Al Gore’s contribution to the global climate change debate is not in question and he has, along with the IPCC, been awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in raising awareness. If you haven’t seen his film “An inconvenient truth” then do get hold of the DVD – it may just be the most interesting PowerPoint presentation you will ever see! However, does he really understand the nature of the debate? The article below suggests that he has not yet taken account of the most fundamental trade-off in dealing with climate change – the trade-off between our own quality of life and that of our descendants in the future.
Save the earth in six hard questions MSN Slate (22/10/07)
Questions
| 1. | Explain what is mean by a trade-off “between the quality of our own lives and the quality of our descendants’ [lives]”. |
| 2. | What is meant by the term ‘risk-averse’ and how is this relevant in the climate change debate? |
| 3. | Consider the questions raised by the article. Discuss how relevant the conclusion reached is in the light of these questions. |