Rating: 
Summary: Should have stopped at the first half
Review: Gore explores the various apocalyptic issues and goes on to advocate a radical transformation of society based on some questionable science. He glosses over the truth of Love Canal, dioxin, and global warming. He makes suggestions for new laws that would subject the US to international control and convert most natural resources to public ownership. Gore is a true elitist, meaning that he believes that all would be right in the world if we would only learn to live by the pronouncements of a few politician-priests, among whom he, of course, is the brightest.
In one of my favorite passages, he denies that any negative feedback mechanisms exist in the anthropogenic global warming theories. Apparently, global temperature has been stable up to now by sheer chance. In another, he explains that Venus is hotter than Earth, a fact solely explained by its CO2 concentration - nevermind the fact that it is significantly closer to the sun. I wonder how he explains Mars, where the average temperature is lower and the CO2 concentration higher? It should be clear that Gore's brand of science is political, not physical.
Once in a while, when the price of gasoline goes up and the populists start coming out for regulation of prices in order to protect the "little guy", I am amazed and amused that the left doesn't realize that "higher prices" is exactly the solution suggested by their once-favorite politician. Gore says, "... every poll shows Americans decisively rejecting higher taxes on fossil fuels, even though that proposal is one of the logical first steps in changing our policies in a manner consistent with a more responsible approach to the environment." Environmentalists should know that those higher prices will naturally occur when supplies dwindle and/or demand increases, and that those higher prices will prompt both further exploration and alternatives. Their concern then turns to Big Oil conspiracies and the evil of profit, but if they really believe those, they should invest heavily in companies like Occidental Petroleum (owned by the Gore family patron, Armand Hammer), and then spend the profits on alternative energy research. Sorta like BP and Shell do on solar energy research.
As the book goes on, though, it starts making bizarre suggestions about shifting our religious views. Again, I'm surprised that this doesn't raise the hackles of the secular left. Though not personally offended by such discussions, I certainly thought he was starting to run a few cards short of a full deck.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book--College Students Should Read This!!
Review: This book needs to be read twice so you get the total impact of what it is trying to say. Conservatives who don't believe in the existence of global warming will not like this because it is unpleasant to think about, that human beings could be messing up the earth so horribly. We have to face the facts before it is too late, and the United States must take the lead. Under George Bush, we are not getting this kind of leadership...perhaps under President Kerry, we will. I hope Al makes another run for president. Jeffrey McAndrew
author of "Our Brown-Eyed Boy"
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