Inconvenient Truth a Winner at Academy

Inconvenient Truth a Winner at Academy



Feb 2007 - Former Vice 
President Al Gore won the Oscar for Best Documentary for his 
climate change warning film "An Inconvenient Truth," last 
night at the 79th Annual Academy Awards, highlighting a night 
devoted to environmental awareness. 
In fact, the award went to director Davis Guggenheim and 
producers Lawrence Bender, Laurie David and Scott Burns, but 
it was really Gore who was being recognized for focusing 
international attention on the issue of global warming and he 
joined the winners on stage for the acceptance. 
"I made this movie for my children," Guggenheim said in his 
acceptance speech. "We all did. And we did so because we were 
moved to act by this man... all of us were inspired by his 
fight for 30 years to tell his truth to all of us." 
Former Vice President Al Gore and Academy Award winner for 
Best Documentary Feature Davis Guggenheim at the 79th Annual 
Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. . 
Onstage, Guggenheim handed the Oscar to Gore, who said, 
"People all over the world - we need to solve the climate 
crisis. It’s not a political issue. It’s a moral issue. We 
have everything that we need to get started with the possible 
exception of the will to act. That’s a renewable resource. 
Let’s renew it." 
Musician and songwriter Melissa Etheridge took home the Best 
Song Oscar for "I Need To Wake Up," the theme song for "An 
Inconvenient Truth," beating three original songs from the 
show business musical "Dreamgirls." 
Accepting the award, Etheridge said, "I have to thank Al Gore 
for inspiring me, showing me that caring about the Earth is 
not Republican or Democrat, it's not red or blue. We are all 
green. We can be the generation that woke up and did 
something." 
Academy Award winner for Original Song, Melissa Etheridge 
backstage at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. 
Earlier in the evening, Gore joined Leonardo DiCaprio onstage 
to introduce the Academy Award's first greening initiative, 
led by the Natural Resources Defense Council, of which 
DiCaprio is a trustee, in collaboration with Oscar producer 
Laura Ziskin. 
In a pre-planned joke, DiCaprio asked Gore if he had an 
important announcement to make to the more than one billion 
people watching the telecast. Gore pulled from his pocket a 
sheet of paper and deadpanned the famous phrase that usually 
precedes the announcement of a presidential bid, "My fellow 
Americans..." before the exit music blared and the smiles 
broke out. 
Gore has said repeatedly he will not enter the president race 
in 2008. After winning the popular vote in 2000 only to have 
the election handed to President George W. Bush by a decision 
of the U.S. Supreme Court, Gore has devoted himself to 
educating the world about the dangers of global warming. 
For the first time this year, the Academy Awards were carbon 
neutral - renewable energy credits were purchased from 
Bonneville Environmental Foundation to offset carbon emissions 
from the pre-show, the red-carpet event, the Oscar telecast, 
and the Governors' Ball. 
Leonardo DiCaprio, Academy Award nominee for Best Actor for 
his work in "The Departed," arrives at the 79th Annual Academy 
Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. 
Other green intiatives included an energy audit of Kodak 
Theatre, which resulted in an efficiency plan and 
recommendations for upgrades. Hybrid vehicle transportation 
was provided for presenters and staff. 
Ecologically superior paper was used for telecast and 
non-telecast event materials such as nomination ballots, 
envelopes, press materials, programs, invitations, and 
certificates. 
A comprehensive recycling system instituted for event waste. 
Crew meals and craft services included reusable service 
materials and accessories, post-consumer tissue products, and 
biodegradable dishware. 
The menu for the Governors' Ball featured organic and 
environmentally-friendly food, including seafood, dairy, 
produce, and even the large chocolate Oscar. Left-over food 
from the Ball was donated to Angel Harvest, a nonprofit which 
delivers good, un-served, perishable food to emergency feeding 
programs throughout Los Angeles. 
"We hope viewers will come away with an understanding that 
environmental change can be achieved through a series of 
deliberate, but relatively simple first steps," said Allen 
Hershkowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources 
Defense Council who managed the greening effort. 
"This effort embodies our industry's collective interest in 
taking responsibility for reducing our environmental 
footprint," said Academy President Sid Ganis. "We thank our 
telecast producer Laura Ziskin for encouraging us in this 
direction." 
"In planning and producing the Oscars, we decided to choose 
supplies, resources and services that would reduce Oscar's 
ecological footprint," said Ziskin. "I am honored to have 
collaborated with the Academy and the NRDC to lay the 
groundwork for a more extensive, long-term program in the 
years to come."

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