The threat is still growing and Al Gore is still on the case

Eleven years after the release of 2006’s “An Inconvenient Truth” comes “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power.”

The new documentary is a progress report of sorts from Al Gore, the message of which, in essence, is: “I’m still here and so is the issue I’ve been championing all these years.”

That issue is climate change. Gore argues it’s real, it’s largely the product of human agency, it poses an existential threat to humanity and mankind needs to act to save itself from the ravages he sees coming, many of which, he further argues, are already here.

It’s hardly a unique proposition. But Gore, by virtue of his status as a former vice president of the United States and by the passionate nature of his advocacy, is arguably the most universally recognizable champion of the climate change cause. As such, he’s variously respected and reviled.

“Inconvenient Sequel” is both a rebuttal and a rebuke to the voices on the right who vociferously disparage him and his cause.

The documentary opens with an off-camera chorus of voices of right-wing talkers for whom Gore is a favorite punching bag. Joining the chorus, in news clips, is Donald Trump, seen early as a candidate and later as president, inveighing against climate change proponents.

In a clip at the end, Trump is seen announcing his decision to pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris climate accord. Gore, viewing the news on a laptop, looks glum.

For much of the movie though, Gore’s mood is upbeat. He talks about how solar energy and wind power are ascendant. He’s shown leading training sessions for environmentally minded people, teaching them how to be come effective activists.

He’s seen traveling around the world, to Greenland to view glaciers melting, to Miami to slosh through storm-flooded streets and to the Paris conference itself.

And, as with “An Inconvenient Truth,” he’s shown presenting his famous slide show depicting the effects of rising seas, climbing worldwide temperatures and explaining how greenhouse gases cause those phenomena.

In the face of fierce pushback from fossil-fuel advocates, Gore remains optimistic.

At the end he delivers a stemwinding speech to an enthusiastic crowd in which his usually wooden manner gives way to genuine eloquence as he calls for people to take action to stave off the changes caused by global warming.

His passion is impressive, his commitment to his cause appears undimmed.

This story was originally published August 3, 2017 at 5:26 PM with the headline "The threat is still growing and Al Gore is still on the case."