Alameda becomes Atlantis

This weekend we saw the new movie, An Inconvenenient Truth.

I wish I could come up with a less ironic description than chilling. I can't recommend it strongly enough — not for its entertainment value, but for its importance. Even though I've known about Global Warming, it's astounding to see how bad it already is.

One animation that Gore showed is the impact that one or two likely scenarios will have on the San Francisco Bay Area. it was an animation showing what will happen when ice shelves currently on land melt and raise the sea levels. I couldn't find the same graphic he used, but I found a similar image that I've excerpted here:


This shows Alameda completely underwater, as well as much of the lowlands of Oakland. Only the highlands of Oakland are still above water.

It really puts things into perspective, doesn't it? Your squabbles with your neighbors over what style of fence to build, whether or not to build a Megaplex theatre on Park Street, how to slow down traffic for pedestrian safety on Lincoln Avenue are meaningless if Alameda ceases to exist.

Go see this movie. (It's playing at the Piedmont in Oakland and California in Berkeley as of this writing.) It will change your perspective. If enough of us see the movie and enough are inspired to do something about it, maybe we have a chance. Let's not let Alameda become an Atlantis.