http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=042106DThe film ends with an acknowledgment that China and India and other countries must become part of the solution, but most importantly, Washington cannot continue to be the final holdout in the push to solve the global warming crisis. Wind turbines, solar panels, and nuclear power hit the screen toward to end, and a burning earth is seen as the film ends.
If we adopted every suggestion in the film, concentration of carbon dioxide will still double this century. The reality avoided in the film is that China is currently building over 500 coal-fired power plants; they intend to build one new coal fired plant every week for decades to come, and no matter what we do in the US, emissions from throughout the world will drive atmospheric carbon dioxide levels steadily upward.
Dr. Robert Balling, Jr. is Director of the Office of Climatology at Arizona State University