As unprecedented floods hit Chiang Mai and several other areas in the north last week, a new film premiered in Bangkok on Wednesday that serves as a warning of future weather catastrophes if human beings don't address the problem of climate change.

"An Inconvenient Truth", featuring former United States vice president Al Gore, examines the possible consequences of global warming and future weather-related disasters for mankind.

Along with "United 93", a dramatisation of the 2001 United Airlines hijacking (part of the wider 9/11 terrorist attacks), "An Incon-venient Truth" is the second film this year to have shaken American audiences and asked huge questions of US policy-makers.

The movie's director, Davis Guggenheim, took a crew to film Gore on his one-man-show tour of the US. The audience sees Gore talking to the public about the dangers of climate change, with the former vice president portrayed in various moods from serious to light-hearted.

What makes the documentary fascinating is the presentations and effective use of imagery. Various graphic techniques, including animation and satellite pictures, maintain the excitement for two hours. There are real scenes of colliding icebergs at the North Pole and a simulation of New York and parts of Asia submerged under rising seas.

There is dramatic impact on a personal level too, as Gore explains his anger over climate change and why he decided to campaign on this issue after defeat by George W Bush in the US presidential election.

Gore sends a message to audiences that the climate of this planet is in crisis due to the release of hydrocarbon gases into the atmosphere. Many of the world's natural ecosystems, including ocean currents and rain patterns, are changing, he says, and if the forecasts of the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have only 10 years left to reverse the problem.

Gore says we are sitting on a time bomb, although there is still time to defuse it, but only if we start now.

Only two big countries, the United States and Australia, have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty aimed at solving the climate crisis, Gore says in the film.

Taken at face value "An Inconvenient Truth" might not be expected to succeed at the box office because the subject is serious and complicated. Gore is the only star of the film, and his role is like that of a presenter on stage. Yet the Thai audience reaction after last Wednesdays' media screening was positive, as it has been in the US.

"As a documentary film, it is great. It discusses this serious issue understandably for the general public without background on global warming. I really like it," said Thida Palitpholkarnphim, a film critic for Bioscope magazine.

"Everyone should watch this film, especially kids. For Thai politicians, it is a good chance to learn what a good politician looks like. Thai activists should learn from this great example of communicating a serious issue to the public," Thida said.

"I like the way the film is produced. It introduces the problem and [explains] what the crisis is and how we can solve it," Thida added.

Another audience member, Noppamas (who gave no surname), said she had been looking forward to the film since talking to friends in the US who had told her it had made a great impact there.

"Some of my friends decided to install solar cells the morning after watching it. One manager paid for tickets for all of his staff to make sure everyone in his office saw it," she said.

Singer Su Boonliang said the film was a clever way to educate the public on climate change, especially Thais, who were addicted to entertainment.

"I would like to see more such films," he said.

"I like the message of the film. It says this is a crisis but we must not panic and we still have time to solve it," said Dr Anond Snidvong, a scientist at Chulalongkorn University.

Supamas Wungthamkua, a marketing manager for United International Pictures, which brought the film to Thailand, said the response had been positive in Thailand and the company planned to put it on general release at the end of August. Thailand will be the second country to show the film, she said.

"We did not expect great profit from this film as we know it is not normal entertainment but a documentary, which is not familiar to many Thais, but we decided to import it due to its content, and we wanted to give our audiences more alternatives," she said.

"In the US the reaction has been great, and it is more successful in terms of income than most documentary films," she said.

"Yes, the film may be pro-Al Gore, but I don't think this is an issue in Thailand as Thais cannot vote for him," Supamas added.

Thara Buakhamsri, a member of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, one of the screening's organisers, said the film was about ethics and morals rather than politics.

Greenpeace is planning other popular campaign activities, Thara said.

"Public education is necessary to move Thai society toward concern over climate change. We had to find a path to teach the public about this issue, and movies and music are our chosen methods," he said.

"Soon we will launch new songs about climate change and other environmental issues," he added.

The songs will be written by groups of Thai musicians led by American singer Todd Lavelle, better known to Thais as Todd Thongdee.

A better understanding of global warming is important and is a key for the right political decision-making, Thara said.

"Thai politicians show very little understanding of this global issue, even though it is important and related to many development projects in our country.

"In Vientiane last weekend the development of coal-power projects, one main cause of global warming, was still on the agenda of the Asean energy ministers' meeting, and there was less commitment to renewable energy sources," Thara said.

According to an official source, the Office of Environmental Policy and Planning, Thailand's authority on climate change, has requested that the government put climate change on the national agenda.

The office proposed tackling the problem months ago, but there has been no positive sign that the Cabinet will pick it up for consideration, the source told The Nation.

Climate expert Anond, who has studied the impact of global warming on Thailand for years, said disasters would continue to hit the country but with greater regularity and magnitude than previously forecast.

"More extreme events are expected. Serious flash-floods and mud slides could happen easily in many areas of the country as a result of changing rainfall patterns. Rain may be heavier in one particular area while others face long droughts," he said.

"In the Gulf of Thailand we found large areas where the sea is warmer than average, and recently in the Andaman Sea we found sea level rising faster than normal at a rate of 8-12 millimetres per year, and there is rapid erosion of the shore at a rate of 1-2 centimetres per year," he warned.

"Climate change could be either a crisis or an opportunity, depending on us," Anond said.

Kamol Sukin

The Nation