By the year 2050, if nothing is done to change the atmosphere’s increasing temperature, all the ice within the Arctic Ocean could melt; the sea level could rise 20 feet, obliterating low-lying terrain (including downtown Manhattan); and over a million species worldwide might become extinct. These are the points stressed by Al Gore -- a staunch environmentalist since his Harvard undergrad days -- in his recently-released global-warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

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The film could have easily fallen flat. After all, it stars an overweight Gore giving, essentially, a 90-minute lecture on carbon dioxide. Yet, imbued with a never-before-seen passion and even humor, Gore presents horrifying images and scientific stats that will bring tears to your eyes: There’s the fact that the snows of Mt. Kilimanjaro are drying up, that the flow of water from glaciers in Greenland has nearly doubled over the past decade, and that polar bears are drowning because they cannot find ice to rest on. And then there was Hurricane Katrina -- just one of many powerful weather systems seen recently -- and the promise that many more like her are coming.

An Inconvenient Truth is being billed as “the most terrifying film you will ever see,” and they weren’t kidding. It’s clear that unless humans band together to rectify global warming, we’re all doomed. Fortunately, Gore & Co. have made Step 1 easy. It entails doing like filmmaker/artist Sarah Sophie Flicker, and spreading the word:

Hello Friends!

Last night we went to see "An Inconvenient Truth". It left me frightened, informed and, most importantly, hopeful. In a time where wars are fought for the concept of "home," it’s time to accept that all our home (the planet!) is at risk. We can fight for our home by simply informing ourselves, electing politicians who make the environment a priority, and making some changes in our everyday lives.

The film is both gripping and incredibly well-made, making a scientific issue that many (including myself) expect to be too academic, completely palatable; it is impossible to leave the theater without understanding the basics of global warming -- and the immensity of what is at stake.

 A few things we can do right now!

 * Go see the film and urge everyone you know to see it.

 * Log onto WWW.CLIMATECRISIS.ORG for tips and locations of where to see the film and buy tickets

 * Draft AL GORE!

 LOVE, Sarah Sophie

Step 2, as Flicker points out, is logging onto CLIMATECRISIS.ORG, and learning what small changes you can make in your daily routine to decrease your personal output of carbon dioxide. Things like: replacing your regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent one, turning off electric devices when not in use, buying recycled paper, planting a tree…

Next is Step 3, which involves letting your congressman know how you feel, and making your voice heard by voting. For more information, visit climatecrisis.org.

Learn More:

An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore (the paperback accompaniment to the film), $13, amazon.com

Earth In the Balance: Ecology and The Human Spirit by Al Gore, prices range, amazon.com

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