We could have saved the Earth but we were too damned cheap. ~Kurt Vonnegut

November 21 brings the release of Al Gore’s acclaimed documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” which documents the potential catastrophic consequences of global warming if the world, and particularly the U.S., does not take major steps to curb its output of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

The prevailing scientific wisdom states that over the past 50 years, due to the incredible increase of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the form of burning fossil fuels, the planet’s overall average temperature has risen dramatically. The burning of fossil fuels sends massive amounts of CO2 in our atmosphere that, in turn, traps more of the sun’s rays and therefore causes a rise in temperature. According to the Washington Post, if one looks at the 21 hottest years on record (which goes back to pre-Civil War), 20 have occurred in the past 25 years. While this is cause enough for concern, it is only going to get worse.

The potential effects of global warming are staggering. According to Nature magazine, “some areas of the most populated region on Earth are likely to run out of water” because the melting of glaciers would cause a major source of drinking water to literally dry up. Other areas of the world which are perilously close to sea level would be drowned by the rising tides. The International Panel on Climate Change says that over 200 million people living in coastal areas could potentially become refugees as a consequence of global warming. The melting glaciers could also cause ocean currents to become destabilized which would have drastic effects on sea life, food supplies and ocean temperatures and, in turn, change the climate even faster.

Sadly, the virtual consensus among climatologists and other weather related scientists on the seriousness of global warming has been ignored by the current administration and has devolved into a political issue pitting one party against another instead of being a common sense issue that, when looking at the facts, virtually everyone can agree on.

While Democrats and Republicans argue over the significance of global warming, the mainstream scientific community has already reached its conclusion. Science Magazine looked at the 928 peer reviewed articles that have come out in the last ten years on global warming and found that none of them denied that increased amounts of carbon dioxide were warming the earth’s atmosphere. Yet Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), the outgoing chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Oklahoman, recently said global warming is “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.”

That kind of attitude is prevalent among Congressional Republicans and the President, who continues to ignore the problem. Although 122 other nations have already signed on, the U.S. still refuses to ratify the U.N. Kyoto Treaty, which pledges to cut carbon emissions to a pre-1990 level by 2012.

The U.S. is sending a dangerous message to the rest of the world by continuing to hold out. We are the number one producer of carbon dioxide in the world and we wield heavy influence over other nations. Canada recently announced it could not fulfill part of the treaty and Australia has backed out altogether. With the U.S. on board, these countries would not have a choice, but without our signature, it renders the document insignificant.

Thanks in part to “An Inconvenient Truth,” the tide is turning. Along with a shift in public opinion and the new Democratic majority in the Senate, there is a renewed chance the treaty could be ratified, or at least new steps could be taken to curb global warming’s effects. After all, according to Time Magazine, 88% of Americans think global warming effects future generations and 60% say it threatens them a great deal. The problem seems to be at the forefront of most American’s thinking, yet our government has failed to act.

California Senator Barbara Boxer is the new incoming head of the Environment and Public Works Committee and she will have the opportunity to bring about change. She said this past week, “Time is running out, and we need to move forward on this. The states are beginning to take steps, and we need to take steps as well.”

Individual states have recognized the federal government’s failure to act on this urgent global issue and have started to attack the problem on their own. California has already passed a law to curb their carbon dioxide emissions in line with the Kyoto Treaty by 2020 and hopefully the federal government will follow their lead. The next 10-20 years will be critical in managing the problem and finding a permanent solution.

Global warming is this generation’s defining issue. As Al Gore has stated, “This could literally end civilization. I know it sounds alarmist, as if this is hyperbole, like a man with a white beard holding a placard, saying the end of the world is near . . . but this really is a planetary emergency.” Now, hopefully our government can lead the rest of the world in solving the issue instead of continuing to be the leading cause of it.

Trevor Timm is a Blast Magazine staff writer