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An Inconvenient Truth is a book and a movie, authored and narrated by the former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. I've read the book and this week, courtesy of Eugene Dean and the Menalik Foundation, I saw the movie.

It's easy to ignore the fact of global warming because it isn't something that touches us all the time. Sure, there have been weather changes and a little beach erosion here and there but, the arguments go, the Earth has always gone through cycles of warming and cooling and in any case the planet is much too big for us humans to have any effect.

Al Gore's assemblage of research and analysis makes a compelling case that what we are affecting is the Earth's atmosphere. This relatively thin layer of air surrounding the globe acts like a blanket to trap some of the sun's reflected radiation and regulates the Earth's temperature. Our accelerating emission of certain 'greenhouse gases' is causing the atmosphere to trap more radiation resulting in an overall rise in air and ocean temperatures around the globe.

These rising temperatures yield complex results, some of which seem to offset others. However, the most startling and most significant results are:

n An increase in the frequency of extreme weather events (more droughts, more deluges, more tornadoes and more of high-powered hurricanes);

n An increase in the severity of weather events (more intense rainfall, deeper and longer droughts, stronger hurricanes);

n A shift in traditional weather patterns (in 2004 for the first time ever, the south Atlantic experienced a hurricane - it hit Brazil);

n The melting of glaciers around the world and melting of the polar ice caps, releasing stored water into the oceans.

All these will affect Bermuda, the last most crucially. If either the Arctic or the Antarctic ice cap melts completely, the ocean's surface is likely to rise by about 20 feet. As a consequence, the airport and much of Pembroke, Somerset and Dockyard would be under water. That's serious.

There are many gases that exhibit heat-trapping or 'greenhouse' properties. Some of them, like water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, occur in nature. Others, like gases used for aerosols, are exclusively human-made. Human activities increase the concentration of these gases in the atmosphere.

The burning of coal and petroleum products in vehicles and to produce electricity adds to the carbon dioxide concentration. Supersonic airplane engines are the most worrisome nitrous oxide producer. Methane, twenty times more potent that carbon dioxide, is added by meat and dairy cattle, and bog-like agriculture such as rice paddies. Every miniscule rise in temperature, as well as combustion in engines and open fires, adds water vapour to the atmosphere.

This is the inconvenient truth of Gore's title: We humans are altering our planet in ways that threaten our very survival. His ultimate message is that we can do something about it, and we need to do it now. Essentially, the formula is to consume less and conserve more. Consume less electricity - unplug appliances that are not being used. Use smaller, more efficient vehicles - electric or hybrid vehicles are the best so far. Buy used items where possible - a potent form of recycling. Recycle glass and cans and advocate for an expanded recycling stream. Reduce our waste - waste paper, waste noise, waste food, everything. The government also has a role to play in setting and following regulations for buildings, appliances and vehicles that meet the strictest energy efficiency standards.

Make sure you see the movie, An Inconvenient Truth. Help get it shown at your school or PTA or church. Most of all, don't let this be somebody else's problem to fix. Our lifestyle in Bermuda is at the leading edge of global warming causes - per capita, we consume more energy and produce more waste than anywhere else on the planet. We must take the lead in making repairs. It may be Bermuda's only hope.

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