Escaped the heat this weekend by going to the movies. First up was The Devil Wears Prada. There were so many men in the audience that my wife said, “Guess it’s not just a chick flick.” Maybe a screen full of runway models attracted us? Nah, it was definitely the air conditioning…

On Sunday I saw Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth (Trailer). He does a great presentation and his message is powerful and troubling. Inescapable conclusions:

• Global warming is real
• Human activity is the critical factor
• The impact will be unimaginably catastrophic (well, unless you’ve seen The Day After Tomorrow)
• We’re not doing nearly enough

But what most bothers me is the gap between the devastation global warming can cause and the solution being sold to us.

Consider PaloAltoGreen. It’s a program that supplies all the electricity to participating customers from alternative energy sources (solar and wind). Almost 15 percent of residents have signed up so far, the highest such participation rate in the country. The average customer pays about $10 more per month for green power. Sounds great, right?

Here’s why we haven’t signed up: The electrons that power our home don’t care where they come from. Today an interconnected grid supplies us with electricity generated by hydro, gas, coal, nuclear, geothermal, solar, wind and other sources. Once we’re in the program, the same grid and resources will supply us.

So we would be paying a little extra for the notion—but not the reality—of clean energy. Sure, our utility would use the extra revenue to purchase more (and more expensive) renewable resources. But the electrons will still come from the grid and the pool of resources that power that grid. Those resources won’t change fast enough to solve the problem Al Gore campaigns for.

Will the 15 percent who sign up end global warming for the 85 percent who don’t? I don’t think so! It’s an interconnected grid, and we’re all in this together. We’re all going to be affected by global warming, whether we participate or not.

In the film, Gore says there are just two industrialized countries that have not ratified the Kyoto Accord: the United States and Australia. He showed a map featuring states with significant alternative energy and conservation programs—the northeastern states, California and Oregon. Gore also showed a long list of American cities that have taken official action to support Kyoto.

Of course individual cities and people can make a difference. If we all buy energy efficient cars and insulate our homes, we’ll save energy, reduce pollution, and help reduce global warming. Selling individuals on that proposition is a good idea.

The film presents a view of our future that’s too harrowing to ignore. But it’s also too important to rely on a slow, disorganized, trickle-up approach. The biggest impacts will come from changing the market. Provide or remove incentives so the market sends powerful signals to conserve energy and protect the environment.

So raising fuel taxes probably makes sense. Increasing fuel economy standards for automobiles and trucks makes sense. Subsidize the cost of energy for poor people who can’t afford higher prices. Subsidize the cost of solar and wind. Those ideas and many other should be considered. There’s a lot we can do.

My personal regret: Haven’t signed up for PaloAltoGreen. I haven’t done enough. I still feel trapped by logic that says we need something bigger and more effective than some of us paying a little more for electricity because we want to feel like we’re saving the planet.

I appreciate Gore’s vision and efforts. Everyone should see this film! I hope it’s possible to get the whole country on board.

In the meantime, I’ll start looking for sensible things I can do to contribute.