Al Gore introduces himself to his audience as the "former next president of the United States." This brings laughter and then he begins talking about an issue that has interested him for many years, global warming. In this documentary Gore gives an impassioned presentation, with a host of facts and figures to alarm even the true believers of the "don’t worry" philosophy. As he says, this is not a political issue, but a moral one. The film essentially gives us a private ticket to a traveling road show that Gore has presented more than 1,000 times all across the globe.

We are inundated daily with statistics and images meant to keep us from changing TV channels, so you may be inclined to dismiss some of the startling facts that you see in the promotional trailer. Mark Twain said, "What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know, it's what we know for sure that just ain't so." Please pay attention, as the biggest service that Gore does is to connect the dots.

The year 2005 was the warmest year on record since atmospheric temperatures have been measured. In the summer of 2005, heat records were broken in hundreds of U.S. cities. The ten warmest years on record have all been since 1990. Global warming is predicted to increase the intensity of hurricanes. In the past several decades, the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes globally has almost doubled. Because the ocean is getting warmer, tropical storms can pick up more energy and become far more powerful. Unless something changes, storms with the effects of Katrina will trend more toward being the norm rather than as an exception.

"An Inconvenient Truth" is interspersed with historical facts¾ and present-day consequences¾ and future predictions. If the majority of the world’s scientists are right, we have about one decade, 10 short years, to avert having a world that is reminiscent of the events in the disaster film, "The Day After Tomorrow."

Recent data from Antarctic ice cores indicate that carbon dioxide concentrations are now higher than at any time during the past 650,000 years, which is as far back as measurements can now reach.

The Al Gore’s "show" is a non-partisan, multimedia presentation that reveals his reasons for believing that global warming is wreaking havoc upon our planet. In addition to changes that must be implemented by government and industries, he also asks everyday citizens to become accountable and do their part. At stake is not just paying more for a tank of gas or to heat our homes in the winter, but our very existence.

Gore does not view global warming as a political issue any more than former presidents, the elder Bush and Clinton, are seeking political gain to raise funds for victims of natural disasters. Instead, he sees it as the biggest moral challenge facing our global civilization. Without substantial and permanent change, he believes that we are on the verge of the biggest catastrophe of human history.

The film presents the story of Gore’s personal journey, from an idealistic college student who first saw a massive environmental crisis looming, to a young Senator facing a harrowing family tragedy that altered his perspective. And finally, to Vice President and the man who almost became President who then returned to the most impassioned cause of his life. He believes there is still time to make a difference if we act now.

Individuals can make an immediate difference by trying to reduce their personal greenhouse gas emissions. Some of the "green efforts" we may already be doing are recycling and using set back thermostats. Others that we might consider are planting trees, buying a hybrid automobile, turning off the water when we brush our teeth, turning off electronic devices when not using them and replacing a light bulb with a compact florescent. Over the course of a year, that bulb replacement saves 150 pounds of carbon dioxide!