we grownups allowed this to happen, and they were inheriting a big mess. They asked questions like “Why did you let this happen?” And “Why haven’t you done anything?”
The most commonly asked question from our students is “Why hasn’t the government done anything?”
Of course, An Inconvenient Truth works only if you see the movie or see one our presentations.
Unfortunately, the one person who really needs to see this presentation has not. Mr Gore offered to give President Bush a private screening, and was turned down flat. I offered to give the president my presentation, with identical results.
But fortunately, for those who have seen it, it has had a profound effect.
For example, Lee Iacocca readily admits today that An Inconvenient Truth scared him into becoming a concerned corporate citizen. He is now a leading proponent in making business lead the way in coming up with solutions.
While Al Gore used fear in An Inconvenient Truth to put global warming on the map, he also did something even more horrifying than even Hitchcock could have done: he doesn’t tell us how it’s going to end! The scariest part of his movie is that he leaves the ending up to us!
Are we going to continue our reckless behavior, not change, and therefore cause all humanity and living species on Earth to die?
Or are we going to see our evil ways, change our behaviors, and live happily ever after?
And that is the brilliance of An Inconvenient Truth. That is why Mr. Gore deserves the Oscar that he got, and why he will probably get a Nobel Peace Prize later this year.
That is why I am proud and honored to be one of Mr. Gore’s messengers, doing my small part in helping spread a little fear.
And yes, I am available for gigs. |
