The crusade of the man who used to be the future President of the United States

The great discovery of An Inconvenient Truth: Al Gore

For Stephen Nodvin, director of the School of Arts and Sciences of Mount Ida College, Al Gore’s “inconvenient truth” is not a novelty. Holding a Ph.D. in ecology, this is actually something he has been explaining for years to various publics, including his own students.

“But what really got me impressed when I first saw the movie was the ability that Al Gore showed to explain in one hour and a half something that usually takes me more than three weeks to teach. Besides, his graphs were better than mine!”, Stephen tells me.

Stephen is not the only one who felt impressed by Al Gore’s clarity. With An Inconvenient Truth, America discovered a charismatic politician, far away from the “boring” Presidential candidate people used to remember. And no wonder why: since 2000, Mr. Gore has been working very seriously on the way to get a complex message to be heard by an easily distracted public. “The idea of making a movie is in itself part of this new approach, Stephen explains. Al Gore knows that one of the best ways to get the attention of the American public is to make a movie!”

A message that needs to be passed on further

But despite the unarguable success of the documentary, which grossed over $20 millions, earned two Academy Award nominations and received a broad Media coverage, Al Gore realizes that his movie did not reach everyone in America. There still are large areas, especially in the Midwest, that have not received the message. Since the beginning of the year, Al Gore is therefore recruiting an army of volunteers, who will pass it on in person.

Like a thousand others, Stephen is part of the Climate Project « cavalry ». He has been recruited to give the movie’s presentation in his region, New Hampshire. The volunteers, ranging from housewives to scientists, have all taken part in a two-days and a half training session, during which Al Gore has been explaining step by step the scientific background of his movie and why he chose to present it in this way. The “climate messengers” have all agreed to give the presentation at least ten times this year. For many of them, this objective should be easily reached, as they know that the time is now running short: the ex vice-President’s call must be heard before the presidential elections of 2009. As Stephen notices, “we have today all the technology we require to reduce substantially our greenhouse gases emissions. All that we need is the will to do it.”

Version Française: La croisade de l'ex-futur Président des Etats-Unis