Most people with an interest in environmental issues are probably already aware that Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary about climate change, will be in theaters beginning this weekend. Those who’ve been distracted thus far can catch up by watching the online trailer.

It is very important that we support this film on its opening weekend. You can consult the theater locations and times to see when this documentary is playing near you. As with all films these days, the box office performance on the opening weekend will determine how many theaters this film shows in, how long it plays, and whether this documentary stokes mainstream discussion about climate change or simply melts into obscurity.

Currently the release is fairly limited, and it will play mainly in large cities where it will preach to already converted progressive and environmental audiences. But, with our support, this documentary has the potential to play many more small town and suburban theaters, where it could turn a much wider audience on to the issues of climate change.

In my opinion, the fact that Al Gore is such a well known political figure in the US both helps and hurts the cause. It helps because Gore brings a level of media attention to the film that an unknown person could not. It hurts because it will enable conservatives to continue to write off climate change as a cause invented by only liberals, rather than something that impacts all of us.

I’ve already seen a fair amount of online commentary about this documentary that is little more than personal attacks on Gore. Sadly, this is the state of politics today. Gore does have some questionable stuff in his background — all politicians seem to — but at least he is investing his time, money, and personal reputation for an important cause. I think that alone is worth supporting, whatever your political viewpoint might be.