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The front page of Canada's National Post recently featured a story about Al Gore's Oscar-winning film, An Inconvenient Truth, and its growing ubiquity in the world's classrooms. The article quoted one Canadian student who reported having seen the film four times in four different classes over a school year. An extreme example, perhaps, but a good one to illustrate how quickly and completely Gore's film has come to dominate the global warming debate.

The article goes on to highlight documented flaws in Gore's data, the shakiness of some of his talking points, even by the admission of his own staffers, and questions how wise it is to adopt this all-Gore-all-the-time approach to teaching climate change.

With its slick visuals, apocalyptic warnings, and charming banter, the reasons for the film's success are evident: It is an appealingly simplified approach to an extremely complicated issue, helped along by PowerPoint and the occasional Bush joke. What's not to like?

The problem, even if you happen to agree with Gore, is that the film is quickly becoming seen as irrefutable, rather than one document among many. There are also unsettling whiffs of propaganda, and Gore's prominent position among the Democrats to consider as well. While minor compared to global environmental devastation, these things should be more widely acknowledged than they currently are.

Gore is right about a lot in An Inconvenient Truth, especially the dire importance of curbing our consumption of fossil fuels for the good of the planet. In his new book, The Assault on Reason, he discusses the importance of informed analysis in forming opinions on issues, and what can happen if these things are not given the priority they deserve. The educators who have so eagerly adopted Gore's film would do well to heed this message, if any.