Al Gore News And Comment

Climate Extremes-2011

2012-01-21T12:58:00.005-05:00

These three videos that comprise about 26 minutes total were put together by me to illustrate the climate extremes in heat, cold and precipitation for 2011. Hopefully people saw them and it helped to connect the dots regarding the effects we are now seeing globally due to human forcings on our climate that are affecting agriculture and water availability the most.

I tweeted them to Mr. Gore as well. I don't know if he ever got to see them. I'm not an actress or a public figure so I don't know how much weight they hold with anyone. I do know however that I did this from my heart because I truly care about this planet and the world we are making for ourselves and those to come. That should count for something.
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cont.
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cont.
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Conclusion... for now.

Oh and just to add, some deniers didn't like that I did this... AWWWW.

Al Gore To Journey To Antarctica

2012-01-21T12:15:00.011-05:00

Al Gore To Journey To Antarctica

Former Vice President Al Gore is taking his fight against climate change to Antarctica next week as part of a cruise organized by his Climate Reality Project.

Gore and more than 100 fellow travelers will depart from Argentina late next week. Scientists, including climatologists James Hansen of NASA and Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, will give talks during the journey.

Other attendees include Bangladesh's minister of environment and forests, Hasan Mahmud, and British billionaire Richard Branson, who blogged about the trip last month.

"Today is the 100th anniversary of Roald Amundsen and his team's successful trip to the South Pole. Next month I'm going to Antarctica with [my family] to celebrate that trip and also Capt Robert Scott (who was a relative of ours) incredible voyage there," Branson wrote on Dec. 14. "Sadly as you know he perished on the way home. We're going on a boat organised by Al Gore to learn as much as we can from scientists and experts about where we are in the worrying cycle of Global Warming."

The Antarctic voyage is part of a larger campaign to focus attention on the threat climate change poses to the world's ice sheets and glaciers -- a subject Gore highlighted in his 2007 documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," and at a 2009 conference he convened with Norway's foreign minister, Jonas Gahr Støre.

"This winter we will be talking about Antarctica as part of our 'Living on Thin Ice' campaign which will focus on how people around the globe are being impacted by the melting of the world's ice," Climate Reality Project spokesman Eric Young said. "As part of that effort, we are journeying to Antarctica with our chairman, Vice President Gore, and leading scientists and thinkers to see firsthand how the climate crisis is unfolding."

Antarctica is not the only stop for Gore's campaign, Young said, which has convened events in Ecuador, the Sierra Nevada and Brooklyn and is planning trips to Nepal and the Alps."
____
So truly what is hoped to be accomplished by doing this? Travelling the world to show people what has already been put into motion expends more carbon does it not? At least that is what naysayers will say. No real addressing of this crisis from our own government. Carbon emissions continuing to climb. Agriculture globally continuing to be affected. Our oceans have acidified more in the last 200 years than the previous 21,000. A freshwater bulge in the Arctic growing larger with the threat of winds pushing it into the currents. So again, what is the purpose of all of this? What is the anticipated outcome?

That any president of the US will stand up in front of the people to tell Congress to send him a bill that places a price on carbon in time? Obama won’t even do that. Matter of fact, he is in it thick with oil companies to give them investments in shale gas wells now all over the country besides allowing them to continue drilling. All we see are ads for natural gas and tarsands. Why isn’t money being expended to make ads countering them? Where are the billboards on highways where everyday people can see them? Why can’t money be expended to start agroecology projects in developing countries? Reforestation efforts? (moringa trees especially which are drought resistant and provide food, medicine and water purification.) Solar stoves for people in the Himalayas? Solar energy projects? Preparing refugees who will need to be relocated due to sea level rise?

A trip to Antarctica is exciting and may reveal some reality to the choir attending, but what about people out here like me and others? Would I need a million dollars for a ticket? I’m not putting down this idea because God knows people need to see reality, which is why I hope this is documented. However, who is all going on this journey? Richard Branson and his family- because he is rich. Any US Congressional members? You know, the true criminals in all of this who continue to reap benfits from their lies. When will they truly be held accountable?

I’m all for anything that will turn the tide to real action as we head for that tipping point which has already begun. I just don’t understand why this has to be so exclusionary regarding those included in it. Lay people like myself who have been out here for years studying this on our own and reporting about it are getting weary of seeing nothing year after year but more deterioration of the planet we love, with too many people reaping benefits from it. We are running out of time. Do we really have another year to spend trying to convince people while we continue business as usual? I hope this makes a difference. As always , thank you for your vigilance and passion. I share it with you.

Return safe.<3

Blackout to protest SOPA/PIPA

2012-01-18T10:31:00.002-05:00

Per U.S. Congress, SOPA is "dead on arrival", but PIPA still exists and there is no guarantee SOPA will not make a come back as something else. I am against SOPA/PIPA and believe in a free and open Internet. So I am blacking out this blog today and leaving this video so you know why.

Will be back to post an entry next week.
Thank you

How Al Gore Will Use Games To Fight Climate Change

2012-01-13T20:32:00.007-05:00

How Al Gore Will Use Games To Fight Climate Change

What can be done about climate change? At the governmental level, initiatives and programs to reduce carbon emissions and curtail climate change can be slow to develop. Action at the individual level, however, has gained a lot of momentum through the use of social media. In order to capture and make use of this momentum PSFK challenged its readership to come up with concepts that address issues put forth by Former Vice President Al Gore and the Climate Reality Project. Participants in the challenge were encouraged to leverage trends identified in PSFK’s Future of Gaming report to create potential solutions to these problems. PSFK received over 60 entries from around the world and chose ten finalists whose presentations formed the basis for our recent Gaming For Good event, held at Soho House New York.

In this video from a special PSFK announcement event, the former Vice President and members of the Climate Reality Project team explain that harnessing the power of social media will be the key to effectively dealing with environmental problems. Gore declares:

"People all around the world, are expressing a very strong conviction that we have to shift to low-carbon technologies…they are starting to demand much more responsible solutions.” Now, “individuals have easy access, almost no barriers to access, ideas matter."

Check out our video of Al Gore’s talk and the presentation of the various gaming concepts

Gaming For Good from Piers Fawkes on Vimeo.

~~~~~~~~~~
I think this is a good idea. Just wondering the age limits of such games. While I think the ideas presented were good, I also think a game for children could be introduced to teach them good stewardship of the planet in a way that would also teach them about mitigating climate change.

I had an idea for a game called "Polarity." (Name is debatable.) Anyway, it would center on polar bears in the Arctic looking to get across the ice to their feeding grounds without being drowned by the melting ice that is melting more rapidly due to climate change. The players would have to not only navigate the bears to safety, but would also have challenges that revolve around doing things that decrease Co2 and other greenhouse gases in order for the ice to refom to give the bears safe passage. Levels could include planting trees in the Amazon (while fighting off loggers,) working on a farm to sequester Co2 in soil, installing solar panels on homes, etc... certain actions bring you more points that bring down the CO2ppm thus reforming the ice and bringing the bears to safety.

Now, I know it all isn't that simple, but from the perspective of a child/teen it will not only be fun and rewarding to finally save the bears, but it is also a learning process. And that is what I think games should be, a learning process. I'm just an amateur here, but I do care about the planet. Anyway, I think since DC is going to consistently fail us all in their duties thus being accomplices to all that is unfolding that it will be up to us to implement ways to not only adapt to what has already taken place, but to prepare and teach children the ways in which they can make this planet more habitable.

Thank you, Al. As always you prove that with true passion and perseverence, you can accomplish anything.

Al Gore: SOPA Is A Threat To The Internet

2012-01-05T23:29:00.006-05:00

SOPA is a threat to the Internet

During a speech last night Al Gore voiced his concerns about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

Responding to a question from the audience, the former US Vice President said that while content creators have legitimate concerns, SOPA is not the right answer.

“In our world today there is hardly anything more important [...] than to save and protect the vibrancy and freedom of the Internet,” Gore said.

“The Internet is bringing life back to democracy.”

“Anything that would threaten the vibrancy and freedom of the Internet and the future, I’m against.”
~~~~~
Here, here. The Internet is the last bastion of true freedom and must be preserved.

Information on SOPA

Al Gore Slams SOPA In Now Deleted You Tube Video

UPDATE: Video showing Al Gore speaking on SOPA has been deleted. Oh, the irony.

December 13, 2000: A date that will also live in infamy

2011-12-12T22:46:00.005-05:00

Hard to watch without crying.

"I heard you, and I will not forget."

I will not forget either, how you stood up for this world when we needed your voice the most. Author, teacher, Nobel laureate, statesman, media entrepreneur. Proof that no man (or woman) is defined by a title and that no matter how much the naysayers try to knock you down, the truth will always hold you up.

On December 13, 2000 the chosen president Al Gore made his withdrawal speech to the country. After more than a month of trying to count all of the votes in Florida but running into nothing but corruption and foul play from Katherine Harris and her goons and also voting committees of both parties, intimidation tactics, brownshirt tactics, corrupted voting lists, media brainwashing and the brother of Bush who had covered for him, Al Gore withdrew (I will not say concede because he had gone as far as he could) after the USSC unconstitutionally appointed George W. Bush in a judicial coup (that unsurprisingly was to not set a precedent) that has now led this country to where we are now.

I remember watching the USSC decision. I was sitting in front of my tv with my then nine yr old son in my lap. After it was read I just held my son very close and tight and cried. I knew then that what the USSC had done which was outside their jurisidiction had sealed the fate of this country as far as democracy and representation by the people and that went beyond party.

Since then we have seen our country plummet. Fate has not been kind to us because I believe we missed our chance to truly stand up when it mattered the most. Subsequently the NORC count did show that Al Gore received thousands more votes than what had been allowed to be counted and by law then deserved the electoral votes of the state of Florida. George W. Bush was never a legitimate president and I never uttered the words president and Bush in the same sentence for eight years. For those years Al Gore was my president.

After that catastrophe of democracy I knew something should be done. I decided to start a PAC and called it Patriots for Al Gore. There weren't a lot of members but we raised money, did radio ads and tried a campaign to have Al Gore as a write in candidate in the 2004 primary elections. We did OK in New Hampshire and New Mexico with a few thousand even writing him in for Vice President. And believe me that was grassroots. I then decided that we needed more so I constructed an amendment to the constitution whereby if fraud could be proven beyond a doubt which kept a duly elected president from serving their term that they could be "restored" to the term they were denied. We even had buttons saying, "Restore Gore." I sent out letters to Congress but of course nothing came of that. My PAC then focused on environmental issues, voting issues, prison issues, social justice issues and advocating for paper ballots and a rein on the unconstitutional abuses of Bush.

Eventually due to lack of participation and deridement from other Gore supporters of other sites who supported Kerry then and thought I was overstepping for standing up for my convictions and wanting the Congressional Black Caucus to at least give their superdelegate votes to Al Gore in a show of support at the 2004 convention after our PAC endorsed him for President over John Kerry, I disbanded the PAC. But I never gave up on the man who was destined to be president then who was treated so badly even by his own party and I think we can see clearly now why that was the right thing to do. I do not regret any of it, but can say that experience shook my faith in government, politics and yes in people.

So today and tomorrow we remember just what can happen to our government when we are detached from it and not taking part in working to make it just and better and also in not sticking to our convictions regarding what is right instead of what is popular or status quo. As I watch this speech I watch my President.

"Some have asked whether I have any regrets and I do have one regret: that I didn't get the chance to stay and fight for the American people over the next four years, especially for those who need burdens lifted and barriers removed, especially for those who feel their voices have not been heard. I heard you, and I will not forget."

President Al Gore in his withdrawal speech of December 13, 2000.

Thank you Mr. Gore for your grace through all of that. I just wish we'd had the strength of character as a people collectively to look beyond our partisanship and see this for what it was and demand accountability and justice. I wish we could have experienced a Gore Presidency... but then, the work you have done out here for our planet since then has been more than presidential and will benefit so many people for so many years to come.

Reference previous post:

Thank You for this decade

Al Gore: The Entire Asia D Interview

2011-11-22T21:59:00.007-05:00

Full Interview At Asia D Conference

This is the entire Asia D Interview with Al Gore.
Very informative.

Also, thanks to all who read this blog and understand me and my passion.

Great article by Roy Neel on the carbon tax and humanity

2011-11-18T14:57:00.018-05:00

Excerpt:

"Roy Neel is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University and a long-time staffer for former Vice-President Al Gore. Roy is in Australia as a Visiting International Fellow at the University of Melbourne.

The political environment here in Australia is fascinating. For a start, you require people to vote! Not only are you required to vote for a candidate, you have to rank the rest of the candidates as well!
If we had had that system in America there probably would have been no Bush-Cheney White House, no Iraq invasion, no suppression of climate science … but don’t get me started.

Poll after poll shows Americans are fed up with the name-calling and the do-nothing politicians that populate our legislatures. The level of cynicism is so great that, should America enforce mandatory voting and place “None of the Above” on every ballot, I fear we would have a government with no elected officials.

A long time ago I moved to Washington to join my friend Al Gore as he entered political life and began fighting established interests (often tilting at windmills, as we like to say). One of those windmills was the growing threat of climate change.

He didn’t get a lot of credit for that work over the next 25 years and in 2000 he lost the presidential race in the most closely contested (and disputed) election in our country’s history.

That was a bitter defeat, one that some of us will forever believe was suffered not at the hands of voters but as a result of a tragically misguided Supreme Court decision.

That decision, made by the US Supreme Court in December 2000, overruled the state of Florida’s decision to recount ballots, ending the vote count, and throwing the election to George W. Bush.
The world has not recovered.

It would have been easy for Al Gore to take himself out of public life, but he did just the opposite, creating a documentary film that would change the way the world viewed global warming and place the challenge in front of governments throughout the world.

With An Inconvenient Truth, he gave voice to the countless scientists who had been sounding this alarm for a decade or more. Changing US laws so we could move away from a carbon-based economy and toward clean, renewable energy sources should have been a no-brainer.

But when it became clear the country was waking up to the threat of climate change, powerful corporate and ideological interests opened their war chests. They spent hundreds of millions of dollars to distort, disrupt, and discredit the scientific consensus that has firmly established the devastating results of massive greenhouse gas emissions.

Last July in the US our Senate threw in the towel and declared climate legislation dead. Despite overwhelming public support for action, despite clear and profound evidence of the growing threat, the polluting industries succeeded in killing even modest controls on greenhouse gas emissions.
So now we in the US start over, building a new grass roots movement to prod public officials to do the right, moral thing. It will be a steep climb in our bitterly divided political system, where too many members of Congress and the Senate look more to powerful special corporate interests and their large campaign donors than to the public interest.

Australia represents the richest resource of renewable energy in the world. You have solar penetration that is 20 times greater than the US and most other countries, power that can be captured by solar photovoltaic panels – concentrated solar geothermal. You have wind power in vast areas of this country – power that can be harvested cheaply and quickly.

There is enough clean, renewable, cheap solar and wind energy in Australia to supply the entire world’s electricity demand. There’s enough to end Australia’s dependence on dirty coal, on transport fuel that is fouling our air, emissions that are making Australia the largest polluter of greenhouse gases per capita in the entire world.

Despite America's early promise, Australia's new carbon legislation has pushed it out in front. AAP

There are barriers to tapping this massive resource of renewable energy. For example, the Premier of Victoria, Ted Baillieu, recently set back wind power in that state by allowing any resident within a stone’s throw of a proposed wind turbine to veto its construction, thus virtually killing any chance of expanding Victoria’s exciting wind power potential.

But as Al Gore concluded in his now famous documentary, the only thing missing in the battle to expand renewable energy sources is political will. And political will itself is a renewable resource.
Here in Australia you understand the crisis. It has produced tragic flooding in Queensland, deadly drought and bushfires throughout the country, unprecedented typhoons, and record heat. You’ve seen your water supply threatened, and your farmers have seen their very livelihoods endangered.

And now, with the carbon price legislation, you have taken action. Those who believed the US would lead in meeting the challenge of climate change have been disappointed.

The US government has not led and effective leadership is nowhere in sight. We are stuck in the mud of partisan bickering and deadly brinksmanship, and it has us sinking to the bottom."

http://theconversation.edu.au/standing-on-the-outside-looking-in-a-washington-insider-reviews-the-carbon-tax-4210
End of excerpt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Al Gore sure knows how to pick right hand men. He did a great job having Roy Neel on his team. In this article he relays my feelings as well about this carbon tax, our climate crisis and our lackluster corporate bought government's response to it. I am also very grateful to him for not making this partisan, because it isn't. Granted, in our Congress we see Republicans more than anyone blocking progress on this. However, we have also seen Democrats doing the same thing by enabling Republicans and by having a president who refuses to use the bully pulpit he has to really educate the public on this and tell them the truth. It is beyond frustration especially seeing the science and the events as they unfold in front of our eyes.

But before I go on regarding this I wanted to relay a story regarding Mr. Neel. In 2006 I had applied to become a presenter with the Climate Project, the organization started by Mr. Gore in 2006. I was one of the first to apply and was actually looking forward to being selected to learn it. I was ready to spread this information and couldn't think of anyone I wanted teaching me more than Al Gore. For over twenty years I have loved and respected him very much. Well, I applied but had not heard an answer for a few months. Finally, after contacting a staffer at Mr. Gore's office I was informed that the response to it was more than they had anticipated and they had picked their quota.

Honestly, I was heartbroken because it was very important to me and I knew I could do it and already had ideas on how to convey the message effectively. I was also honestly upset with the staff there because of the lack of response to my application and because I couldn't understand why anyone would be turned away since it was so important. A little while after that unknown to me I received a very nice e-mail from Roy Neel who stated he had read an essay of mine describing that experience and discussing the climate crisis on a political site and thought I had a very compelling way of discussing it and asked me for my address and name so he could look up my application. Imagine, Mr. Gore's right hand man had seen my essay and wanted to help me out.

Anyway as fate would have it, somehow his e -mail had not made its way into the front of my mailbox so I did not see it until I was cleaning it out a few months after. I replied to him and thanked him and have wondered where it would have led. How that happened with the e-mail I still don't know but I at least have the knowledge that how I convey this is appreciated. So formally, thank you Mr. Neel for doing that and I truly wish I'd seen it sooner. It would have been a great honor for me to have personally been a presenter for Al Gore and for this planet... but in essence I still am.

Ok, so we all move on...the question is to where? Australia has done a very good thing by moving on to the future. And they have done so even under the nastiest of atmospheres. Death threats to climate scientists (one who was actually speaking at a university I believe and a member of the audience rose holding a noose and said, welcome to Australia) and also a bombardment by the world's resident denier coal backed debunked shill Christopher Monckton. And yet all the U.S. can muster is a hike in fuel standards (on cars that still run on oil) that takes place 14 yrs from now (as the Arctic continues to melt so they can allow Shell to drill for more oil.) This is where the bully pulpit should come in.

However, again, until we get corporate money out of politics, reverse Citizens United and see a shift in perception regarding the connection between this planet and ourselves (and that primarily includes our food system) and the way we invest in the future, I fear it will take much longer than the time we have to do something effective enough to at least give the next few generations a livable planet.

So on that note I have to wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Neel's assessment not only regarding this crisis but the theft of 2000. And make no mistake that's exactly what it was. But like him I can't get started on that, because looking at the U.S. that could have been had that not happened makes me angrier about what we face now. Which is why I am so grateful Al did not just give up. And I know he did not give up because this is more important to him than him. And to me that is the characteristic of a man of honor.

So hopefully, as we see this carbon tax take hold we will see more people of honor standing up inspired by Australia who will spark other countries including our own to come into the 21st century because that is something that is imperative at this point. Solar and wind are booming but $$$$- big $$$$$ from the very interests Mr. Neel mentioned are doing their best to hide that from the public. I can only hope that with the movements afoot globally including in the U.S. that the people will bring about the change necessary to address this crisis. We have no other choice if we wish to survive.

Thank you, Mr. Neel for being in the forefront of this endeavor.

Thousands Surround White House (And get a political play)

2011-11-13T12:48:00.018-05:00

http://blog.algore.com/2011/11/thousands_surround_white_house.html
Excerpt:

“Demonstrators chanted "yes we can, stop the pipeline," while other protesters carried a plastic tube simulating the pipeline that would run 1,700 miles through six states. The protest drew support from actor Mark Ruffalo, Presidential Medal of Freedom winner John Adams and NASA scientist James Hansen, each of whom spoke to the crowd.”

“The proposed pipeline by developer TransCanada Corp. would carry oil derived from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Houston and Port Arthur, Texas. Opponents say it would bring "dirty oil" that requires huge amounts of energy to extract and could cause an ecological disaster in case of a spill. They are calling on Obama to block the $7 billion project, which is currently being reviewed by the State Department."

"Obama missed most of the protest while he played golf at Fort Belvoir in Virginia during the afternoon."

"Dan Quigley, a freshman at St. Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont, traveled by bus with about 40 students to attend the protest. The 19-year-old said the pipeline could have an adverse effect on greenhouse gases and pose a hazard to water supplies.”
~~~~
Mr.Gore's comment:
"As I have written before, the tar sands are the dirtiest source of liquid fuel on the planet. President Obama should listen to the voices of those outside the White House and block this dirty energy pipeline."

My comment:
Firstly, thank you Mr. Gore for quoting where Obama was at the time of this protest. I noted the same thing and I think it was disrespectful and speak volumes...just like his broken campaign promises. This is one time for sure when even knowing the cesspool Washington DC is, I wish you were president. And I am so happy I am not a member of any organization, political party, special interest, etc. It means I can speak truthfully. That is true freedom.

It appears no socalled “delay” of the Keystone XL is going to stop the big oil companies from now pushing more bitumen through the operating pipelines that already exist in the U.S. Delay Unlikely To Stall Big Oil Companies. Phases 1 & 2 of this pipeline are already up and running and pushing bitumen tarsands from Canada into the U.S in two separate locations already.http://www.npr.org/2011/11/04/142029366/map-transcanadas-keystone-pipeline Where were the protests at the White House about that? The Alberta Clipper which also runs into Wisconsin and is dangerously close to the Great Lakes is being seen as a possible choice to add pumping stations and increase capacity. If they get away with that which this article claims would then equal half of what XL would have piped through, then I don’t see what anyone is talking about regarding a victory. The only way to say there is any victory in this is to stop the tarsands in the first place.

Delaying XL does virtually nothing then in the end from stopping catastrophic climate change as the oil will only be pumped somewhere else and I can bet the Obama administration was aware of that possibility before they “delayed” this clearly for political purposes. They gave the approval for the Alberta Clipper pipeline and claimed the EIS was sound. So what are the chances that even should Obama win next year that he won’t approve this? He won’t have to worry about running for president again.

So if you want to know what we need to do next, we need to STOP THE TARSANDS from entering ANY pipelines, period. We also need to stop any attempt to add new pumping stations to these existing pipelines to increase tarsands capacity and we need to cripple the investors and large banks underwriting the companies buying stakes in this. We need to call on the people of Canada and other countries where these banks are located to do the same. This is not a victory as long as the tarsands continue to flow and destroy our environment! And if we can’t stop it, then I think that is a true confession that the addiction has gone way too far, and feel good campaigns aren’t going to be enough at this point.

And we also need a financial transactions tax that will go a long way in pushing investors to think more sustainably with their investments and in working to look more at longterm growth rather than short term profit at the expense of our environment which affects every aspect of our lives from health to food and water/climate policy. Also, a price on carbon (revenue neutral) must be levied by the U.S Congress withn the next two years and any monies collected either from that and or a financial transaction tax should be used to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels and to also instill more sustainable agricultural policies in our country. Also, we need to change the market mechanism that prices fossil fuels without an emphasis on indirect costs. Those who pollute our planet must start to feel the pinch financially. They have gotten away with their crimes against this planet and future generations long enough.

The IEA just reported that we really only have five years left before we will reach irreversible dangerous climate change. So Keystone XL pipeline or not, we have already come close to reaching the tipping point. Therefore, we also need to be holding this administration accountable for all of the other bows it has made to big oil already and it’s complete failure to lead on this crisis. Saying the words climate change in a speech just does not cut it.

BP, the very company that killed the Gulf (which no one speaks about anymore as people and marinelife continue to suffer the fallout) has been given the greenlight to drill there again (insanity). And Shell which has toxified the Niger Delta will be allowed to now drill in one of the last pristine places on Earth-the Arctic. Where is the outrage about any of this? And while no one else mentions any of this in the MSM, the latest excursion into Libya will also see BP and Shell now seeking contracts to burn their oil as well. And we paid for that.

So the reality of this is unless we work for a paradigm shift in perception we will not stop until the last drop of oil is drilled and sucked out of this planet. And by then it will be too late. The monetary/market and political structures that deceive the public enmasse regarding fossil fuels and price plus their indirect costs and externalities and the cost of the destruction and disease they cause as well as social and political upheaval must be toppled. And that then comes down to some very hard choices not based on party. Which is why I support the OWS movement to hold them all accountable. But I foresee us only getting really serious about this on an individual or any other level when we are truly looking back at ourselves in the abyss. For all of our protesting there is still one elusive factor in all of this: human nature and the affect greed has on it. Figure out how to conquer that and this is a piece of cake.

And don't get me wrong, protesting against XL was the right thing to do... only, it isn't just about a piece of pipe. We need to STOP the tarsands as a whole. For our water. For our air. For other species. For our forests. For our culture. For our climate. For indigenous communities. For our children. And one way to do that is again through stopping the investments in it by those banks in the 1%. Pulling out your money from banks that underwrite the tarsands and boycotting companies that have stakes in it is one way we can all tell Obama and all "leaders" of governments that "delaying" a pipeline is not the same as standing on principle to stop this. It still goes on. I read a tweet on Twitter where Bill McKibben asked what should be next. Really? I should think that would be obvious:

STOP THE TARSANDS.

Al Gore Says Short Term Thinking "Functionally Insane"

2011-11-09T12:34:00.011-05:00

Al Gore Says Short Term Thinking "Functionally Insane"

In survey several years ago, CEOs were asked whether they would make an investment that would meet their internal return-on-investment targets and make their business stronger, profitable and sustainable. One hitch: It would also make the company slightly miss its next quarterly earnings estimate.

Eighty percent said no.

That, according to former Vice President Al Gore, is "functionally insane."
"It's not only insane where the values that we share are concerned, it's functionally insane where the well-being of that business is concerned," Gore said today. "It's the wrong decision for the investors, for the shareholders, and for all the stakeholders."

It all boils down to short-termism, he said this morning in a keynote speech kicking off the annual BSR Conference in San Francisco. Short-term thinking not only runs counter to a healthy and sustainable marketplace, he said, it also prevents serious, much-needed action on climate change.

"We now have about $7 trillion' worth of sub-prime carbon assets in the global economy," he said. "Their value, like the sub-prime mortgages, is based on an assumption that is highly questionable. The assumption is that it is perfectly O.K. to dump 90 million tons of heat-trapping pollution into the thin shell of the atmosphere surrounding our planet every 24 hours as if the atmosphere is an open sewer."
The parallel between the sub-prime mortgage mess and the climate change crisis can be described by the mentality of "IBGYBG," Gore said: "I'll be gone, you'll be gone."

He called for policy changes, a tax on carbon, loyalty shares that reward long-term equity-holders and a tax on financial transactions, which may curb the high-frequency stock trades that drive short-term financial thinking.

Businesses must also take a lead role in driving the market toward sustainability, Gore said. Their numbers may be growing, he said, but not without some familiar challenges.
end of excerpt.

BSR Conference 2011

This is the weblink for the conference. I don't know if Mr. Gore knew this but two of the sponsors were Chevron and EXXON Mobil. Two companies that definitely do not care about the type of investing he was talking about. I really wonder if some of these criminal polluting companies just throw some money around into sponsoring these events to greenwash themselves. That is also something we need to be very vigilant about. Chevron destroyed the Ecuadorian Amazon and refuses to pay for it Mr. Gore. And you know the story of EXXON Mobil as well as their financial support of climate denialism. They are the EPITOME of short term profits and damn everything else, especially environmental stewardship.

"He called for policy changes, a tax on carbon, loyalty shares that reward long-term equity-holders and a tax on financial transactions, which may curb the high-frequency stock trades that drive short-term financial thinking"

These are all good ways to bring our perceptions of the world back to where investing isn't just tantamount to standing at a craps table in a casino. Also, it is not just about the money, but the moral investment along with the financial that ensures growth and sustainability not only of the investment but the environment. You simply cannot have true growth in a short term market timeframe. As we have seen it only leads to collapse.

There was a time when people who were entrepreneurs with big ideas sought out longterm investing in the hopes of those ideals not only making profits over the longterm, but also in bringing about an atmosphere that was not exclusive, predatory, or tipped to only favor one specific entity at the expense of all others.

However, this is a symptom of a bigger societal problem where quick fixes and getting everything fast has infected every part of society. Fast food, instant messaging, fast internet connections at lightning speed and quick fix democracy (case in point the 2000 USSC decision that picked the wrong man as president) are just a small sampling of the society we have made where fast transactions for quick profit and gratification without considering the consequences have now also led us to a climate tipping point. And yes, that is insane and needs to change if we are to save our markets and ourselves.

Australia Parliament Passes Carbon Tax Bill

2011-11-08T18:29:00.007-05:00

Al Gore: History Is Made In Australia

"This is a historic moment. Australia's Parliament has put the nation's first carbon price into law. With this vote, the world has turned a pivotal corner in the collective effort to solve the climate crisis. This success is the result of the tireless work of an unprecedented coalition that came together to support the legislation, the leadership of Prime Minister Gillard, and the courage of legislators to take a vote that helps to safeguard the future of all Australians."

end of excerpt.
~~~
Yes it is Al, and good for Australia. Other countries have had carbon taxes and their economies have not crashed because it has spawned a shift to renewable energy that actually helped their economies (Sweden and British Columbia just two examples.)

This carbon tax is the quickest, most moral and most economically fair way to decrease the carbon emissions contributing to climate change and even Tony Abbott knew that. Too much damn political propaganda and fear being spewed by fossil fuel companies in telling people this will end the world. Toxifying this planet and killing its water, species, land and people is really the way people want to go? I hope this winds up spurring investment in renewable energy that brings real choice to the people of Australia and in the longterm lowers prices and brings a cleaner healthier planet, because that is what this is about as well.

With coal on the way out and peak oil setting in, there will be no choice but to transition. It is crucial to prepare for that future world. This is the best choice among others since it is obvious people cannot understand beyond the fearmongering that in regards to this global crisis we need to prioritize. If people are willing to spend hundreds a month on energy sources that destroy this planet without complaining about it hurting their pocketbooks as energy companies that pollute with abandon rake in billions, why is putting a bit more to work towards a better world such a hard thing to do?

People spend more money on junk food grown in ways that destroy this planet and never give it a second thought. "Cheap" doesn't denote better. In this case, it denotes a fossil fuel market delusion meant to deceive consumers and to monopolize their energy choices, which is the true affront to democracy as the effects of climate change become more frequent, severe and expensive. So again, priorities...Gold bars for the oil whores, or a planet you can live on?

You don't want your electric bill to go up by a few cents and don't think paying a little extra (or using less) to provide a better planet for your children is logical when you more than likely waste more than that on junk food, movies, vacations, WASTING ENERGY, etc without a complaint, then you deserve what you get. But we all shouldn't have to suffer because you don't want to hold those responsible for using our atmosphere, a commons, as a sewer. 2010 saw the greatest increase in greenhouse gases ever. Just what do you think we are heading for? When does this go beyond the dollar bill?

This is for those who continue to use ignorance/ideology/politics as excuses in refusing to understand what this is about.

Carbon Tax.org

It's not carbon trading:

"Why revenue-neutral carbon taxes are essential,
what’s happening now, and how you can help

The Obama Administration and Congress are being called upon to address 21st Century climate realities. In a carbon-constrained world, a permanent and increasing U.S. carbon tax is essential to reduce the emissions that are driving global warming.

■A carbon tax is a tax on the carbon content of fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas).
■A carbon tax is the most economically efficient means to convey crucial price signals and spur carbon-reducing investment. Our spreadsheet shows how fast emissions will fall.
■Carbon taxes should be phased in so businesses and households have time to adapt.
■A carbon tax should be revenue-neutral: government can soften the impacts of added costs by paying back the tax revenues (“dividends”) or reducing other taxes (“tax-shifting”).
■Support for a carbon tax is growing steadily among public officials; economists; scientists; policy experts; business, religious, and environmental leaders; and ordinary citizens.
■Proposals for cap-and-trade with offsets cannot deliver the needed emissions reductions. See the courageous EPA lawyers’ superb video, “The Huge Mistake” (YouTube)."

ARE YOU EMBARRASSED YET U.S. CONGRESS? YOU SHOULD BE. Others are moving while you stand still in your superstition and political lethargy.

Climate Change Impacts In Australia

Australia has been one of the epicenters of the effects of climate change. Good to see them taking the responsibility for it to the source of it and making it revenue neutral. But of course, instead of the companies involved looking to transition to renewable energy and finding creative ways to prioritize the money they waste on large corp.salaries and other excesses, they will whine like crybabies about this like it will break them compared to the billions already spent due to disasters. Totally illogical. Hope to see other inititiatives regarding land management taking hold as well. Protecting forests, reforestation and sustainable agriculture (agroecology) are also all ways to tackle this. Farmers in Australia need to sequester CO 2 in soil. Also, agroforestry is working wonders in South Africa regarding maize yields. Imagine that. If people do the right thing we won't need laws and bills to make them do so. It is up to US.

Berkeley Earth Studies report confirming climate warming data funded by denier Koch brothers

2011-10-26T13:58:00.016-04:00

In a twist of delicious irony, a new study just released by Berkeley Earth Studies established by University of California physics professor Richard Muller and funded by a number of groups including those lobbying against action on climate change such as the Koch brothers has confirmed what many of us have already known: that surface temperatures of the Earth have warmed by 1-1.8 degrees since the mid 1950's and that this corrolates to the data as presented by U.S. and UK agencies. (Which also shows the criminality of the hacking of climate scientist e-mails in East Anglia that was known as "climategate" rather than climate-email-hacking-gate.) Of course, not a peep on this from the complicit oil/coal/natural gas sponsored American media.

This disputes the outright misrepresentations presented by climate skeptics such as Christopher Monckton and others who have contended along with the aid of such media farces as FOX that the Earth has actually cooled and that global warming actually wasn't happening at all.

Berkely Earth Summary

Koch Brother funded study confirms climate data

Mr. Gore writes on this report on his blog here. All I can say is that neither he nor any of us should expect an apology for the damage caused by these liars. Nor do I expect that they will have an attack of conscience and finally realize what the true cost of those lies have been and will be. They serve a higher master and it is Mammon and the profit excreted from a dirty, toxic, unhealthy industry that has colluded with governments and banking organizations worldwide in perpetuating their status quo at the expense of our environment, health and future climate balance. Soulless people such as these do not have the capacity to understand the nuances of moral integrity and social/climate justice.

It would surely be a validation of the Mayan 2012 prophecy if they actually did have a moral epiphany at this point. Whether they do or not however, we don't have time to wait for it. As this data corroborates the Earth is swiftly heading towards a tipping point of irreversible consequences that will alter the way in which we live on this planet as it will be harder to sustain the systems that actually give us life. Agriculture, water and other species are already being affected by this.

So how long do we give them to come around before we decide to move?

In light of this I will be watching Durban, South Africa and COP 17. Let's see just how much of a change this will really make. And gee, do you think if I send this study to President Obama he won't approve the Keystone XL pipeline? I suppose only if his newly employed Keystone XL lobbyist advisor approves...More to come I'm sure.

Oh, and as a comment to the usual responses on Huffington Post regarding your same post on this:

Well guess what Mr. Gore.... Humans are simply not up to this task. We are a failure on the whole as a species. The majority are so engaged in politically partisan, ideological, egotistical bickering and one upping that the truth of the situation doesn't show up as a blip on any of their screens. I honestly don't know why you waste any time posting anything on this site or anywhere else about this on the Internet as it is obvious that it is exactly money that is all anyone cares about. The true value of this world we are destroying is lost on them. They yammer on and on and on about addressing this costing money but haven't a clue as to the damage already being done around the world to culture, biodiversity, other species, and the systems that keep us thriving because of climate change because they never look beyond their modems and their own damn wallets as they stew in their ignorance and apathy.
~~~
What can I say? It is frustrating to say the least.

Tribute and Special Memorial To Steve Jobs

2011-10-25T14:27:00.002-04:00

This is the service held for Apple employees to remember the imagination and innovation of Steve Jobs. Mr. Gore begins speaking at about 35 minutes into the video. Personally, Steve Jobs was a man of great brilliance, prescience and someone who did the best he could in moving the world forward. I will exclude any other comments I may have regarding the corporate environment in general or technology's current journey. This memorial was about the man and he truly was a genius who made the world a better place for many. He will be missed.

"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world".

Buddha

Al Gore interviewed at AsiaD

2011-10-21T21:01:00.005-04:00

Al Gore At AsiaD

This is an incredibly comprehensive and informational interview wth Mr. Gore on TV, Tech, Apple, climate change, govt. etc. Very much worth reading.

Mr. Gore's Plenary Speech At Great Lakes Biennial

2011-10-17T17:43:00.004-04:00

Al Gore's Plenary Speech(clip)

This is part of a post regarding the worst toxic algae bloom in Lake Erie in years.

The conditions we see in Lake Erie now are a call to action. It is said that the condititons in Lake Erie usually dictate the future for the other four. After expending so much time and effort to make such inroads in cleaning up the mistakes of the past, it would be a true tragedy to see it all reversed.

Water levels in the lakes are important as well in regards to maintaining their health. Water levels have been down and with Lake Erie being the most shallow of them all, this too (water evaportation due to increasing temperatures) can have an effect on algae blooms as well as overflows due to less but more extreme rainfalls that move fertilizer downstream.

Plant a tree in the Al Gore Forest in Colombia

2011-10-15T19:16:00.002-04:00

Al Gore Forest/Tree Nation

As a member of Tree Nation I now have the ability to plant a forest in one of the locations of Tree Nation. The three locations are Niger, Nicaragua and Columbia, near the Orinoco River. I chose Colombia due to the rate of deforestation in the Amazon, and named my forest in dedication to Al Gore because of his work regarding climate change and reforestation.

If you are interested in planting a tree in this forest in Colombia to help decrease deforestation you can go to the link.

How about a real change for Current TV?

2011-10-15T11:54:00.002-04:00

My note to Mr. Gore regarding their Current lineup. They just announced another political show with former Gov. of Michigan Jennifer Granholm titled "The War Room." To me, not a title that indicates progressivism. So I wrote this note in order to be honest about what I think and what I would like to see. To be honest, I'm tired of the corporate politicians who write books about themselves and join boards like polluters DOW Chemical (which conveniently Ex-Gov Granholm resigned from the day her "new show" was announced) then look to reinvent themselves because the money is better somewhere else. I thought Current TV was going to be the people's agora, not just the usual fare.

To Mr. Gore:

Dear Al,

I am sure you know I love and respect you dearly and have supported you for many years. You were actually one of the only candidates I can say I actually voted "for." I would not come here as frequently as I do willing to participate and spread information that I believe people need to know were it not for the fact that I do believe it matters and I am truly grateful for this venue to do it in. I have a deep passion for the environment and believe me, being associated in any way with your endeavors on that gives me hope. However, I have to be honest as someone who has been here since the first day and state that I am a bit disappointed with where this station is going. There are those of us out here who do not weigh everything based on partisan politics. But yet that is exactly the goal of this station it appears... to make everything a political issue. And while it may be from a democratic view, I personally think your lineup is overkill. It's exactly why I don't watch any other cable networks either.

I came here in the hope of discovering new young talent making news at its source and telling us interesting stories with us as well as the participants and frankly, I don't think it was given a fair chance. So, here I am again going out on a limb and telling you what I think would be an absolutely necessary show for this station since "speaking truth" was something you told Cenk Uyger was what you wanted;

You wrote a book titled "Our Choice" which gave us a very clear roadmap as to the solutions to climate change/biodistress based on actual solution summits with scientists and other involved in them. We don't have a show that lays that roadmap out to give people information, access and hope to these solutions. Why can't we have a show that is non partisan that lays out that roadmap? Why can't we have as part of that show segments where we go to the places experiencing climate change so people can actually see how it is affecting the world ( which could also include participation of members here?) Why can we not have a show that gives us segments on places in the developing world using these solutions already and introducing some we may not have known about? A show that is not based on political spin, but moral courage and hope for the future? A true environmental show that sends a message that we are all connected in this?

You know the effects of climate change are now becoming more pronounced and what they are affecting (water, agriculture and access to both.) People need to know this and the solutions and see that they are being implemented and are making a difference. They need to know they are viable and accessible in a media where all we see are propaganda ads for oil, natural gas and now even tarsands. I think this type of show is relevant, important and urgently needed. It is along the lines of an "Environmental Vanguard."

Beyond all of the politics there lies a more important underlying issue: the perception we have of this world and being made aware of the paradigm shift we need globally in order to change that perception to sustain this planet for the present and future. I know you understand this. I would love to see that expressed here and frankly am not impressed by shows called, "The War Room" where political prognosticators get to show off their egos in an attempt to one up the opposition. We need real solutions to this and I just don't think that will happen the longer we stay embroliled in these partisan political back and forths. Now do I think this will be listened to considering I'm just a lowly citizen? I can only hope, because it' s way past time.

Thanks,
Jan

Al Gore speaks at low carbon investment conference in Scotland

2011-10-02T22:24:00.016-04:00

Al Gore speaks at low carbon investment conference in Scotland

Al Gore has warned that there is now clear proof that climate change is directly responsible for the extreme and devastating floods, storms and droughts that displaced millions of people this year.

Speaking to an audience of business leaders, political leaders including Scotland's first minister Alex Salmond and green energy entrepreneurs in Edinburgh, Gore said the world was at a "fork in the road".

The former US vice-president and climate campaigner also argued that America has suffered a "breakdown in democratic governance", because members of Congress are obsessed with appeasing special interests in return for campaign funding, rather than confronting climate change.

The former vice president and climate campaigner said that US democracy had been undermined. "In the language of computer culture, our democracy has been hacked," he said.

In a near hour-long speech to the Scottish low-carbon investment conference Gore said the evidence from the floods in Pakistan, China, South Korea and Columbia was so compelling that the case for urgent action by world leaders to combat carbon emissions was now overwhelming, Gore said.

"Observations in the real world make it clear that it's happening now, it's real, it's with us," he said. Failing to take action meant the world would face a catastrophe.

He added that nearly every climate scientist actively publishing on the subject now agreed there was a causal link between carbon emissions and the sharp increase in intense and extreme weather events seen across the globe.

"Every single national academy of science of every major country on earth agrees with the consensus and the one's that don't agree with it do not exist. This is what they say to governments: 'The need for urgent action is now indisputable'.

"The scientists have made a subtle but profound change in the way that they speak about the connection between the climate crisis and the extreme weather events. They used to say you can't connect any extreme weather event to climate because there are multiple factors. Now they've changed.

"The environment in which all storms are formed has changed. It's influence is now present according to the leading scientists in all storms, and they speak of relative causation."

Gore said there was now evidence that the globe's hydrological cycles were changing: as the atmosphere and oceans warmed, more water was evaporating and getting stored in the atmosphere. The amount of water vapour over the oceans had increased by 4% in 30 years, particularly around the tropics and sub-tropics.

In turn this fed even heavier and more violent storms and flooding incidents, which in Pakistan displaced 20 million people earlier this year, and which forced out 8.5 million from 13 provinces in China.

This destabilisation of global weather patterns then fed into a complex cycle of more intense and prolonged droughts in drought-prone regions, which in turn caused more frequent and more vicious wildfires, increased desertification of agricultural land, and was now affecting river levels in the Amazon.
snip
Arguing that the younger generation would demand world leaders showed the "moral courage" to take action, he heaped praise on Salmond, applauding his "vision and leadership" for championing wave, tidal and offshore wind power in Scotland. He said the rapid growth in new renewable technologies gave hope that a successful shift from fossil fuels was possible.
end of excerpt

___
And this is exactly what we are doing to the hydrologic cycle... overloading it. According to a shocking NASA report, global precipitation events were so extreme last year that sea levels fell dramatically even though they have been rising steadily for over a century due to thermal expansion / melting glaciers. Sea levels have actually been rising twice as fast in the past few decades aside from some ups and downs, but the satellite record shows a decline of 6 mm globally last year. And that has been what has evaporated and come back down on Pakistan, China, Australia, the US, Colombia, Sri Lanka, India, Brazil, etc. Mr. Gore is correct on this.

This is what I am looking forward to. Of course like anything else, risk assessments need to be made, especially regarding effects from storms, tsunamis, use of oceans for desalination as well as effects on marinelife. However, the energy of the oceans is untapped and I actually do not understand why this source has been so limited, except of course for the stranglehold the fossil fuel lobby has on our government and a general lack of vision.

Though I also have to add that I am also disappointed in Scotland regarding their relationship with oil companies. We will never break this addiction if we keep supporting fossil fuels which are now being priced cheaper than renewable energy sources, thus inhibiting investments in truly innovative cleaner technologies.

Scotland to build world's first tidal energy farm

World's first tidal energy farm to be built off Islay
Published Date: 18 March 2011
By JOHN ROSS
THE world's first tidal power project is to be built in the Sound of Islay, after approval was given by the Scottish Government.

The £40 million scheme will be able to generate electricity for more than 5,000 homes - double the number on Islay.

The ten-turbine, 10MW facility, being developed by Scottish Power Renewables, will further develop emerging tidal energy technology and is seen as a forerunner for much larger projects in the Pentland Firth.

Plans are under way to generate 1,600MW of marine energy in the firth, off Caithness, following the world's first commercial wave and tidal leasing round announced last year.

The approval of the Islay scheme was announced yesterday by finance secretary John Swinney, who determined the application as it is in energy minister Jim Mather's Argyll and Bute constituency.

Mr Swinney said it was the world's only project of its kind with consent.

He added: "With around a quarter of Europe's potential tidal energy resource and a tenth of the wave capacity, Scotland's seas have unrivalled potential to generate green energy, create new, low-carbon jobs, and bring billions of pounds of investment to Scotland."
end of excerpt.

Mr. Gore also made a stop in Finland

Was wondering if Al ever thought of video conferencing these events? You know, showing the true potential of networking and technology as opposed to giving airlines business.

Wangari Maathai, Nobel Laureate and Leader of Greenbelt Movement Dies at 71

2011-09-26T23:20:00.011-04:00

On The Passing Of Wangari Maathai-By Al Gore
September 26, 2011 : 9:19 AM

"It is with great sadness that I learned today of Wangari Maathai's passing. Wangari overcame incredible obstacles to devote her life to service—service to her children, to her constituents, to the women, and indeed all the people of Kenya-- and to the world as a whole. Wangari was a warm and devoted mother and I send my condolences to her family. She worked tirelessly both as an elected Member of Parliament and an Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources. She forged new ground for women in Kenya helping shatter what we would call the "glass ceiling" in the United States. And, she found her true passion as the founder of the Greenbelt Movement. As the first environmentalist and first African woman to earn the Nobel Peace Prize, Wangari served as a true inspiration to us all."

"Former Vice President Al Gore (L) and environmental and political activist Wangari Maathai accept the Chairman's Award during the 40th NAACP Image Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on February 12, 2009 in Los Angeles, California." (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images for NAACP)
____________

Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and leader of Greenbelt Movement dies at 71

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, President Obama, and other world leaders today paid tribute to Professor Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and one of Africa’s foremost environmental campaigners, who died on Sunday. She was 71.

“It is with great sadness that the family of Professor Wangari Maathai announces her passing away on 25th September, 2011, at the Nairobi Hospital, after a prolonged and bravely borne struggle with cancer. Her loved ones were with her at the time,” the Green Belt Movement announced on its website. Maathai was the founder of the Green Belt Movement that encouraged women in rural Kenya to plant trees to improve their livelihoods through better access to clean water, firewood for cooking and other resources. Her movement planted an estimated 45 million trees in Africa and assisted nearly 900,000 women to establish tree nurseries and plant trees to reverse the effects of deforestation, according to the United Nations tribute to her.

“Her passing is a loss for the people of Kenya and the world,” Ban Ki-moon said in a statement published on the UN website. Maathai was a “globally recognized champion for human rights and women’s empowerment” and a “pioneer in articulating the links between human rights, poverty, environmental protection and security,” he added.

“She was a visionary who saw over the tree canopy, but never lost sight of the roots.”

“She was a visionary who saw over the tree canopy, but never lost sight of the roots,” said Jan McAlpine, Director of the Secretariat of the UN Forum on Forests, adding that Ms. Maathai was a great woman and a wonderful leader who made a difference both in Kenya and around the world, one tree at a time.

“Wangari Maathai was a force of nature,” UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said in a news release. “While others deployed their power and life force to damage, degrade and extract short term profit from the environment, she used hers to stand in their way, mobilize communities and to argue for conservation and sustainable development over destruction.

“She was, like the acacias and the Prunus Africana trees Wangari fought so nobly and assiduously to conserve, strong in character and able to survive sometimes the harshest of conditions,” he added.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2004 to Wangari Maathai for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.

“Peace on earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment. Maathai stands at the front of the fight to promote ecologically viable social, economic and cultural development in Kenya and in Africa. She has taken a holistic approach to sustainable development that embraces democracy, human rights and women’s rights in particular. She thinks globally and acts locally,” the Committee said when it announced its decision to award her the Nobel Peace Prize.

“Maathai combines science, social commitment and active politics. More than simply protecting the existing environment, her strategy is to secure and strengthen the very basis for ecologically sustainable development,” the Committee added.
more at the link
____

Greenbelt Movement
Website for the Greenbelt Movement. Information on dedications, testimonials, memorials, etc. can be found here.
_____
For those who claimed environmentalism and peace were not connected, the life of Dr. Maathai proves them wrong. Depletion of resources especially now in a world where those resources are being depleted twice as fast as they are being restored is one of the primary reasons for conflict. Water scarcity, deforestation, land grabs, pollution, etc. as well as the effects of climate change as a result of human actions is already leading to crop failure, degradation of land, water scarcity and other effects on biodiversity up the food chain and web of life.

Dr. Maathai understood all of these residual consequences of our actions and devoted her life to preserving forests which balance out biodiversity and climate while providing water, sustenance and a way of life for so many indigenous people who now see their land and water being sacrificed for corporate greed. For those who did not know of her, your life can only be enriched by reading her story of courage.

I got to know of her by reading of her while researching a paper on the environment when I was college. I learned of the Greenbelt Movement and what she had done in regards to inspiring the women in her group to plant trees. At this time it was considered a threat for women to take on so much power in controlling anything, even the planting of a tree. Yet, Wangari Maathai and her movement brought about great change in Kenya and the world with passion, resolve and courage even in the face of beatings and arrests. For me she was the personification of courage and an inspiration in my life.

A great light has gone out, but the light and hope she gave to this world will never go out. Thank you so much for the gift you gave us all. We will hopefully pay it forward.

My Dedication To Dr. Maathai

You too can plant a tree to keep her legacy alive.

TAKING ROOT: The Vision Of Wangari Maathai

"I will be a hummingbird"

I will do my best.

Gore Promises To Try To Break U.S. Impasse On Climate Change

2011-09-23T15:38:00.006-04:00

Gore promises to try to break U.S.impasse on climate change

Gore says he will do what he can to break the US policy "impasse" on international climate- change agreements

SUE BLAINE and ALISTAIR ANDERSON
Published:2011/09/22 08:17:04 AM

ENVIRONMENTALIST Al Gore, who was US vice-president under Bill Clinton, said in Johannesburg yesterday that he would do what he could to break the US policy "impasse" on international climate- change agreements.

The US’s continued refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol is part of the reason some countries, including Australia, Canada and China — the world’s second-largest economy — were arguing against a second commitment period for the protocol. The first period for the only international agreement on global collaboration to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere ends on December 31 next year.

SA is hosting this year’s 17th Conference of the Parties of the united Nations UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Durban (Cop17). The conference is not expected to deliver agreement on a second commitment period.

Mr Gore, speaking at the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit, said the world had a choice: to continue on the route of fossil fuel and its inherent risks, or to "put people to work in this massive transition to a low-carbon economy". A price on carbon — whether a tax or "cap and trade" — was essential, he said.

Mr Gore said excessive short- term focus in the world business arena, and in politics, had led to the financial crisis. "When dealing with the climate crisis, we can’t afford to have a short-term focus … 90-million tons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere every 24 hours, and 20% of that will be there in 20000 years."

Carbon dioxide is one of several greenhouse gases scientists say cause a warming effect that has precipitated climate change. It has become the symbol for them all.

Climate scientists were concerned particularly about SA’s and "all of southern Africa’s" increased potential to suffer drought because of climate change, Mr Gore said.

But the climate crisis was also an opportunity for effecting a sea- change in the global economy, he said. Even without the negative effect of carbon emissions, disclosures on WikiLeaks had recently alleged that Gulf oil producers had not been completely truthful about the rate of decline in their oil reserves and new oil discoveries.

"We can’t go on being dependent on oil. It affects energy security," Mr Gore said. He said increased demand for renewable energy sources would lead industry to spend on research and development to hasten improvements and drive down prices.

end of excerpt
______
It is wise to also corrolate the necessary transition to renewable energy and a low carbon economy to peak oil. We need to transition to preserve civilization as we know it, even if there were no climate change. It is simply necessary for the continued existence of our species at this point, with the effects of climate change/biodistress only making it more urgent. I have followed the conferences from Bali on, and have become very disenchanted with them as a whole. All we see is talk, reports read and empty promises as the usual heavyweight nations throw that weight around to obfuscate their responsibility while ignoring the plight of indigenous and poor peoples of the world who are experiencng the worst of this.

In a sense, seeing these effects spreading to the industrialized world makes me wonder if perhaps the tone will now change at these conferences. That those who continue to throw their weight around will finally understand that we are all equal in a drought, or a storm, or a flood. That we are all part of the human family and in order for us to make progress we are going to have see that human equality. Oh well, I guess I really am a dreamer and an optimist.

However, it has now come to a point where failure cannot be an option. By looking at the current Co2 ppm if we stay at the same pace, by 2020 we will indeed be in very urgent trouble if we do not do something now. Humanity is at a crossroads. However, when we are still arguing with deniers who still put out lies, even to the point of still saying that Co2 does not trap heat... where are we going?

As I've said before, I am not gung ho on cap and trade myself. I don't understand how giving corporations the ability to buy up trees across the world and in many cases push indigenous people off their land while still being able to spew out the same emissions here helps in the longrun, and yes it is open to abuse and unfair if not tied to adequate caps that are enforced. I have always been a proponent of a revenue neutral carbon tax that seeks to hold the polluter accountable while working as an incentive for them to move to more sustainable business practices and use the revenue which would be tied into payoll taxes to spur investments in renewable energy projects that would be available to consumers that would bring prices down through competition and in the longterm result in them saving money while also bringing us jobs. However, if we get neither, we can't depend on the moral courage of all businesses to just do it as they will say it is not economically feasible. So the bottomline on that is that it has to be consumers who then demand that companies conduct themselves sustainably in order to get their business. That is happening more than in the past and if it got to the point where we could see a stark difference without using any of these mechanisms it would be fine with me. Unfortunately, I don't know if we can count on that or other options to be timed with the Earth's schedule.

Al Gore To Discuss Climate Change In Detroit

2011-09-23T15:32:00.007-04:00

Vice President Al Gore To Discuss Climate Change In Detroit

The International Joint Commission (IJC) is pleased to announce that former Vice President, best-selling author and Nobel Prize co-recipient Al Gore will be the plenary keynote speaker at its Great Lakes Water Quality Biennial Meeting in Detroit, Michigan at 1:15 pm on October 13, 2011.

“Vice President Gore’s appearance underlines the importance of the IJC’s Biennial Meeting,” said Lana Pollack, U.S. Chair of the IJC. “The Biennial is a true summit of everyone from interested members of the public to a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. His efforts on climate change will inform the IJC’s future science-based work on Great Lakes climate impacts.”

Canadian Chair Joe Comuzzi noted: “We have a very substantive three-day program focusing on topics of concern to both scientists and the public, such as the increase in toxic algal blooms, the need to keep beaches healthy, rapid response to invasions of alien aquatic species and emerging chemicals of concern. Vice President Gore joins a distinguished and long line of thought-provoking speakers who have addressed the Biennial Meeting about scientific issues that are vitally important to both Canada and the U.S.”

Before serving two terms as the 45th Vice President, Mr. Gore served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. He is the author of bestsellers Earth in the Balance, An Inconvenient Truth, The Assault on Reason, and Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis. In 2007, Mr. Gore was the co-recipient, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, of the Nobel Peace Prize for “informing the world of the dangers posed by climate change.” In addition to a variety of other important projects, Gore spends the majority of his time as chairman of The Climate Reality Project, a nonprofit focused on solutions to the climate crisis.

The Biennial Meeting is being held October 12-14 on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Under terms of the Canada-US Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the IJC convenes the Biennial Meeting to report on progress toward restoration of the physical, chemical and biological quality of the waters of the basin ecosystem. In particular, the IJC and its Great Lakes Regional Office in Windsor are charged with engaging and informing the public about restoration efforts.
________
I am pleased to see Al speaking at this event! It is so very important to preserve the Great Lakes which are now in danger due to coastal erosion, invasive species, pollution and declining water tables due to the effects of climate change as well as effects now from tarsands development. Thirty five million people depend on the Great Lakes, the last great source of freshwater in an area of rich and immense biodiversity. The Great Lakes must be preserved and not fall prey to diversion for privitization or the whims of those who would seek to loosen clean water restrictions.

This is also a must see documentary on the Great Lakes called Waterlife.

Site about Great Lakes Environment and Restoration

Great Lakes Environment

Crossposted at my other blog here:

Water Is Life

Al Gore talks about criticisms regarding Reality

2011-09-18T15:12:00.003-04:00

This is an interview with Mr. Gore with Tom Zeller of HuffPost Green.

I wish the interviewer would have stated exactly what environmentalists are questioning Mr. Gore's way of getting out this message. Personally I find it a bit arrogant because it is a very hard issue to get across because it is so grey to so many people and black and white to others. And in Mr. Gore's case, he already has an unfriendly media and RW ideologues to deal with. Also as he has correctly stated before corporations like Koch Industries have more in the way of dollars to use to spread misinformation and doubt. We're talking about decades of this misinformation being fed to people over and over and over again trying to lull them into some false sense of security that everything is OK just to protect their own balance sheets.

I would then hope any so called "environmentalists" who find fault with Mr. Gore's method of educating on this would do it better if they can and or work to help him do that instead of constantly criticizing him as a messenger. He never proclaimed he was the leader of anything. He made a movie on it (after having to be talked into it which I can understand,) wrote a couple of good books on this crisis, did his presentations, went up to Capitol Hill three times and actually did more I would suspect than many others in the past few years to get out a message the forces of resistance are very adamant about seeing silenced to protect themselves, while others ignored this.

But isn't that the way? You dedicate much of your life to an important cause because it is important and in the process you pour out your soul only to have it all relegated to irrelevancy by people who think they always know more than you or have all of the answers but can never quite seem to articulate them themselves effectively. I will then be waiting for the environmental groups that think his thirty plus years of trying to get through to the brainwashed distracted masses in this country that place more importance on celebrity news than this to show us all the way since they've all done such a good job up until now.

*And as an addendum: perhaps if the "Gore support" groups on the Internet that were so gung ho about pushing him to run for president in past years after 2000 had actually concentrated their energy and efforts on supporting his environmental endeavors as he asked, we may have been able to reach more people instead of them just concentrating on politics and getting their 15 minutes of fame.

Things seem to have a way of coming full circle, don't they?

24 Hours of Reality: Earth Definitely In The Balance

2011-09-16T12:22:00.026-04:00

Video streaming by Ustream

This past Wednesday and Thursday there was an event that took place that once again reiterated the urgency of a crisis that scientists have been warning us about for the last five plus decades. 24 Hours of Reality started at 8pm EST culminating in 23 subsequent hours from around the world in relaying to the over 8 million viewers the urgency of a crisis that warranted our attention all of those years ago. And I personally think it succeeded in doing just that. While in my own personal opinion I think some of the presenters could have been a bit more passionate about the information, it nevertheless was an effective tool in showing the reality of the consequences of the human forcings upon our natural processes that are now pushing this planet to a tipping point. Although, some complained of the monotony of the same presentation over and over and over again and I can also see that point. It actually might have been better to do a documentary on the effects of climate change globally with us actually seeing testimonials from people experiencing its effects (like the Inuit in Alaska) then have Al with the help of the scientists tie it all together along with the information on the well funded denier movement and a special segment on solutions and their availability to us right now. However, I still think the point was made.

There is definitely a need to remove the doubt which has been paid for by entities such as the Marshall Institute which was also instrumental in sowing seeds of doubt about missile defense, acid rain, effects of smoking and now seeds of doubt regarding the established and settled science behind global warming. And the established science that was discussed by the scientists on the panels put together for this event that spoke the facts about a world on the precipice regarding food, water and humanity, but with solutions that can still be implemented and are being implemented by the most unlikely among us were also informative.

A boy in Malawi who made a windmill out of old bicycle parts and other materials that wound up serving the needs of his community. The rise of solar in places like Sierra Leone and Kenya, as well as the international shift towards renewable energy even here in the US where wind energy has soared made the message clear: This is not a political issue, but a human one. Our ability to survive the effects of what we have now brought upon ourselves is indeed in the balance in the greatest test of the human spirit.

In watching this these were the messages: that this transcends politics and all of the other stigmatisms placed on the human condition. That we now must finally see that it matters not where you live, or your culture, or your beliefs, or your color, or your biases because this is a real crisis that calls upon our moral courage as citizens of this planet to make it right as best we can now possibly do. And that finally we must bring out into the light of day those who have been slinking in the darkness doing all they could to keep this truth from being believed for what it is and thus delaying action on a crisis of our environment and conscience that now sees our work made even harder.

These are messages we must take to heart, and to our pens, and our modems, and our voices, and our votes. There is no contestation of these facts. Every national scientific academy in the world agrees that this is happening and that we humans are primarily responsible for these shifts and changes by our actions. Every scientific institution whose scientists publish in the peer reviewed journals agrees that this is happening and is primarily driven by human activity.

The Earth revolves around the sun, gravity keeps you grounded and CO2 traps heat. And when more of it goes into our atmosphere than is within the natural envelope that keeps our temperature comfortable for our existence and the balance of our ecosystems, it traps more of the sun's infrared rays thus warming the lower atmosphere and raising temperature. This combines with other greenhouse gases in our atmosphere such as water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels, land usage, deforestation etc. and it amplifies the effects of the forcings upon the atmosphere resulting in patterns that lead us to water evaporation, droughts, sea level rise, glacier melt, floods, storms, as well as species invasion, extinction and the spread of diseases. And the more we continue to treat the atmosphere as an open sewer the more we amplify these effects now to the point where we have actually managed to oversaturate the hydrologic cycle which explains in part the severity and frequency of the global events that we have experienced costing us lives, agriculture, water quality, economies and biodiversity.

The atmosphere like our water is a public trust, a public commons if you will. Not to be used as a dumping ground at the whim of those who have the money to do so. We all need to be able to breathe the air and be confident that we and other species will all be assured equality in the quality of our air, water and other life sustaining resources. However, this is not happening presently and it needs to be addressed now.

And for me the one man who has been able to articulate this message in the way it needs to be articulated is Al Gore. For over thirty years he has been out here telling us about the findings of scientists like Roger Revelle, Charles Keeling and the world we would find ourselves in if we did not heed these findings and warnings. It was why he decided to seek public office all those years ago hoping that once this was seen it would be of primary importance. And here a bit over thrity years later here we are still at that fork in the road.

Only now, it is not just some faraway scenario of the future that we can afford to place at the bottom of the pile. It is a present danger to our continued existence because it is not just a rainstorm here and there or a heatwave every once in a while. It is about the total shifting of the patterns of the climate system that sustains our ability to feed ourselves, house ourselves and provide for our sustenance. It is about our morality, our humanity and our ability to come together without seeing the labels that have to this point restricted our humanity. It is about providing a cleaner healthier environment for us and for those to come in order to preserve that climate system and the other systems that depend on it as we do.

But as we all know, certain interests with their money and political ties have been working overtime to keep their status quo at any cost and work to smear anyone who dares challenge it, but challenge it we must if we are to have a future. And this is just one reason why I love this man so much. His unwavering passion, perseverence and courage to do what is right in the face of what seems like insurmountable odds and hatefilled rancor. It is truly a testamount to a man who has transcended it because he sees the higher purpose to it. This is what we all must strive for. For this is not an illusion, it is reality. A reality of our making and a reality we can make even better in seeing at last our true purpose on this planet.

Addendum because there is another reality that needs discussion:

Once again, thank you Mr. Gore for all you have done and do. I know your heart is in this and I appreciate it greatly.

And in pondering this event and the effect it will have, I do think there are are also other factors we need to discuss and consider. As long as the world runs on oil and pipelines are continued to be built in Afghanistan, here and globally (possibly even in the Arctic as drilling has been approved already) what will we succeed in doing and how long do we have? The facts of this are as such: both oil and water are now being seen as ‘commodities’ (even though water is a human right) whose sources are becoming scarcer in the world (water mainly from pollution, privitization, waste and climate change.) Countries are jockeying for geopolitical advantage in controlling as much of these resources as possible due to “peak oil” and now “peak water.” As with Iraq and as we are now seeing in Afghanistan (TAPI pipeline) and in Libya where the Great Manmade River Project (truly a feat of engineering even if you didn’t like Gaddafi) has now been blown up and its source shut off to the people in Tripoli as its oil is conviscated. Countries including Norway, Russia, Canada and the U.S. are already jockeying to suck the Arctic dry of its resources as it melts. Alberta has already stated that it needs TWO more pipelines the same size as the Keystone XL to get their oil out and they don’t care if this one is approved or not they WILL get that oil out and more than likely it will go to China, the so called country making so many strides in “clean energy.” We are addicted to oil and the money it makes. So please tell me just how we are going to counter this now to win anything for our children’s future?

I think it is exemplary if you ( in general) are sincere in solving this to bring the facts of what we are doing by burning this to the people who need to know it. However, it is governments you need to reach now. I have been out here as a citizen for forty years of my life supporting the environment and protesting these geopolitical excursions that have taken many lives in the process. And yet, even under Obama this still goes on. So what is the plan should he approve the Keystone XL even after all that has been done to warn people of the dangers of its carbon timebomb? How many are truly willing to be arrested and put it all on the line for the future? How do we truly break this addiction to oil? We are not transitioning to renewable energy fast enough to beat the curve of climate change or peak oil and that is detrimental to the continuance of life as we know it. So it would be nice to see this conversation as well because it is a true reality along with the climate reality that needs discussing. We must break this addiction or it will break us.
___

Some advice regarding winning this conversation. I have been out on the Internet since this event and I can tell you that much of what I have seen is negative outweighing positive so far. So what I have done on my own now as I did when Mr. Gore ran for president and also when he was first giving these presentations, I have been going out to these sites that print misinformation and lies about him or the science behind global warming ( I call it biodistress btw) and setting them straight because this is where it begins. For years many sites and papers have been printing misinformation and their comment sections have been filled with nothing but acidity and outright hatred towards Mr. Gore in an attempt to make people think that if they can discredit him they discredit global warming.

And unfortunately, it apparently has been a tactic that has worked here because they know many don't know much about the science and they believe it... and no one is countering it for the most part. I truly think there needs to be a media rapid response group that goes out to these sites and newspapers to give back what they give, only to give truthful information. Not to engage the trolls but to just make sure the information is out there. You can't win the conversation unfortunately and especially in the US with just a slideshow regardless of how accurate and well presented it is.

And when you have cult leaders like Alex Jones out here on You Tube spewing outright lies with people like Christopher Monckton on there spreading nothing but lies about the sea levels not rising and the ice in the Arctic growing back while this even was going on that hundreds will see and believe, this battle is not just in a slideshow presentation. I truly think that needs to be a consideration. You have to nip it at the source too.

Also, just one more comment about the event and then I will get off my soap box. This event was seen on the Internet globally and in all honesty I think it was a mistake to ask people to donate every hour, especially considering that there may well have been people globally watching this on any type of connection they could get who live on less than a dollar a day in a place where people standing at a podium in high heel Gucci shoes and fancy dresses does not resonate.

I think in order to get the message across effectively you also have to be aware of your entire audience and that many of the people watching this who are already experiencing the effects of biodistress are poor. As it is in the US the unemployment rate is over 9% and the poverty rate is increasing. The world economy teters on a precipice. It might just be to your advantage if pushing the donation wasn't the primary focus because frankly out here on the Internet as well, people think this was done just for the money. I know that isn't true but millions don't.

I also think it would have been noble of you to state that half of the donations would be donated to Somalia to help the famine victims since their drought is a classic case of climate change. Their droughts which used to come every ten years now come every two to five years with more severity. The Indian Ocean is also warming and changing rainfall patterns. This is a classic scenario of climate change now causing mass famine and migration in a place where war has been going on for over twenty years. A look at the future if we don't get our act together, but not one mention of this though in you presentation. You may even have gotten more donations because there are those who are looking for a way to help there that they can trust.

OK, so I'm done. I just think the message needs to be the primary focus and gets to as many as possible in as down to Earth a way as it can be, because I care about the world my son is going to live in as well as his children to come and all of us.
Thanks.

Al Gore To Address Conference In South Africa

2011-09-14T15:09:00.004-04:00

Al Gore In South Africa

Some of the world's most intelligent minds will share their leadership strategies and insights into global financial, economic and management issues at this year's Discovery Invest Leadership Summit, taking place at Johannesburg's Sandton Convention Centre on 21 September.

This year's event is the third edition. Speakers at the inaugural event in 2009 included Sir Richard Branson, Canadian writer Malcolm Gladwell and local businesswoman Wendy Luhabe.

The following year featured Discovery CEO Adrian Gore, American thought leader Nassim Taleb, academic and doctor Mamphela Ramphele and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Headline speaker

This year, Al Gore, former US vice-president and notable opinion leader on climate change, is confirmed as the headline speaker.

A co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, Gore is a committed environmental activist, and his bestselling book An Inconvenient Truth was turned into an Academy Award-winning documentary. He also won a Grammy Award in 2009 for the audio book version. In 2007 he was a runner-up for Time magazine's person of the year.

Discovery Invest Leadership Summit

Al Gore On Stephen Colbert Report

2011-09-14T14:25:00.003-04:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Al Gore

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

Video Archive

Al was on the Stephen Colbert Report last night discussing global warming and 24 Hours of Reality with a "skeptical" Stephen Colbert. Very funny. Love the interplay and the "metaphor" and that Al revealed Stephen's Colbert's "character." ;-) And at least this was made clear: his non endorsement of Rick Perry is actually an endorsement because an endorsement would be like not endorsing him because endorsing him would actually be the kiss of death. I think I got it. ;-)

Current TV to air 24 Hours of Reality

2011-09-12T17:03:00.002-04:00

See the Reality Here

Current TV to air 24 Hours of Reality

NEW YORK -- Current TV plans to air a presentation on climate change by former vice president Al Gore.

The live broadcast of Gore's multimedia talk begins Thursday at 7 p.m. Eastern time. The cable network said Monday it will culminate a worldwide, 24-hour initiative called "24 Hours of Reality," designed to explore the scope and impact of global warming.

In addition to its TV broadcast, Current will present a live Internet feed of "24 Hours of Reality" starting Wednesday at 8 p.m. Eastern time. It will feature 23 different citizen-activists from different parts of the world, beginning in Mexico City.

Gore is a Nobel laureate for his environmental activism and is chairman of Current TV.

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Online:

Current TV

Climate Reality Project

Al Gore: The Message Still Has To Be About the Reality We Are Facing

President Obama's Decision On Smog Rules a Betrayal

2011-09-07T21:07:00.014-04:00

Confronting Disappointment by Al Gore
Excerpt:
"Instead of relying on science, President Obama appears to have bowed to pressure from polluters who did not want to bear the cost of implementing new restrictions on their harmful pollution—even though economists have shown that the US economy would benefit from the job creating investments associated with implementing the new technology. The result of the White House’s action will be increased medical bills for seniors with lung disease, more children developing asthma, and the continued degradation of our air quality."
______________
Et tu, President Obama?

If there was ever an illustration of the words Mr. Gore stated about this system in DC being broken, this is it. It is bad enough that Republicans are morally bankrupt when it comes to caring about the health of its citizens. To now see this from a president who promised to do just the opposite when time and time again he had a chance to use the bully pulpit for what is right is beyond disappointment.

I will be honest here: if I truly believed this system could be given the enema it needs in time to make way for a man who truly would do right by this country, I would ask Mr. Gore to consider another run. However, I know in his heart he has reconciled that and made his decision. And let's face it. This will not be changed unless we change it. Unless we get loud. Unless we are willing to get arrested as those 1253 peaceful protesters did for the last two weeks outside the White House protesting the Keystone Xl pipeline. Unless we are willing to do what is necessary to be relentless in seeking change, even when it means sacrifice.

We may have no other choice come the election in 2012 because God knows I wouldn't vote for a Republican, but we must then be relentless in making President Obama understand that we will not tolerate these types of betrayals that go beyond political campaigns. We also need to then work in purging Congress of the traitors to our working people, our environment and our freedoms since it doesn't look like the USSC's betrayal of us by passing Citizens United to allow unfettered corporate access to our system is going away anytime soon. The environment should be the core issue now and it will be if we demand it. And we must, for it is truly and literally a matter of life and death.

Thank you again for your caring and perseverence Mr. Gore.

This was also covered on Countdown, and this was my comment:

Why is this as well being wittled down to a political issue? The liberals this, the conservatives that. This is about HEALTH which is directly related to economy and jobs and that should be non partisan. Obama needs to do what the hell is right and I am so sick of everything being made into a political issue. So because an election is coming ( if that is what you call this media circus we conduct every four years) and he wants to look stronger on jobs ( which is corporate spin) someone's child will have to get asthma or someone else will have to die of heart disease or lung cancer? How many damn lives is this election going to be worth to all of you political partisans who can't see beyond your own games? And investment in renewable energy will bring us jobs and health and may actually eliminate much of the regulation these companies whine about while we shell out billions for war. There's always money for war though isn't there? Always money in the budget to build another stealth bomber, but not to keep this planet cleaner and take care of our people. Shameful.

This decision by President Obama must be pleasing the Republicns very much and that angers me. He placates them when he should stand up to them and for us and our children. This was and is important to the health of many Americans, but now their(Congress) corporate backers will once again get more time to pollute our air and threaten our health so they can save a few pennies to pass to their minions in Congress.

This isn't just about partisan politics. This is about policies put aside that will now allow more children to become ill from simply breathing. Politics should not be about "compromise" when that compromise puts lives in jeopardy. Obama has renegged on so much of his proposed environmental policies and seems unwilling to wage a true battle for it. And regardless of the make up of Congress, he still has a heart, soul and conscience doesn't he? HE made this choice when he could have allowed the EPA to do its job. He knows the Republicans and tea party are salivating to dismantle the EPA and both the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts and he feeds them more for their fire.

So, should he now approve the Keystone XL pipeline which is a climate catastrophe and toxic timebomb over the absolute proven risks to health, our water, our land, and our climate,what next? If he wishes to not alienate so many who had faith in him, he needs to show he has faith in us and that he truly cares. This is not the way to do that.

Conservative organization proves Al Gore right

2011-08-29T20:15:00.005-04:00

Black activists Repudiate Al Gore's Statement On Civil Rights /Climate Change Conversation

And by doing so they give a great example of what he was talking about regarding their tactics in this conversation. But do not take the words of this organization too seriously. Looking into their funding, history and who also controls this "Project 21" it is obvious to see this repudiation without refutation has nothing to do with them caring about the Civil Rights Movement nor on what level Mr. Gore was equating it to the conversation surrounding climate change. This is just another cover organization for an ultra-Conservative think tank supported by the fossil fuel industry and run by tobacco supporters who now have latched onto climate denial to keep their funding from drying up.

And if you read this so called notice, you will see that love for oil and actually them using the race card to support it. I find that to be the lowest of the low, aside from the fact that Mr. Gore made no such negative connotations about the Civil Rights Movement and was talking on a contectual basis in support of it. But what else can you expect from people who will sell this planet out to the highest bidder to keep their own status quo? And what else can you expect from Conservatives who have done nothing but smear Mr. Gore for decades? And the fact that this is an ultra-conservative organization with the Scaife name attached to it suggests clearly that this attack on Mr. Gore's words without even quoting them for context is clearly a partisan political and ideological hit in an attempt to distract from the topic.

Again, a clear example of what he was speaking about in his interview Friday (which is posted below this entry.) And since Friday, all we have seen in the media that is supposed to be "liberal" are nothing more than Conservative talking points meant to distract, demean, insult and obfuscate from the truth of the climate crisis, its reality and the repurcussions we are now feeling and seeing globally. It is the same hush tactic that is being used in the climate change conversation as was directed to those in decades past.

I would say then that Mr. Gore needs to wear these attacks as a badge of honor, for surely someone who is as irrelevant as the Conservatives think he is should not garner so much attention for every single word he says. That kind of attention is usually only reserved for those who tell the TRUTH.

So I will also reiterate Mr. Gore's truth and its meaning in context to the climate crisis we now face: As was done in decades past to overcome the attempts to derail true progress in the Civil Rights Movement (or use the Women's Suffrage Movement as those tactics of discreditation and denial existed then as well) we must now do so in the climate justice movement. When you constantly see the same misinformation, cherrypicking and all out lying done by the climate denial movement simply because they are backed by the fossil fuel industry you know they care nothing for science or this planet.

This is now a DANGEROUS conversation when those who control this conversation do so simply because they have the funds to do so without real scientific backing. It distracts from the facts and stifles the truth. And they must be countered on their deception, just as those in previous decades were countered by decent good people who believed in truth and justice. People who through perseverence, courage and conviction because they were on the side of truth stood up to the forces of injustice. Climate change also is disproportionately affecting the poor of our world, with many of those people being of color. For any organization that claims to care about that to attack a man working to lessen the effects of climate change on developing nations is a clear indication of their true agenda: to twist and distract because they have no refutation of the science.

I say, shame on them.

Al Gore interview with Alex Bogusky

2011-08-26T18:17:00.011-04:00

Video streaming by Ustream

Al Gore gave a great interview today with Alex Bogusksy discussing the reality of the climate crisis, the science, his initiative 24 Hours of Reality and answering questions. I was grateful that my question on agriculture was asked and answered. (Thank you. And as an aside, I really hope to one day be able to ask him a question in person. ;-).)

Sept. 14 and 15 will be the 24 hours of reality. One presentation per hour for 24 hours in a different place around the globe. The reality of climate change and those living it will be revealed culminating with the last presentation in NYC given by Al. You will see the reality.

Climate Reality Project

And this is for the deniers and others who always try to diminish the weight of Al's devotion and knowledge of this in stating he has only pursued this now for the money. He was out here talking about this almost thirty years ago as a Senator. This is real, and so is he.

FOX SNOOZE at it again

LOL, and look at this. FOX only covered his response to my question. And look at the responses. The people who respond here are absolute hateful idiots. They probably don't even know what soil carbon sequestration and organic mean. What the hell is wrong with actually nourishing soil and growing healthy food? See this is where partisan politics deters progress.

8=28=11

On edit I have to also make note of the media that is now stating Al likened climate skeptics to racists. That is not what he stated at all. He stated in comparison that the hatefilled comments spewed by those during the civil rights movement meant to stop progress on it and discredit the reality of racism, is the same TACTIC being used by climate change deniers in trying to stop progress on this and coverup the reality. (And that is actually ironic considering that is exactly what the media constantly does regarding Al's words.) And the way you win the conversation on this is to confront them on their lies and misrepresentations about the science until it becomes known that what they are saying is indeed nothing more than cherrypicked talking points paid for by those seeking to only keep their profits even in light of seeing the effects globally play out, for this fight too is about justice... climate justice.

Al Gore Calls BS On Corporate Polluters And Climate Deniers

2011-08-09T13:34:00.020-04:00

Al Gore calls BS On Corporate Polluters and Climate Deniers
Excerpt:
"Al Gore is pissed.

The former vice president dropped in on an Aspen Institute media forum in Colorado titled “Networks and Citizenship” on Thursday and railed against corporate evildoers who put profit above society.

Gore referenced the book “Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming” by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, which tells of how petroleum, steel, autos, utilities and others enlisted lobbyists to cloud the climate debate.

Gore recalled how not long ago tobacco giants “succeeded in delaying the implementation of the surgeon general’s report for 40 years – 40 years! In every one of those 40 years the average number of Americans killed by cigarettes each year exceeded the total number of Americans killed in all of World War II: 450,000 per year. My sister was one of them. … It was evil, evil, evil.”

The model of media manipulation used then, Gore said, “was transported whole cloth into the climate debate. And some of the exact same people — I can go down a list of their names — are involved in this. And so what do they do? They pay pseudo-scientists to pretend to be scientists to put out the message: ‘This climate thing, it’s nonsense. Man-made CO2 doesn’t trap heat. It may be volcanoes.’ Bullshit! ‘It may be sun spots.’ Bullshit! ‘It’s not getting warmer.’ Bullshit!” Gore exclaimed.

“When you go and talk to any audience about climate, you hear them washing back at you the same crap over and over and over again,” he continued. “There’s no longer a shared reality on an issue like climate even though the very existence of our civilization is threatened. People have no idea! … It’s no longer acceptable in mixed company, meaning bipartisan company, to use the goddamn word climate. It is not acceptable. They have polluted it to the point where we cannot possibly come to an agreement on it.”

Gore lamented the diminished role that reason and fact-based analysis play in modern U.S. politics.

During the debt-ceiling debate, American Crossroads, Americans for Prosperity and a collection of smaller groups followed tobacco’s blueprint for bombarding the media with its messages, he said.

“Unnoticed in Washington and New York as the debt-ceiling debate was going on, the ratio of television advertisements was nine to one on the ‘Don’t-lift-the-debt-ceiling debate. Spending is the problem.’ And now we’re going to tip the country back into recession. It’s absolutely insane,” Gore said.

“Mark my words on this: we became the greatest country on earth because we made better decisions than any other nation,” he continued. “And we made better decisions because we used shared consciousness, shared reality, rule of reason, best evidence, democratic discourse, free debate to figure out what’s more likely than not to be the best decision here. It didn’t always work, but it worked a hell of a lot better. Since we adopted this new system we are making catastrophic decisions that have massive consequences. The Iraq invasion. What just happened with macro-economic policy. It really is extremely difficult.”
_________________
Al made an appearance at the Aspen Institute this past Thursday and did what we should all be doing; calling BS on liars, polluters and their minions, truthfully and forcefully. All I can say in response to his words is that I love him so much more today. Al, you are the one voice out here informing people of what scientists have been trying to tell us about for decades. There is absolutely no reason why we all shouldn't be calling what deniers are selling what it is: BULLSHIT.

However, that isn't all he said and this entry isn't just about the words Al used. Leave that to the complicit corporate owned media to twist or sites like Huffington Post that is now the mini FOX news, or a plethora of other sites where paid shills make their living trashing and diverting. This entry is about the essence of what he was talking about. A concerted deliberate effort by these special interests and polluters to cover up the truth for profit which has now brought us to facing that tipping point.

And in the course of his words he mentioned the book, Merchants of Doubt-How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming” by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway. This is a comprehensive book that explains the entire metamorphosis of the denial movement based on the roots of the same movement in regards to tobacco. This video which is led by one of the authors of the book, Dr. Naomi Oreskes outlines exactly the truly diabolical methods employed to safeguard ideology, political standing and profits at any cost, even our planet and our civilization. Weighing these two variables is it any wonder those of us who understand what is at stake would not become upset by their treachery?

For far too long these evil entities that care for nothing regarding this planet and our ability to live on it have been getting away with their BULLSHIT. It is way beyond time to stand up to it for the future of our civilization. Anyone with two eyes and a brain cell can surmise the patterns currently making themselves known globally. I have been reading the reports but more importantly have been observing the changes in our Earth's systems, particularly the hydrologic cycle in relation to GHG emissions and temperature. The facts cannot be denied. Anthropogenic climate change is forcing the boundaries of our natural systems and taking them to a place they have not been before. And we are seeing this playing out on every continent.

Take a look at this link from Current.com CLIMATE EXTREMES and the climate events taking shape globally simultaneously now. Those who continue to deny this corrolation only do so out of political bias, ideology or because their bank accounts tell them to. They are not people who are credible and in my eyes are actually accomplices in the deaths of thousands who now suffer from the effects of prolonged severe droughts, floods, glacier melt, more intense wildfires and stronger storms which are being called the "new normal." Just researching damage to agriculture globally from these events alone gives you a pretty stark picture of what we are up against in the future.

So the usual hacks can try to divert the meaning of his words by focusing on only those they wish to use for their own purposes. But again, the Reality is clear and we as a species probably do not deserve this planet if our allegiances continue to fall with what is convenient and easy as opposed to what is real.

So hell yes, volcanoes? BULLSHIT! Sunspots? BULLSHIT! It isn't warming? BULLSHIT!
____
And just to add:

My other question is, where the hell are others in speaking out particularly DEMOCRATS? A fellow Democrat of yours has the courage to stand up to the status quo and where is the back up? Where are your backbones? And of course the way this is being played in the media and the responses on websites are the usual bile filled politically partisan tripe. What is wrong in this country with showing some righteous indignation when it is about something that requires righteous indignation? But of course the usual suspects come out saying he is losing it. Hell, I made a video about this and showed emotion because I too care and was told I was emotionally unstable by a denier. It's all they have. No refutation of facts so attack the messenger. It only proves to me how cold and selfish we have become as a species when caring about the future is considered losing it, nuts, unstable, etc. Typical ploy of the ignorant and the bought.

YOU THINK THIS IS A JOKE DENIERS? You will not escape accountability.

Al Gore speaks with Keith Olberman about debt ceiling and democracy

2011-08-03T14:06:00.004-04:00

These are the words of a man who truly cares for his country. And as a man who spent many years in the confines of Washington DC he got to understand the dysfunction all too well. And he is absolutely correct. This should have been a discussion about jobs, explicity clean energy jobs and how becoming much more aggressive about transitioning to a clean energy economy could jumpstart this country and begin to pay down our debt. This should not have been a bill that attached "super congress committees" and triggers to it that force the agenda to be skewed in favor of the moneyed interests that have run this government's policies for far too many years at the expense of those most vulnerable, education, environment and other programs that are needed. The vote on this may be over, but the fight has just begun.

I can't tell you how refreshing it is to hear this man speak and how happy I am that he is still here in the dialogue. But it too saddens me when I think of what could have been had we had that non violent Tahrir Square right here a decade ago in support of our true president. There is no disputing that more people now see just what we missed out on. But we should not now allow that to cloud the reality of what we face today and I am grateful for his continuing to spark debate in this conversation of regaining our democratic republic. Through all of this he has remained above all a true statesman and a man of grace and I love him very much for that.

Which is why I support his words here and his call to once again regain the conversation and to work to bring much needed life to our democratic process which is now in critical condition. I will be in Washington Dc this October. I will go because I am standing up for my planet, for my country and for those I love. I will go because we as citizens can no longer sit at home and think it will fix itself. Like the climate crisis our democracy crisis cannot be fixed by standing on the sidelines. Only when we become proactive, focused and willing to truly stand up for what is right will we be able to make changes. It won't be easy, but damn it, my son is worth the fight and so is the country I love that has been so good to me.

Lord of the Lies-Monckton, the House of Lords and climate change

2011-07-20T13:33:00.023-04:00

Monckton told to stop lying about being a member of the House of Lords

I do not usually post about caricatures like Christopher Monckton, but I feel compelled to do so today. After years of this charlatan whose misinformation and outright lies about climate change having been debunked by climate scientists over and over again, we see another indication of the lengths he will go to in order to make you believe something that is totally false. This is the same mindset of climate deniers who truly think climate change/biodistress is not real and not a concern. These are the people like Monckton who live in such an elitist vacuum that they actually think they are members of the House of Lords and use it to propel their own stature because they know what comes out of their mouths cannot stand on its own merit.

What an embarrassment on both fronts. For as we now see unfolding before our eyes, the reality of climate change is proving the total lack of veracity of the misinformation foisted upon other ignorant hapless souls who are willing to believe anything that tells them in their own minds that they are not responsible for anything and that the little worlds they are ensconced in will not be compromised, by people whose credibility strains the limits and of course, the oil and coal lobbies whose dirty hand in that misinformation and lies has also been revealed.

But to be honest, on any other day I might even feel sorry for Monckton as he is obviously steeped too deep in a fantasy world. But I don't feel sorry now. After all of the attacks orchestrated on Al Gore by him (including his foolish attempts to "debate" him clearly for political reasons as he calls climate scientists with facts as well Nazis) his minions and the masters he serves, I am relishing in seeing that the lies he has pushed forward to suit his own and their selfish agendas are finally seeing the light and being seen for what they are. He is the failure and so are those who continue to believe in his lies to suit their own ideological, political and economic agendas. But hey, maybe the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy have some spare time to listen to fairy tales.

I'll stick with reality.

Climate Scientists Refute Monckton

And to think this liar has been allowed to spread his misnformation in the U.S. Congress only shows the depth of their ignorance and greed as well.

Professor John Abraham Refutes Monckton slide by slide

Not very hard to do. But quite necessary as this is the type of pablum being pushed by the fossil fuel industry in order to keep the truth from the people and the profits in their pockets at the expense of our biodiversity, health and climate balance.

And of course, he has been sent to Australia now as they have just passed a carbon tax. I'm surprised his head didn't explode.

Academics speak out against lecture

Sooner or later reality wins out, as unfortunate as it may be in this case due to people like Monckton who put themselves even before the future sustainability of this planet and your children.

Monckton Brands Australian Climate Advisor A Nazi

"Credibility or no credibility (given his lack of science qualifications, it is most likely the latter), the Nazi slur hasn't discouraged Lord Monckton's backers. At least part of Lord Monckton's trip is being paid for by the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, which has distanced itself from the comments but confirms he will still speak at it's annual convention on 30 June in Perth. Opposition and Liberal Party leader Tony Abbott, who has questioned the seriousness of human-caused climate change, is scheduled to open the convention.

Lord Monckton also toured Australia in early 2010, when it was revealed that mining magnate Gina Rinehart had donated funds and a member of staff to help co-ordinate the trip.

Ms Rinehart, chairman of Hancock Prospecting, was recently crowned as Australia's wealthiest individual with recent analysis suggesting she could soon become the richest individual on the planet. As the sole owner and chairman of the iron ore and coal mining company (a position inherited from her father Lang Hancock), Ms Rinehart is estimated to be worth more than US$10 billion.

Earlier this month, it was revealed in The Age newspaper that Ms Hancock had flown at least two members of Parliament to India on her private jet to attend the wedding of a member of the Reddy family. Ms Rinehart is reportedly hoping to secure a $2 billion deal with the Reddy's to purchase a stake in her coal mines.

After Lord Monckton's appearance at the mining conference, he will go on to deliver the "Lang Hancock Lecture" at the University of Notre Dame, near Perth, thanks to sponsorship from Hancock Prospecting. Then it's off for a dozen or so public talks, with tickets on sale from $25 to $60 each.

Presumably the Nazi slide will be left back at Lord Monckton's Scottish mansion, although at least one venue - a German Club in Adelaide in South Australia - is now understandably reticent, reports AdelaideNow.

Invoking Godwin's Law of Nazi Analogies is something of an area of expertise for Lord Monckton.

In 2009 at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen, he described one group of young climate change campaigners as the "Hitler Youth".

Interviewed through the shaky camera hand of DeSmogBlog's own Brendan DeMelle, Lord Monckton calmly explained: "The number of people being killed by this misplaced belief in climate change is if anything greater than the number of people killed by Hitler."

Oh Lordy. Strap yourself in, Australia."
_____
Bought and paid for by the coal industry. He actually sat at a "debate" in Australia and told the opposing politician to stop his plan to sequester Co2 in soil and plant trees and that we need to do nothing. This just shows a blatant disregard for science, agriculture, biodiversity and health. He must be living good in his manion paid for by coal magnates. And he dares to attack a good man like Al? Stay strong Australia, you're doing the right thing. Time to put a price on these polluters!

24 Hours Of Reality

2011-07-12T16:03:00.006-04:00

It's way past time to cut through all of the propaganda spewed forth incessantly by the same interests that care nothing for this planet or your future. It's the only way to have one now. We are running out of time.

We will not solve this crisis until we all resolve to be a part of the solution.

Will you participate in Reality?

It's time to raise our voices in truth and Reality.
Satyagraha.

This will be an incredible event that I am definitely going to follow and participate in. It is way past time. Our oceans, our glaciers, our land, our ability to grow food, our water... the future of it all depends on us getting beyond this impasse put up by those who simply do not want to deal with reality.

This is what I have been saying as well for so long. People need to see how this is affecting the world, the pace of it and how it all ties together. There is no more time left to argue with those who simply for their own reasons will not accept what is happening. Our planet needs us now and I will be damned after all she gives to me that I will desert her. Thanks again to Al for being a true leader on this crisis and always seeing the bigger picture.

Climate of Denial: Great Essay

2011-06-22T11:15:00.006-04:00

Climate of Denial
By Al Gore

This is a comprehensive essay laying out everything truthfully about the climate denier lobby that has done all in its power to trash this planet for their own profit at the expense of our biodiversity, climate balance, health and economy. Al pulls no punches in his assessment of this clear and present danger to our very ability to live on this planet and the forces working to plant doubt about its urgency. And that is no fear mongering. That is reality.

This is simply what this is all about now people: if we do not begin to extricate ourselves from the media and fossil fuel misinformation that has only fueled this crisis to the point where we are heading for a positive feedback loop that will not end but only worsen, our children are not going to have a habitable planet. If you look alone at the damage now being done to crops globally, soil globally, water supplies globally, seeds globally and biodiversity both on land and in the seas, what you will find is a world far removed from what these peddlers of bombast and doubt regarding the world they want you to see are selling you.

This is a must read but in doing so, you need to dismiss your political predispositions, because this is not about politics, but survival. That is why I also applaud him for taking all to task who deserve it, including President Obama who while speaking about this early on has not lead on this crisis, nor has this Congress. They would do well to heed the advice and words of the man who was actually elected president a decade ago because this country would be in a much better place had he been allowed to lead on this, because he is leading on this still.

Mr. Gore, you speak truth here and I for one stand and will work with you.
Thank you.

Addition:

Forbes blog on Al Gore's essay

I just wanted to also add that this is without a doubt the words we needed to see now. I too have stated my absolute frustration and outrage with the media reporting all of these events and not once connecting the words climate change to them, because the fossil fuel industry owns them. It is blatantly immoral and irresponsible and needs to change. Without a sustainable environment we have nothing else. It is this disconnect that we must fix and as Al stated here Obama should be using the bully pulpit and bringing out the scientists to make this case in fact to the people. This is no joke. This is reality and if we don't get more serious about this, we will lose it.

On a more personal note , you are a rare gentleman and statesman and I have the greatest respect and love for you. Thank you for always persevering for what is right.

Al Gore: Systems Define Our World

2011-06-12T21:19:00.008-04:00

Systems Define Our World

Even his harshest critics will acknowledge that Al Gore has considerable insight and wide interests.

During his keynote address at the 2011 Insurance and Accounting Systems Association conference in Nashville, a reliably wonkish but engaging Gore touched on everything from Moore’s Law to Minnie Pearl while pondering the impact of technology on the insurance industry.

Illustrating the speed at which technology advances, Gore noted that today’s iPad2 packs as much computational horsepower as the world’s most powerful supercomputer, the Cray 2, did a quarter century ago.

The former vice president of the United States and 2000 Democratic nominee for president noted that Moore’s Law has held steady for decades and has catalysed the dissemination of knowledge as much as any invention since the advent of the printing press.

This is the rule, posited in 1965 by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, that the number of transistors incorporated into a semiconductor would double every 18-24 months,

“There are now a billion transistors for every man, woman and child on the planet,” Gore said.

Gore also brought to light a lesser known theory, Metcalfe’s Law, which holds that the value of a communications network increases proportionally to the square of the number of people connected to and using the system.

This is important, Gore said, because both capitalism and democracy are reliant on the free exchange of information. “The systems that define our world are based on the democratization of knowledge.”

Describing himself as a “recovering politician,” Gore – who has not held public office for more than 11 years now -- largely bypassed the political issues of the day.

However, he did delve into climate change and its impact on the insurance industry.

He noted that a warming atmosphere can carry more water vapour and may leader to fewer but more destructive storms. AIR Worldwide noted Monday, for instance, that the storms and tornadoes that swept the United States in the single week of May 20 to 27 caused somewhere between $4 billion and $7 billion of insured losses to automobiles, buildings and their contents.

“The destructive impact of wind increases with the cube,’’ Gore said.

Moreover, referencing historic the floods that besieged Nashville the prior year, he said that insurers will need to re-examine some longstanding assumptions as extreme weather events occur with greater frequency.

“When you get several 100-year events in the same decade, you wonder whether actuarial tables need to be changed,” Gore noted.

The Minnie Pearl joke?

A farmer is driving his cow to town and crashes into a ditch. As he is laying along the roadside in great pain, a Sherrif happens by.

The sherrif gets out of the car and shoots the cow to put it out of his misery. He then asks the man how he's doing. The man says "I'm doing fine."

____

Considerable insight is an understatement. The man is incredible in his knowledge of so many different topics and disciplines. And he writes poetry too. A man after my own heart. ;-)

“The systems that define our world are based on the democratization of knowledge.”

So true, and moreso, equal access to those systems. And how clever to connect this to the environment, because surely just as transistors and computer systems according to Moore's Law have increased exponentially through human behavior, so have the events related to biodistress. But just as we one day I believe will see the point where Moore's Law may well become obsolete, we will see that tipping point in our climate when human activity will outstrip anything we ever imagined we could do in affecting the systems of this planet that give us life. And we need to be prepared for both.

Here is a statement I found interesting in relation to Moore's response to those applying his law to other life processes which he never intended:

"Moore's law has been the name given to everything that changes exponentially. "I say, if Gore invented the Internet,[60] I invented the exponential.[61]"

Per Wikipedia. ;-).

Commencement Address delivered at Hamilton College

2011-05-27T22:46:00.003-04:00

Al Gore's Commencement Address

Thank you very much. Thank you all very much; and President Joan Hinde Stewart, thank you for your very generous and kind introduction. Philip Stewart; Jeff Little, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees; the board members; other honorary degree recipients: Patsy Couper, Paul Lieberstein and John Sexton. To the faculty, to the staff, to the families here and, of course, most of all, to you, the class of 2011.

May I also say a very special word of thanks to one of my closest friends and one of your alumni and my business partner, David Blood, who to me exemplifies the values, the character and the deep learning that graduates of this institution acquire. May I also note that David was influenced not only by his own time at this institution, but by the experiences gained here by his father, I mention, who also graduated from Hamilton. And I mention that in order to deliver a short message about the extreme importance of institutions like Hamilton over many, many generations. I am a great admirer of this Institution. I am very proud that this is my second opportunity to make remarks here.

And on my way here, I spent a moment reflecting on the position of a commencement speaker; and, in doing so, I reflected on my own graduation so many years ago. And I tried to remember who the commencement speaker was, and I have to acknowledge to you that I have no idea. And I dare say that years from now, unless I've just tricked you into remembering it, you will have absolutely no idea who gave this speech. You will remember that your families were here. You will remember your friends. You will remember the parties this evening. You will remember a great deal about this institution, but very little about this speech. So, humbled by that recognition, I will nevertheless go forward.

It is traditional on an occasion like this for the commencement speaker to convey something about the circumstances in the world that you are about to enter as graduates. Now, of course, our world is in a period of tumultuous change, and those of you who are about to enter the job force are naturally thinking about the state of the economy.

I asked one of your economics professors last evening how he felt about the economy, and he said, "I feel fine." And that reminded me of a story that I first heard some 30 years ago when I was a young congressman representing a rural district in middle Tennessee.....

Continued at the link.

An Inconvenient Truth more inconvenient than ever

2011-05-27T20:41:00.012-04:00

On June 4, 2006 I drove almost halfway across my state to watch An Inconvenient Truth, the documentary featuring the man who has inspired me for so many years. Al Gore's presentation was informative and instilled a concern for the future regarding what we are doing to it unlike what I had experienced to that point. His interweaving that with experiences in his own life to illustrate how fragile life is if we do not grasp the moment unfortunately went over the heads of many who watched it. But not mine. Perhaps that was because I too have experienced losing loved ones and understood his message that like the relationship we have with loved ones that can slip away at a moment's notice, so can our Earth. Perhaps it was also because of the connection I have felt to this man for so many years because of the common bond we share with the environment. And it was through that message he relayed in the documentary that my hope that the US would finally embrace this with the urgency it needed would finally come to fruition...

Fast forward five years later...We have seen an acceleration of the positive feedback loops enhancing and increasing the effects of this crisis with still no definitive action on the part of this government despite his going to Capitol Hill three times. Despite the overwhelming scientific consensus and evidence presented. Despite the continued melting of the Arctic at a pace more accelerated than IPCC predictions. Despite the thousands of climate refugees in places globally that are experiencing severe drought, floods and severe weather/climate events that have displaced them and destroyed their livelihoods. In other words, An Inconvenient Truth is more inconvenient than it ever was.

However, there have been some bright spots. More people are aware of the effects and our hand in them. More countries are looking to renewable energy. More businesses are looking to ethical sustainable business practices. More people are looking to sustainable agriculture as a way to sequester carbon in soil. And more people are becoming motivated to speak out. But the forces against us remain strong. Their entrenched money, power and political connections at times can seem overwhelming and a force we cannot subdue. And I have to admit that the exuberance I felt after watching An Inconvenient Truth that rainy night in June 2006 has waned, though not diminished.

And that is because of the passion I and so many others share in never wavering in getting out that inconvenient truth. In never relinquishing this Earth to those forces that would see it vanquished for their own profit in a false choice. In never turning our backs on the only home we have and will ever know. And in never giving up on the man who inspired the awakening we all needed to see that truth.

So dear Al, on this the fifth anniversary of your embarking on this journey that has really been your journey for almost four decades, thank you. Thank you for never giving up and for always remaining the voice of truth and reason that has deepened my resolve to continue my own journey of truth.

Je Taime,
Jan

Here is my original review from 2006 with some other comments:

An Inconvenient Truth About More Than One Truth

My Review Of An Inconvenient Truth

The Spirituality Of An Inconvenient Truth

And just as an addendum to this:

Nothing any anthropogenic climate change denier shill paid by an oil company or using it to simply continue their partisan political vendetta does can change the reality of what this world is now going through. I also then wanted to thank Al for being a man of honor in not stooping to the level of those who simply wish to detract from this important crisis being addressed with their broken record misrepresentations, propaganda and their attempts to have this message silenced. And I suppose that is one other good thing that has come about in the past five years. We now know much more about who they really are and what we are up against.

Murdoch's News Corp drops Current Italia

2011-05-20T15:26:00.014-04:00

Murdoch's NewsCorp drops Current Italia due to hiring of Keith Olbermann.

How much more obvious could they be? It is so wrong that the media is controlled by a wealthy few who with their money get to decide what content you see. This is the reason why Americans have become so dumbed down, distracted and made so apathetic. It is not real news you see through that box of lights and signals, it is a perception of the world as told to you by those with the cash who get to control what you see.

And it not only happens in America. Which is why expanding the horizons of people globally is an endeavor worthy of notice and why Current TV in Italy must stay. It is the voices of the people and their journalistic efforts at the source of the news that brings forth the truth we all need to see in order to be better citizens regardless of where we live.

This is an egregious stab at democracy and there is no excuse for it. NewsCorp can try to cover it up by saying it is about money, but with all of Murdoch's millions and the timing of this I'm sorry, it just doesn't fly. They have shown very clearly that they care not for citizen journalism, truth nor real news. What they do care about however, is keeping the masses ignorant and distracted and spoonfeeding them the propaganda that will keep it that way.

Current TV is a threat to them on that score, and the addition of Keith Olbermann has now scared them into taking this action to keep truthful commentary out of the homes of those who would become empowered by it. But you have a say in this. You can express your outrage with the continued manipulation of content based solely on ideology and the corporate monopolization of your life.

Contact Sky Italia and tell them how you feel. Tell them Current TV is the antithesis needed to the usual fare that only seeks to entertain and not inform.
Murdoch may have his millions, but there is no price that can be put on education and truth, and they are worth fighting for.

Address:

Sky Italia
via Salaria 1021
Rome, RM 00138
Italy

Twitter works too.

Save Current TV In Italy

Gore: Sky Italia Too Cozy With Berlusconi

Al on RAI TV

He is talking about Current and you can try to understand what he is saying under the Italian translation. He appears at about 32 minutes into the video.

Triana satellite eyed for competitive test launch

2011-05-14T22:44:00.009-04:00

Triana satellite eyed for competitive test launch

Air Force officials are proposing in their fiscal 2012 budget plan to fund a launch of a NASA satellite to provide competition for potential new entrants to the rocket market.

The service is requesting $135 million in the fiscal 2012 budget, sent to Congress in February, to fund the competition for launching NASA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite, says Maj. Gen. John Hyten, director of space programs for the Air Force’s acquisition office. The satellite, formerly known as Triana, was proposed by former Vice President Al Gore while in office to provide a near constant stare at Earth from geosynchronous orbit as well as other scientific data. It was pulled from the ill-fated 2003 Columbia Shuttle mission and shelved thereafter during the George W. Bush administration.

Though the satellite would provide scientific data to government users, it is not a critical payload; thus it is suitable for boost in a test launch that poses higher risk than other Pentagon launches.

Though the parameters for the competition have not yet been sorted out, Hyten says that the launch will be designed to demonstrate a variety of requirements. “They may have to do an upper stage coast, for example … That is a very important capability for us – getting into geosynchronous orbits,” he tells Aviation Week. “I would imagine it is going to be a fairly interesting launch.” The satellite was designed for it to operate with a continuous sun-lit view of Earth, which will require for it to be positioned at the Earth’s Lagrangian point roughly 932,000 mi. from the planet.

The satellite’s size is suitable for launch on rockets in the United Launch Alliance Delta II or SpaceX Falcon 9 class. Air Force officials say this launch, which the service was directed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense to fund, will provide an opportunity for new entrants, such as the Falcon 9, to compete for work.

SpaceX expects to fly its Falcon 9 rocket again in 2013, and the DSCOVR launch is slated for fiscal 2014.

cont.
_______

Why Was NASA's DSCOVR (Al Gore's Triana Project) Really Grounded?

Triana: An Island View At L-1

My previous entry on Triana and Al's vision. Would be great to see it fly, though that should have happened over a decade ago. Politics should not have stood in the way of this. This would give us the first 24 hour view of Earth from lagrange -1. Imagine what we could do with this, and what an educational tool it would make. Al Gore, you are a genius, and I will always love you for always putting this planet first.

Al Gore compares climate change skeptics to birthers

2011-05-09T22:11:00.013-04:00

Al Gore compares climate change skeptics to birthers

Excerpt:
"Former Vice President Al Gore on Sunday night compared climate skeptics with birthers, saying money has allowed the line between fact and fiction to blur.

"There is now a tendency in our country to struggle over what is a fact and what is not," Gore said at the opening of a conference on Jewish social justice in Washington.

Gore said a fundamental shift from a marketplace-like exchange of ideas to a system wherein money buys access to airwaves has disenfranchised everyday Americans from having their ideas heard.

“It hurts our country to have such a sharp partisan divide over the basic facts,” he said. Gore compared doubters of climate change science with the so-called birthers, whose movement he said gained momentum when “questions of fact became questions of power.”

“We just had the object lesson with the birthplace of our president,” he said to laughter. “The chuckles here are hard won because it is still an example of a question of fact being turned into a question of power.”

Tailoring his stump environmental speech to the audience, Gore said that climate change is at a fundamental level a moral issue, aligning it with other generally progressive causes.

He also identified a litany of recent natural disasters — including floods in Pakistan and Australia and widespread wildfires in Russia — as biblical curses forewarned in Deuteronomy.

“The choices that we make now have consequences, and among those consequences there will be blessings and curses,” he said. “The scientific community has for many decades now, with increasing certainty and increasing fervor, presented to us the most accurate calculation of what these consequences would be were we not to make the right moral choices with respect to global warming. And when these scientists spell out what can be expected from a failure to act in this generation, those consequences sometimes sound like curses.”

During his speech, Gore walked a fine line when it came to faith, quoting scientific data and public opinion polls but also citing Scripture and sharing nuggets about his Baptist upbringing. The case in point came as he lightly criticized Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who last month suggested state residents pray for rain to combat wildfires and persistent drought.

“The governor called for prayer. And I prayed. But as was said already, prayer should involve commitment. There is an old African proverb: 'When you pray, move your feet.' We are called upon to make choices, today.”

Gore also appeared to take a small swipe at President Barack Obama, who has called for reducing foreign oil imports by one-third.

“But honestly, how long has it been since presidents — of both political parties — have made these declarations, ‘We’re going to be independent of foreign oil, and we’re going to do this and do that,’ and their remedies don’t match the pledges, because the only way to really deal with it, as I said, is with solar and wind and geothermal and efficiency and a remaking of our energy system along renewable lines.”
____
THANK YOU. I am so sick of this being made a partisan issue. Partisanship has ruined our democratic process as well as money! I also actually think anthropogenic climate change deniers are worse on so many levels, because their skepticism will and is hurting the planet as a whole. Although, if there are any similarities, many of these birthers are also with the "Tea Party" that is backed by Koch Industries which is using its oil ties to spread misinformation not only about climate change, but President Obama as a diversion. Now again, I do not support President Obama regarding some of his environmental policies (especially regarding what may well be the approval of the Keystone XL bitumen crude pipeline) but there is no denying the ties involved in this assault on him in this regard. However, there is no denying that climate change (biodistress) is here and a clear and present danger to our planet's ability to sustain life. No diversions over birth certificates can or will change that.

And in regard to Al's comments regarding the Bible, this is a point when speaking to religious groups that also deny climate change. The fallability of mankind in combination with the premise of freewill makes the point of our responsibility for this all too clear. However, even religion is being molded to fit an agenda. Case in point: There is a "religious" website Cornwall Alliance that claims man is here to subdue the Earth and hold dominion over it all. Now, I did a little reasearch on that site and found that one of the members of its board of advisors is Roy Spencer, who is a global warming denier involved with the Heartland Institute, which takes money from oil companies. So you see, even in regards to religion the oil lobby has tried to infiltrate and mold public opinion with misinformation. Being a Christian is all about stewardship and working in harmony with nature, not subduing it. People need to be able to see the signs of what is occurring due to our behavior in amplifying the natural processes of our planet, what they believe is God's creation. If they truly believe in that they must surely believe that God created all other creatures on this planet and that it is immoral to destroy these creations.

Consider the flooding of the Mississippi River that is now occurring. The Midwest has gotten 600% more rain this past April than is normal, as well as melting snowpack from huge snowstorms that took place this past winter. And it is something we have seen from Pakistan to Australia, Brazil, Columbia, Sri Lanka, India, etc. We have over saturated the hydrologic cycle and still continue to put more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere daily. Making this connection is vital in understanding that man indeed does play a role in stewardship, and that perhaps the Bible (though personally I don't read the Old Testament as my readings are of the Gnostic Gospels) was speaking from the viewpoint of understanding the failings of humanity. Religion and science need to come together in regards to this, because frankly, they are more similar in regards to seeking truth and maintaining balance than they care to admit. The separation between them in my view has been part of why we see lack of progress in understanding just how urgent this crisis is.

TIME Interview with Al Gore

2011-05-09T16:09:00.005-04:00

A talk with Al Gore about climate change, birthers and his new app

No, Al Gore did not invent the Internet, but the former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner has always has a hand in high-tech, even as he warned the world about global warming. Those two interests are intersecting with the release of a new iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch app version of his recent climate and energy book Our Choice. The app is one of the first truly multimedia e-books, with interactive graphics, video, photos with geolocation and narration by Gore himself. Gore sat down with TIME's Bryan Walsh in the New York offices of Gore's firm Generation Investment to talk about the Our Choice app, the state of the climate movement and post-truth politics.

Q: Does the app get you a new audience for the book?

A: Yes it does. We live in a multi-platform world. I think that the app experience is a magical one that will give it a lot of velocity as a media form because it combines books, movies, audio, animation and interactive features. There is nothing between you and the content, and there is no computer hurdle to clear. You just touch it with your finger, blow on it and manipulate it. It's very intuitive.
(See why Al Gore wants businesses to step up to stop climate change.)

Q: Will this change the writing and the reading experience? Is this the future of books?

A: This is an evolutionary process that will find it's own pace. My personal view is that it is going to happen fairly quickly. The advantages of an app are immediately obvious to many people who interact with it. But just as movies need a script and scripts need scriptwriters, apps that are rich in content will still be derived in one way or another from books. At some point, though, it will reach an inflection point where people begin to think about in the first instance of how the app is going to take form.

Q: Would your next book go straight to the app format?

A: If I were the age of these guys [indicating the app designers in the room], I would. But since I'm not I will probably repeat just writing first. If my learning process moves quickly, maybe instead of waiting until he last stages of the book to think about the app I will think about it at the beginning.
(See pictures of Al Gore's American life.)

Q: How has your media consumption changed in recent years with the advent of the iPad, Twitter and other technologies?

A: I think it's a richer experience. I tweeted the introduction of this app approximately two and a half seconds after I got the go ahead. I remember when I was a kid, television was just going in. My family didn't get its first TV until I was 10years old. I remember a stretch of quite a few years when people would say they had read a story in the New York Times, and then they would say, "I saw Walter Cronkite report the same story" but my experience of it was completely different. As we become bimedial, I think that it's a richer experience. And I don't think anything has to be lost.

Q: Where is the climate movement right now? Is it still about pushing the message out to the public, trying to build the political will for action?

A: That's still the model of change that I am operating on. And I'm doubling down on all of my efforts to get the facts communicated as clearly as I am capable of communicating them, and importantly, to communicate the solutions. The great thing about this tool is that it draws people in and it makes the story easier to absorb. Years ago I shifted from making speeches about climate to presenting slideshows precisely because the complexity of the material makes it easier to communicate with pictures. Interactive infographics make it easier still.

Q: Has the case been conclusively made now on the science of climate change?

A: Well, I thought the case was made that Obama was born in the United States...
___
The rest of the interview can be read at the link. I just have to say this: So much time has been wasted with this "birther" nonsense. I don't agree with President Obama on much regarding his environmental policies, civil liberties and his seeming close relationship with Wall Street and companies the likes of Monsanto, however, how much longer are conservatives going to waste our time and embarrass us with this birther nonsense? Oh well, I guess it is proof positive of their total lack of issues and the ability to discuss them. Just like climate change deniers.

And as far as the climate movement, to still be out here after all of these years still trying to reach people only shows the huge obstacles we face regarding media/big oil/government collusion. This is why using technology to its greatest advantage to disseminate this information is key, which is exactly the role his new app for Our Choice is playing. But Al, please write your next book first. For those who don't have the technology necessary to have the apps, it would be much appreciated. ;-).

2011-05-09T16:00:00.002-04:00

Al to deliver commencement address at Hamilton College

Former Vice President Al Gore will deliver the commencement address at Hamilton College this spring. The 45th vice president will deliver his speech in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House.

Gore was most recently in Central New York, and Hamilton College, in April of 2007. He was a speaker in the college's Sacerdote Great Names.

Gore will also be awarded an honorary degree along with longtime benefactor of the college Patsy Couper. A 1989 Hamilton graduate, Paul Lieberstein, will also be honored. Lieberstein is co-executive producer, writer and actor in the NBC sitcom "The Office."

Gore will deliver his speech at the college's 199th commencement on Sunday, May 22nd.

App for Our Choice launched-Top grossing IPhone ap

2011-04-30T15:14:00.007-04:00

Al Gore scores top grossing iphone/ipad app

Way to go in reaching those who may never even have heard of Our Choice. Congratulations. I bought the book when it first came out, but if I had an Ipad (working on that too) I would buy the app now as well, because it looks as though there are amazing elements to it. It would be great to conduct lessons in school with books this way. This is how you use technology to better humanity.
Love it, and love you.
____________

Al Gore Blog

This redefines reading and access to information on a grand scale. I think this is fantastic and will set the stage for more book apps like it. And 100% of the proceeds from the selling of the app will be donated by Mr. Gore to the Alliance for Climate Protection. This is how you network and spread information to the masses. Incredible.
________
Excerpt:

"Former Vice President Al Gore's Our Choice Book (Rodale) Comes to Life with New App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch The Our Choice App is the first effort from PushPop Press, in collaboration with Rodale Inc. and Melcher Media
NEW YORK, April 28, 2011 — Rodale Inc., Melcher Media, the Office of the Hon. Al Gore, and PushPop Press are proud to announce that their groundbreaking Our Choice App, an interactive digital version of the former Vice President's book Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, is now available exclusively on the App Store for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The New York Times bestselling Our Choice was first published by Rodale in November 2009. Using PushPop's revolutionary digital book platform, the Our Choice App features over an hour of documentary film footage, hundreds of stunning photographs, animations, audio narration, andinteractive graphics that can be explored by tapping, pinching, and even blowing into the microphone.
“I am so thrilled that Our Choice has come to life on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch," said Al Gore. "Readers can now learn about the solutions to the climate crisis using some of the most visually compelling and interactive technology available."

“With Our Choice, Al Gore has created a powerful and inspiring call to action to work toward a solution for the environmental degradation climate change causes,” said Karen Rinaldi, EVP, General Manager, and Publishing Director of RodaleBooks. “We hope the Our Choice App will inspire a new audience to learn about the solutions available to us right now.”

The beautiful and intuitive user interface from PushPop Press allows the reader to quickly and smoothly scroll through the nineteen chapters, zoom into any page, and pick up and pop open any item, from videos to photos and graphics. Key features and functionalities of the Our Choice App include:

—An intuitive multitouch interface that allows you to pick up and explore anything you see in the book
—A visual table of contents for quick and easy navigation through the book’s 19 chapters
—More than 250 stunning full-screen images
—An interactive map showing every photo's location
—More than one hour of documentary footage
—More than 30 original interactive infographics and animations that bring static information to life
—Original audio commentary by Al Gore that adds historical and social context to the images throughout the app
—An interactive 3D book cover."

Al Gore's Our Choice from Push Pop Press on Vimeo.

25 Years Since Chernobyl

2011-04-27T13:59:00.005-04:00

25 years since Chernobyl

Rereading Al's speech that he delivered from the Ukraine, I cried. He is a man of such kindness and depth who truly wishes for a world of peace. This is the side to him that we do not see in the media, the part of him that I love. I share so strongly in his vision for a world of peace, kindness and a world where we strive to give our children better than what we had. As we look upon the 25th year since Chernobyl and the effects of it, we see a resilience of the human spirit. We do see that we are all connected and it is that human connection that must now take precedence in all we do in order for us to fully understand the urgency of being good stewards to our planet, and to each other.

And in regards to that kindness I cannot fathom nuclear power in any form being a part of the human condition. I must disagree with Al on this in regards to the words he used to describe its use in this speech. It is inherently a dangerous form of energy that in our world today is not viable due to the more severe effects of drought and biodistress, and a world more populated and in turmoil. To me nuclear is the antithesis to kindness. It is the culmination of our worst nightmares wrapped in a false illusion that it can be controlled.

It has led to untold suffering and misery and given us all a stark reminder that the kindness we should be seeking is being spent in the wrong ways. Our best ways to show kindness to this and other species is to cherish and nourish the soil, the water, the air and to work in seeking out energy sources that best compliment this goal. The natural forces of the sun, wind, and water are best suited to this endeavor and in preserving our world for future generations.

In seeking to prevent another Chernobyl and now Fukushima it will require a consciousness that rises above repeating the same mistakes of the past thinking they will give us a different solution. It will require forging a new future with solutions that fit the world we live in, not the world we think we can make in our arrogance. The children of Chernobyl, like the children of anywhere in the world deserve much better. We have the means to give that world to them. It is then our moral obligation as stewards of their fate to do nothing less.

Al to keynote 8th annual Games For Change Festival

2011-04-25T22:30:00.009-04:00

Al, you get more handsome every year.;-).

Games For Change Festival/Al Gore

Games For Change Festival/General Information

Games For Change/Press Release

Festival speakers include game designer Jesse Schell, Zynga.org's Laura Hartman, U.S. Department of Education's James H. Shelton III and Half the Sky Co-author Sheryl WuDunn
NEW YORK, April 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Games for Change, the leading global advocate for supporting and making games for social impact, announced today the line-up and expanded activities of its 8th Annual Games for Change Festival at the NYU Skirball Center June 20 – 22. The Games for Change Festival is the largest gaming event in New York City and the only international event uniting "games for change" creators, the public, civil society, academia, the gaming industry and media. Opening the event will be Vice President Al Gore.

"Vice President Gore is a significant global advocate who has effectively used popular media to bring issues of pressing concern to mainstream audiences," said the Co-Presidents of Games for Change Asi Burak and Michelle Byrd. "His presence at this year's Festival underscores the immense potential of pairing social impact with the increasing accessibility of games."

Games have the potential to advance social good and learning: to spread information, raise awareness, inspire social action and build civic participation – and to do so globally, across cultures. This potential has grown exponentially with the emergence of games played via social media (such as Facebook) and on mobile phones, which can reach vast numbers of people.

In addition to Vice President Gore, featured speakers include: game designer Jesse Schell; Zynga.org's Laura Hartman; U.S. Department of Education's James H. Shelton III; and Half the Sky co-author Sheryl WuDunn.

Returning for the second year will be "Inspiring Digital Kids through Game Design" on Monday, June 20. The AMD Foundation-sponsored day-long program is aimed at educators and organizations working in the classroom or informal settings with youth aged 10 – 18, empowering them to create their own digital games.

With the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, organizers are introducing the Annual Games for Change Awards. These juried Awards recognize excellence in "games for change." All nominees will address current and/or pressing social issues or aim to produce sustainable and positive impact on society. Awards will be presented in four categories: Direct Impact, Knight News Game, Learning & Education and Transmedia. Nominees will be announced on Friday, May 6 and the awards will be presented at the Closing Night Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, June 22.

Another new feature for 2011 is the Demo Spotlight, an opportunity for game developers to present their projects on the main stage of the Games for Change Festival to an open panel of designers and funders for feedback. The six projects selected reflect the tremendous diversity and breadth of "games for change" currently in development and were selected from dozens of submissions.

The 2011 Festival marks the debut event under the leadership of Co-Presidents Burak and Byrd who joined the organization in July 2010. With the significant support of major funders the AMD Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Festival has expanded to incorporate a number of new initiatives.

cont.

____
This sounds interesting. I may just attend this if I can. It would also be great to see Al in person finally and also to see the innovations in socially conscious games for children. It's really a great learning tool. Hmm, environmental games for children?

Oh well, can't go to this because I have to work. Some day though, I will get to meet you and talk to you about life and this world we are making.

Generation Investment Management Climate Solutions Fund bringing sustainable solutions

2011-04-23T21:40:00.007-04:00

Tigo Energy Raises 10M through Generation Investment Climate Fund

Tigo develops solutions to maximize output by photovoltaic installations.
13 April 11 19:47, Yuval AzulaiTigo Energy Inc. has raised $10 million in its third financing round plus a $10 million credit line from Climate Solutions Fund LP, managed Generation Investment Management LLP, whose chairman is former US Vice President Al Gore. Tigo develops solutions to maximize output by photovoltaic installations.

Tigo CEO Sam Arditi and president and COO Ran Hadar founded the company in 2007. The company is headquartered in Silicon Valley and has a development center in Kfar Saba with 30 employees.

Hadar told "Globes" today that demand is rising for its products, and that proceeds from the financing round would be used to increase production capacity and the company's global sales and marketing network.

The investment from Climate Solutions Fund brings the amount of capital raised by Tigo to $40 million. The company's previous investors are Israel's Clal Energy Ltd. and Israel Cleantech Ventures Funds), Matrix Partners and OVP Venture Partners of the US, and Taiwan's Inventec Appliances Corporation,

Hadar said, "Generation Investment is one of the world's largest cleantech funds, and it recognizes the importance of the electronics of solar energy systems and the growth potential of the sector. The fresh capital will enable us to pick up the pace of our business and greatly expand our product development and production in order to expand our marketing. The investment also demonstrates the recognition of our technology and vision to be at the industry's forefront."

Tigo's product, the Maximizer boosts power output of photovoltaic systems of any size from residential to utility scale by up to 20% by reducing the effects of shade, dust, clouds and uneven temperature on system performance. Israeli engineers developed the technology.

Hadar added, "Israel has 2,000 hours of sunlight a year. Our component turns PV panels into smart panels that add 400 hours of sunlight. This is real news for the industry and it charmed the people at Generation Investment, which decided that it was worthwhile to invest in us."

Tigo has installed several Maximizer at PV systems worldwide, including at a 600-kilowatt facility in California and at a 500-kilowatt facility at Moshav Tagor in Israel. "We're getting good feedback from the people at Tagor, who say that energy exploitation rose 15%. We have a work plan for the period ahead, which includes installing our product extensively in Israel and other countries," said Hadar.

Tigo Energy
_____________
Increasing power through photovoltaics is definitely a worthwhile investment. It is solutions like this that will lead to solar coming into parity with fossil fuels faster which increases demand. Price is the key to setting the pace of the market, and has been the one thing besides capacity which has held back solar from being the leading energy source it certainly can be.

It is great to see Al Gore's company looking to investments like this. Now all we need to see are ads for energy sources and solutions like this on our tvs instead of the constant oil propaganda.

Al Gore At Powershift

2011-04-19T15:33:00.004-04:00

Remaining undaunted by the forces out to see the climate movement become unsuccessful is key. There is no better a leader to inspire others to action than Al Gore. A man who over thirty years ago first went to Congress with the findings of Roger Revelle and Charles Keeling in revealing the link between CO2 and temperature, and that our forcings upon the natural cycles of this planet were having an effect that would be felt in years to come if we continued on that path... now look where we stand after all of these years of impasse, denial, political backbiting and corporate interference.

Our younger generation now stands at the forefront of being able to engender great changes that will affect their lives and the lives of their children for the better. And while my passion has been in a struggle with my cynicism borne out of experience and disappointment, I do have to say that after what I saw yesterday from these young people inspired me and gave me hope.

However, this must remain constant. We cannot relegate this protest and outcry for climate justice to just three days. This must be a daily event. Empassioned... courageous... strong... committed... relentless. This must be our march to the sea. Our Satyagraha for the Earth, for our species and those that cannot speak for themselves.

This indeed is the culmination of our purpose on this Earth. To preserve its beauty and its ability to provide for our needs sustainably.

It is time to put the status quo on notice that we WILL do this.
This is a good start.

Al's speech at Powershift to be streamed live/Update

2011-04-14T23:34:00.008-04:00

Powershift Live Stream

Tomorrow, April 15, at 7:05 p.m. ET, you can click that link to watch the speech streamed live.

I am totally disappointed in the lack of leadership on the part of our government and don't believe on the whole that they care about what the youth have to say on this. Nevertheless I am grateful to see the youth that will attend this ready to pave the way for a new generation that truly cares about the environment and will lead the way to a clean energy future. And I will most certainly be watching Al's speech live and thank him once again for his passion, vision and leadership.
________
Update: 4/16

Al gave a talk to the youth assembled there that would most definitely have inspired me at that age. As someone who has loved and respected this man for over twenty years and followed his endeavors and his coming full circle to who he was meant to be, it is wonderful to see him inspiring the youth of today to action. I hope they realize how lucky they are to have him on their side. As a young person growing up in the seventies, my mentor was Rachel Carson and her words of warning in Silent Spring regarding what we were doing to vital ecosystems of this planet through corporate greed and collusion with government entities. Today we see this practice still much more prevalent and much more insidious. It’s stranglehold is not only depriving our youth of not only seeing the true beauty of this world, but in sharing in its life giving and life affirming force.

This is then not just about biodistress, but about the severe damage being done to the lifeforce that is linked to our own. The youth of today deserve to have ther children ask how we did find that moral courage to preserve that lifeforce. This must be the moment. We can wait no longer, and if it has to come to civil disobedience carried out nationwide in a civil peaceful manner to tell politicians we are not relenting on this, then so be it. I would gladly do it for the future, and the child I love.

Our youth carry the weight of a great burden left to them by a generation of waste, apathy and self indulgence. It is time to come back to the original ideals of an environmental spirit and movement that cherished not only the lifeforce of this planet, but that respected all that spirit was connected to. The clock is ticking. So thanks again for speaking out Al, you will always have my love and support for caring about that which was and is most important.
____
More Conservative Grasping At Straws

Nashville Superstorm 1000 Year Flood

And I am placing this link here to show Michael Warren of The Weekly Standard that Al was not misleading when he stated the severe rainfall and floods in Nashville last year was a 1000 year rainfall. And I then doubt VERY highly that Mr. Warren was living in Nashville when this happened as he claimed he was. When are these Conservatives going to just admit they are all washed up on this topic?

Al Gore speaks at memorial service for former Tennessee Governor Ned McWherter

2011-04-09T22:20:00.006-04:00

Al Gore Attends Memorial For Ned McWherter

Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore were among the hundreds who attended a memorial service on Saturday for former Tennessee Governor Ned McWherter.

The two-term Democratic governor and longtime House speaker from West Tennessee died Monday of cancer at the age of 80.

McWherter served as Tennessee's 46th governor from 1987 to 1995.

The service was held at 2 p.m. in the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville – just south of the Tennessee State Capitol Building. The service was open to the public. A private funeral for the family will be held Sunday in Dresden, Tennessee near the McWherter family home and Weakley County Library.

Clinton remarked that McWherter's ability to cut to the heart of a problem in a few blunt words was invaluable to during the former president's time in the White House.

"He calmed me when I was excited and lifted me up when I was down. I will miss him," said Clinton.

Both Clinton and Gore spoke at the service.

(Click the 2 on the videos below the main video to see Mr. Gore's eulogy.)
____________

Governor McWherter was a Governor who truly served the people of Tennessee, and a man of integrity. He insisted that all government proceedings be public, living the spirit of the "sunshine law" he helped to author and sponsor. His progressive stances on education, equality and social issues made him overwhelmingly popular with the people. He will be missed by many.

Al Gore Went To Congress

2011-04-06T19:55:00.004-04:00

Mr. Gore Takes His Presentation To Congress

I posted the above entry five years ago... five years ago. And Al has gone up to the hill at least three times since then. And still, Congress has done nothing to address the cataclysmic effects of biodistress that have remained unchecked nor taken seriously by this body as a whole. As a matter of fact, we are now seeing the takeover of this Congress by those who would have condemned Galileo where he stood. People so afraid of science, so devoid of logic and reason, so anesthesized by their own ideologic rhetoric that we are now entering a dangerous period.

Their total lack of moral standing on this crisis is an embarrassment to this country. Their sellng out our future to the likes of those like the Koch Brothers is criminal. Their seeking to now roll back all of the environmental progress we have made for the last forty years is unconscienable. And yet, we had good men like Al Gore up there warning them of the future. A future he began warning about in the 70s as a Senator when he called Roger Revelle up to the hill because he thought members of Congress would think it important. And actually, I could understand more that back then it wouldn't be considered as urgent as it is now. But not now. Not with the plethora of peer reviewed science that lays out the facts. Not with the consensus of over 90% of climate scientists in our world. Not with the reality we see before us from the Arctic to every continent on this planet.

So, Al Gore went up on the hill five years ago to show them the presentation and lay out the facts once again... and was virtually (not by all) but virtually ignored by this body that is supposed to be there to do right by the people. But by ignoring this crisis in lieu of their own politics and profit they do nothing more than remain accomplices to a crime of nature unlike anything we have ever seen before.

Shame.

Al Gore to be keynote speaker at PowerShift 2011

2011-04-03T12:21:00.017-04:00

Al Gore to speak at Power Shift 2011

Power Shift 2011 will take place between April 15-18 and brings together thousands of youth from across the country in Washington DC. Their goal is to train the youth of today to lead us to a clean energy future. And it is a noble and necessary goal and one which I wholeheartedly support. This year's Power Shift is made even more important in light of current world events and the effects of biodistress we see taking place from Arctic ice melt, acidified oceans, deforestation, erratic weather events, drought, desertification, agricultural loss as well as the pollution and toxification of our water, air, and land. The world we are making for their future and the future of their children is not one we can sustain. Therefore, I do see the positive side to events like this and hope they bring about awareness, but more importantly, action. And having Al Gore speak at this event is what I see as just what is needed to inspire these young people to action.

My generation growing up had Rachel Carson and Silent Spring which was a wake up call to the corporate pollution killing our ecosystems. Rachel Carson brought about a change that led to the EPA and legislation to protect our air and water and I was proud to be a young person at that time lending my own actions and voice to that cause to preserve our planet. I see Al Gore as a continuation of Rachel Carson's legacy, and the youth of today should be very proud to be a part of that as well as inspired. That being said, as someone who has been an environmentalist since I was a young person, there is a reality that must be faced in all of this. And it is the greatest challenge they will face in this fight to preserve their future.: Politics and money.

Now, there have been many protests that have taken place in Washington Dc of late and actually I wrote a post right here on this blog where I stated I was going to try to get one together as well. But thinking more deeply about it, I decided it wouldn't really do much of anything to move the Congress we have now and that in reality the entire environmental movement in this country is but a faint whisper compared to the voices I heard as a young person and the voices we should be hearing now at such a crucial crossroads for our survival. Instead of moving forward the U.S. is stuck in the same fossil fuel status quo set in its ways of campaign contributions buying votes and legislation. Add to that the growing contingent of flatearther tea party members and other Republicans whose knowledge of science is limited to maybe being able to spell the word and some Democrats whose placating is now bordering on criminal, and you have a recipe for continued stalemate while the global effects remain felt in a world where population rise and availability of land and potable water are leading to dangerous consequences. And this impasse in government has been going on for years added to the huge warchests of companies like Koch that continue to influence policy.

So I suppose my question about this then is: apart from the positive nature of this event, what is going to really change? More states are joining the fed in passing laws trying to stop the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. Congress just had a bill up that stated "global warming" does not even exist! Tea party members in Congress are now calling for slashing public programs for schools, the environment, etc. while keeping subsidies for oil companies. Even the Obama administration is calling for renewed drilling, natural gas (fracking) and nuclear as part of their "clean" energy portfolio as a pipeline is being built from Alberta to the US to pipe in bitumen crude as I type this. And all I see on tv are adds sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute. So where do we really go from here as the tipping point gets ever closer? Are the same meetings, conferences, etc. attended every year by the same people expecting results truly feasible at this point? Where are our relentless ads? Where is the civil disobedience? Why can we in this country not stand up for our planet the way we stand up for everything else?

You see, Rachel Carson got the word out by it coming to tv in its early days, and she made a connection with people in regards to how this pollution was affecting their everyday lives and the future of other species and this planet. The dots were connected. We don't have that connection with this crisis on the whole. It still seems too foreign to so many who cannot comprehend how glaciers melting in the Arctic affect their ability to live in New Jersey. This is the disconnect as it is even phrased in a way that underscores the dangers of it. "Climate change" is not a term that instills concern in the layperson. So in other words, we can have all of the conferences and meetings we want but in the end if we follow the same routine, the same framing and the same phrasing while expecting a different outcome how feasible is that? Isn't it time for a new strategy? A new direction? And dare I say it as Al Gore did, some civil disobedience?

I do wish the attendants at this event well and I am sure Al will inspire them. However, in reality unless we are willing to reframe this in a way that people truly understand how extreme flooding in Pakistan, stronger cyclones and droughts in Australia, excessive drought and deforestation in the Amazon, accelerated melting in the Arctic, crop losses and desertification in China, etc. as well as erratic weather and events right here in the US affect their lives now and in the future, the shift will be minor and not fast enough to compensate for the accelerated pace of the conditions we need to adapt to.

Unless we are willing to take this to the next level (and standing in a human chain around a coal plant is something I am definitely prepared to do at this point) what will this wind up being but just another conference where everyone wears the same colored hat at an event where everyone goes home and Congress continues to be allowed to do business as usual? I hope I'm wrong, and I hope Al Gore can inspire a new age of concerned dedicated adults who truly care for preserving this planet in order to preserve our ability to survive on this our only home...but time is running out to keep having conferences that produce the same outcome.

Happy Birthday, Al

2011-03-30T18:53:00.011-04:00

What can I say to a man who I have loved and respected for so many years?

To a man who has been an inspiration to me in my life, and in the lives of so many others?

To a man who has displayed enduring passion and devotion to the most important cause of our time?

To a man who is a vociferous champion of democracy?

Well, on this day I say to you,

Happy Birthday with much love, respect, appreciation and gratitude.

May you have many more.

Thank you for your service to the world, which is a better place because you are in it.

Love, Jan

Al Gore Speaks On 'Climate Change' In Costa Rica

2011-03-19T12:37:00.016-04:00

Al Gore Talks Climate Change In Costa Rica

Excerpt:

"Al Gore, former U.S. vice president and a leading voice in combating global climate change, brought his message to Costa Rica on Wednesday night as the keynote speaker at the first Sustainability and Environment Business Forum, held at the Marriot Hotel in San Antonio de Belén, west of San José.

Gore, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 on the heels of his 2006 Academy Award-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” gave an hour-long presentation in which he cited evidence of global climate change and environmental impact of continuous release of carbon-based emissions into the atmosphere. According to Gore, in 2010, the world produced and released into the atmosphere 90 million tons of global-warming pollution. He said people are treating the sky as if it is an “open sewer.”

“I want to begin by asking, ‘Why has it been so difficult for us as a people and a civilization to come to grips with the climate change issue?’

“Some of you have studied it and know how incredibly serious and threatening it is. Others of you, especially in the business community, have begun to find that there are opportunities to make profits and put people to work in doing the things that need to be done to fix climate change. But governments around the world, with the exception of Costa Rica and a few others, are yet to acknowledge this issue as they should,” the former vice president said.

Throughout his presentation, which included a photo slide show and several graphs detailing the world’s increase in temperature and erratic change in weather patterns, Gore was exceedingly complimentary of Costa Rica’s effort to curb climate change and its efforts to be a carbon neutral nation by 2021. Early in his speech, Gore referred to Costa Rica as a “hero among nations.”

“I am filled with admiration for your country and I hope that you know I am not saying so just to flatter my hosts or all of you here,” he said to the crowd of about 400 people. “But I hope you fully understand and accept that the rest of the world has an image of this country as a true leader in the community of nations. It is in pursuit of peace and peacemaking, the elevation of universal human values, the prioritization of education over violence and warfare, and the commitment to sustainable development and the Earth’s ecological system. Costa Rica truly is a hero among nations.”

The presentation also included a picture of the November 2010 landslide in San Antonio de Escazú, west of San José, which killed 27 people. Gore attributed many of the heavy rains that occurred throughout the world last year to the effects of global warming and increased international temperatures. He also showed photos of heavy rains in Colombia, Mexico, India, Pakistan and his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. He said that the rains that occurred in Nashville were considered by scientists to be a “once in a thousand year rainfall.” Gore then quipped that “once in a thousand year rainfalls” have recently been occurring once every few years.

In the closing minutes of his talk, Gore urged the countries of the world to “put a price on carbon.” He said that, because carbon dioxide is tasteless, odorless, invisible, and carries no price tag, people around the world ignore it. In order to reduce climate change, countries should put a price tag on carbon emissions, which Gore considers to be “destroying our planet.”

“We are at a moment in history when we can change our thinking and change our future,” he said. “It is now up to us to take responsibility for what happens in the future. We need to get our act together. If we don’t, not too many years from now the next generation will look around the world where they live and they will be justified in asking us, ‘What were you thinking?’”
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Firstly, let me comment here and state that I truly have come to dislike the term climate change. It has become rote, and it is because of that people now do not believe it to be as urgent a crisis as they should think and know it is. Perhaps that was the thought when it was coined by a Republican pollster and adopted so widely by the press. Why is it that people always feel the need to walk on eggshells regarding the truth? This is why I call it biodistress, because for me that term relates the urgency without the fearmongering. It relates to distress in our biosphere that we as humans, as stewards of this planet need to address. Global warming sounds like you have a cake in the oven and climate change sounds like it rains one day and not the next, so nothing to see here so just move along. I actually wish Mr. Gore would address this because I do think semantics and how this has been framed has had much to do with the lack of urgency on the part of Americans especially regarding this. We have not relayed this to people in a way they can identify with in their daily lives and let's face it, if they can't do that they don't want to know or care.

That being said, this is an article about Mr. Gore's visit to Costa Rica regarding "climate change" in a country actually looking to do something about it. Personally, I think he should go to countries that aren't doing anything, but then if that were the case Mr. Gore would never leave the US because the US is one of only a few that is continuing to live in the Stone Age when it comes to doing something about this that has any substance or merit.

As I read the reports about glaciers melting, ocean currents, the Arctic, rate of melting and the effects of it for the present and future in regards to other species, water, agriculture and health which is affecting our own as I type this, I can't help but wonder if we as humans somehow have a self destruct button in our brains we are helpless to control, and that no amount of travelling is going to overcome it. I sure hope I'm wrong. Who knows, maybe those countries actually working to make the world a better place can influence others, only, the question that brings up is, will it be in time? Perhaps if how this message is relayed changes.

Addendum:

My heart goes out to the people of Japan in the wake of the earthquake/tsunami/and nuclear disaster they now must deal with in rebuilding their country and their lives. My one hope is that real truth is relayed regarding the severity of radiation leakage from Fukushima and that people get what they need to be kept safe.

As far as my overall view of nuclear, it needs to be killed globally. It is toxic, dangerous, unnecessary, not a proponent of peaceful existence, polluting and only considered viable in any way to keep people rich at the expense of our environment and people. The myriad of excuses thought of by those covering for the nuclear industry regarding its supposed safety, smaller reactors that can be safe, etc., is honestly BS.

And I know politicians feel they have to support nuclear if they are speaking out against coal and oil (and I know Mr. Gore did and didn't agree with it) because nuclear is the only "green" or should I say, "greenwashing" energy source really being supported by this government at any substantial level. Notice how solar and other energies are just given the crumbs in comparison, just enough to make us 'think' they care without putting anyone else off. But also remember, that were it not for taxpayer backing against our will there would be NO investment in nuclear in the US because Wall Street won't even touch it otherwise.

I really wish politicians would just BE THEMSELVES and say that nuclear is not viable in our modern world because they KNOW that energy sources powered by the sun, wind and water can more than effectively give us the energy we need and pursue it undaunted. And of course, it also comes down to the gluttony and waste of those Americans who cannot even think to make the necessary changes in their lives thinking their comfort will be compromised, when that is not the case.

The sun, wind and water (and I don't mean dams) can provide all of our energy needs, only true vision is being strangled by the hold of the fossil fuel lobby on our government and media. And before we can ever make headway in turning the tide of biodistress and its effects before it is indeed too late we must break this hold, and it has to start with us and work its way into our leadership. So in a way this is a good reason why other countries that do see this need to be told that what they are doing is essential to the continued existence of the human species. It is truly a great disappointment as an American to state that my country is not one of them.

So Thank you Costa Rica.

Al Gore To Write New Book About Forces Shaping The World

2011-03-15T15:50:00.013-04:00

Al Gore To Write Book About Forces Shaping The World

The forces now shaping our world are many and can lead one to believe that they are insurmountable. I look forward to reading Al's rational, cogent, and inspirational writing on those forces in order to gain an even better perspective about the world we currently live in. I am happy to see he mentioned globalization, because it is a main factor in the way we see our world coming to major change through protest and activism. Globalization has taken much of our freedoms- social, economic and environmental from us leaving a world polluted, privitized, in debt and on the brink of global war. What we need is a paradigm shift in thinking and consciousness on all levels in order to save ourselves. I have always looked to Al's writing to give that focus.

And hopefully, he will have book signings in New York or even New Jersey again and I will make a point of getting there to meet him again to shake his hand and tell him how much I love him and appreciate his relentless passion and all he does for the world.
Excerpt:

"Al Gore will write a new book on the political, social and economic forces that are shaping the world and the nation.

A No. 1 bestselling author and Nobel Prize winner, the former Vice President wrote
An Inconvenient Truth and The Assault on Reason. The yet-to-be-titled book is the first acquisition for Jon Meacham, Executive Vice President and Executive Editor who joined Random House this year.

The book is expected to be published in 2012. Gore plans to explore what's behind global change and hopes to help frame the international conversation about the future.

“No one has done more to raise global awareness about climate change,'' said
Meacham in a news release. "From social media to political extremism, Gore is turning his attention to an even broader array of issues. He has always discerned trends and truths before much of the rest of the world.''

Of his new venture, Gore said, “With this new work, I hope to help start a conversation about the large-scale drivers of change that are defining and shaping our future—from the rapid development and integration of radically new technologies to the planet-changing impact of the climate crisis, to poverty, globalization, and the democratization of knowledge accompanying the emergence of a ubiquitous Internet linking ever more intelligent devices.”

Gore is currently the chairman of both Current TV and Generational Investment Management. Susan Kamil, Publisher of Random House, announced the deal from the author’s agent Andrew Wylie of The Wylie Agency for World English, German and Spanish languages, first serial, audio, and e-book publication rights."

Al Gore: Turkey Can Lead In Climate Policy

2011-03-15T15:22:00.007-04:00

Gore Says Turkey Can Lead In Climate Policy

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore said here on Monday that Turkey can play as a leader in climate policy.

"Turkey has the capacity to provide leadership and support for the changes in policy that we need," Gore said when speaking at the Leaders of Change Summit 2011.

Citing Turkey's role as a model for how Islam and democracy can coexist, he added that this is just one example of the capacity Turkey has for leadership.

He also warned that Turkey is at risk of drastic increase in drought potential by the end of the century, starting in the 2030s.

Gore suggested that Turkey is perfectly positioned between North Africa, the Middle East and Europe to become a lynchpin in a potential wind and solar energy grid.
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The proliferation of hydropower dams in this region of the world particularly by Turkey (Hasankeyf being the most controversial) does not bode well for the future of this region with drought only predicted to become more severe amd prolonged. The drought caused in part by diversion of the Tigris /Euphrates Rivers has already caused a tense situation between Turkey, Iraq and other countries in this region.

Solar energy paticularly could bring about a new energy revolution in this area of the world and thus allow for a more equitable distribution of Tigris/Euphrates river water for those drought parched countries that need it desperately for agriculture and life. Solar like water is life.

And thank you to Al again for speaking out on this in regions of the world where it matters most. These massive hydrodams not only compromise our climate and water security but many cultures that will become extinct as well.

<3

Reefs At Risk Revisited; World Resources Institute: Forward by Al Gore

2011-03-07T21:03:00.015-05:00

Reefs At Risk Revisited

Excerpt:

"This report provides a detailed assessment of the status of and threats to the world’s coral reefs. It evaluates threats to coral reefs from a wide range of human activities, and includes an assessment of climate-related threats to reefs. It also contains a global assessment of the vulnerability of nations and territories to coral reef degradation."

Vice President Gore's forward:

"As anyone who has spent time around the ocean knows–whether diving, conducting research, or fishing–coral reefs are among the world’s greatest sources of beauty and wonder. Home to over 4,000 species of fish and 800 types of coral, reefs offer an amazing panorama of underwater life.

Coral reefs supply a wide range of important benefits to communities around the world. From the fisherman in Indonesia or Tanzania who relies on local fish to feed his family, to the scientist in Panama who investigates the medicinal potential of reef- related compounds, reefs provide jobs, livelihoods, food, shelter, and protection for coastal communities and the shorelines along which they live.

Unfortunately, reefs today are facing multiple threats from many directions. 2010 was one of the warmest years on record, causing widespread damage to coral reefs. Warmer oceans lead to coral bleaching, which is becoming increasingly frequent around the globe–leaving reefs, fish, and the communities who depend on these resources at great risk. No one yet knows what the long-term impacts of this bleaching will be. But, if the ocean’s waters keep warming, the outlook is grim.

Against this backdrop, the World Resources Institute has produced Reefs at Risk Revisited, a groundbreaking new analysis of threats to the world’s coral reefs. This report builds on WRI’s seminal 1998 report, Reefs at Risk, which served as a call to action for policymakers, scientists, nongovernmental organizations, and industry to confront one of the most pressing, though poorly understood, environmental issues. That report played a critical role in raising awareness and driving action, inspiring countless regional projects, stimulating greater funding, and providing motivation for new policies to protect marine areas and mitigate risks.

However, much has changed since 1998–including an increase in the world’s population, and with it greater consumption, trade, and tourism. Rising economies in the developing world have led to more industrialization, more agricultural development, more commerce, and more and more greenhouse gas emissions. All of these factors have contributed to the need to update and refine the earlier report.

The latest report builds on the original Reefs at Risk in two important ways. First, the map-based assessment uses the latest global data and satellite imagery, drawing on a reef map that is 64 times more detailed than in the 1998 report. The second major new component is our greater understanding of the effects of climate change on coral reefs. As harmful as overfishing, coastal development, and other local threats are to reefs, the warming planet is quickly becoming the chief threat to the health of coral reefs around the world. Every day, we dump 90 million tons of carbon pollution into the thin shell of atmosphere surrounding our planet–roughly one-third of it goes into the ocean, increasing ocean acidification.

Coral reefs are harbingers of change. Like the proverbial “canary in the coal mine,” the degradation of coral reefs is a clear sign that our dangerous overreliance on fossil fuels is already changing Earth’s climate. Coral reefs are currently experiencing higher ocean temperatures and acidity than at any other time in at least the last 400,000 years. If we continue down this path, all corals will likely be threatened by mid-century, with 75 percent facing high to critical threat levels.

Reefs at Risk Revisited reveals a new reality about coral reefs and the increasing stresses they are under. It should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers and citizens around the world. By nature, coral reefs have proven to be resilient and can bounce back from the effects of a particular threat. But, if we fail to address the multiple threats they face, we will likely see these precious ecosystems unravel, and with them the numerous benefits that people around the globe derive from these ecological wonders. We simply cannot afford to let that happen."

____
There are those who are also trying to save coral reefs around the world but the picture is not as positive as it should be. Showing reality is what is needed to shake people to understanding how far reaching the effects of anthropogenic biodistress are in pushing the Earth's envelope. We need to show the truth while explaining that for the future we will need to do things differently in order to save what we have in the hope that we can salvage some of what we have worked to destroy through pollution, acidification and bleaching. The web of life depends on that as the oceans are indeed our lifeline.

I too am sad for so many things that our children and their children may not get to experience which is why it angers me to see the same lies constantly perpetuated just to salvage certain selfish agendas. We have allowed this conversation to become too bombarded with misinformation from denialists and oil company rep plants on the Internet, the media and elsewhere that is disingenuous and dangerous. We have to fight this because our children need to know what lies ahead in order to have the courage they will need to work towards restoring this planet's sustainability and biodiversity. The current state of our world illustrates a failure on the part of humanity that is absolutely unacceptable, but hopefully reversible.

How much of a wake up call do we need?

New Hampshire House setting a dangerous trend on biodistress

2011-03-07T19:49:00.009-05:00

Al Gore's blog: New Hampshire Ignores Science

Looking at this it is clear that this is not about anything but political revenge and has nothing to do with science, because these politicians wouldn't know science if it walked up and bit them. Due to climate change (biodistress) in the Northeast seasons are coming earlier, summers are hotter, winters more intense, there have been changes regarding species invasion and species that were once endemic to it disappearing and there has been a noticeable increase in serious flooding in recent years. And I know because I live there.

In regards to New Hampshire, in March 2007 164 of the 220 towns in New Hampshire passed a resolution calling for federal action on climate change and people of all politics have expressed their concerns with the effects of it particularly regarding the ski industry and forests.

So what does it say that since then their legislature has been filled with such ignorant people regarding this? Where are the people in standing up to the legislatures now turning this into a political vendetta rather then listening to the science that is sound? This has KOCH written all over it.

After the failure of the Federal government to act morally and decisively regarding this it was the states that were looked to in order to provide the leadership necessary. And while I am not a total proponent of cap and trade (I wish states would band together to institute a carbon tax) reports suggest this particular alliance was working to create jobs and decrease emissions.

But this is what happens when you allow politicians to have so much control over a moral, ethical and scientific issue that requires a perspective not based on political bias but truth. And it will continue to the longer WE REMAIN SILENT. The recent protests in Wisconsin to protect union rights showed us an America that was still vibrant in seeking out Democracy. We need to see protests like this in every state house regarding climate change. Without it, there will not be any new jobs to speak off that will carry us into the future and our environment will continue to suffer as then will our health. The crucial link between climate and our livelihoods is missing, and only WE can change that.

So people of New Hampshire: How much do you really care about your future?

Al Gore inspires at Free The Children WE Day

2011-02-20T16:56:00.004-05:00

Free The Children

Al Gore at the aud

How do you convince 6,000 students to change their world? You can start by recruiting ex-child soldiers, a former vice-president, musicians, poverty activists and one of America’s biggest civil rights leaders.

Al Gore, Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Barenaked Ladies and plenty more will be lending their celebrity wattage to today’s We Day event at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.

It’s the tenth youth-empowerment event of its kind in Canada — a travelling show that has become the most successful, star-studded creation of the Free the Children charity.

Crews were busy yesterday converting the Aud into a high-tech concert venue, building the elaborate sound stage and prepping dressing rooms for their famous guests. Today, the arena will be jammed with thousands of students from over 250 schools around the region.

“This is months upon months of work,” said Russ McLeod, chief operations director for We Day. “But it’s not just about this day. It’s just the beginning. . . . It’s the kick off, to get them started and give them the sense they’re not alone in the actions they’re taking.”

The students at the Aud have signed on for school programs that aim to improve their world by doing both international and local projects. In the four years it’s been running, We Day and its partner schools have raised more than $10-million, inspired over 2 million hours of charitable service, and helped more than 500 charities.

Until now, We Day events have only been held in major centres like Toronto or Vancouver. This is the first time organizers have put one on in this region, thanks in large part to sponsorship from Research In Motion.

As part of their partnership with Free the Children, RIM is also paying to send 50 local high school students to Kenya and India this summer, where they will help build schools and clean water projects, see how locals live and meet village elders.

_______________________
This is so inspiring to see. To see children empowering children is what brings hope for the future.

Al Gore Speaks On Forests In Aspen

2011-02-19T15:39:00.007-05:00

Gore takes global warming fight to Aspen

Al spoke yesterday at a symposium on forest health in relation to climate change, specifically regarding the bark beetle infestation that has ravaged the Southwest as well as drought and wildfires. These were all predictions of the effects of biodistress ( I no longer call it climate change) that have now come to pass with devastating results. He spoke passionately about the environmental, economic and most important moral implications of ignoring such a disaster. The very sustainability of our planet depends on all of us taking a stand for the future of our forests (carbon sinks) which are the lungs of our planet. That was his message and it is a message that needs to resonate throughout this country and this world.

And on a personal note, I have to say that this speech and presentation by him are exactly why I have supported him for all of these years. He continues to consistently be a voice of reason at a time when such voices are rare. See the excerpt below, and I will be writing more about forests and programs related to them on this blog in the coming weeks.

Thank you once again Al for all of your work and inspiration. Let us hope it moves us to where we need to go to realize our true potential as a species before it is too late.

Much love,
Jan
___________

Excerpt:

"He may have been preaching to the choir, but former Vice President Al Gore stirred an Aspen audience Friday with a passionate speech about the effects of global warming, at one point pounding his fist on the podium and declaring it “a moral issue.”

Gore, 62, delivered a 50-minute keynote address for a symposium on “Forests at Risk: Climate Change and the Future of the American West.” The event, created by the local nonprofit For the Forest, was held in the Doerr-Hosier Center at The Aspen Institute.

Gore told the standing-room-only audience that his remarks on global warming, and the presentations throughout the half-day symposium, should not be taken as merely “interesting” or “an intellectual exercise.”

“It is a call to action,” he said, “if you love these forests, if you think for a moment about the obligation we have to those who come after [us].

“This is a forest issue. It's a political issue. It's an economic issue. It's a national security issue. It's a jobs issue. But at bottom, it is a moral issue,” he said to widespread applause. “And we have to be willing to stand up and do the right thing.”

Gore spent much of the first half of his speech discussing the loss of millions of acres of forests in Colorado and elsewhere in the Rockies, connecting that decline to various factors such as pine-beetle infestations and wildfires.

Global warming has helped to accelerate the losses, he said. Through a slide show, he displayed charts created through scientific data that show the correlation between rising temperatures and an increase in wildfires.

Warmer temperatures have promoted the beetle problem in many ways, Gore said. Because of higher winter temperatures, a large percentage of the beetles are surviving, returning during warm months to wreak havoc on trees. Also, the trees aren't as strong as they used to be, having been weakened by years of drought conditions, making them easy targets for the beetles.

Gore's slideshow contained Google Earth software maps that clearly showed the rapid decline of Colorado's forest lands over the last decade. He then returned to a more general discussion of global warming. His work to promote efforts to recognize global warming and combat it by reducing the world's carbon footprint led to a Nobel Prize in 2007, an honor he shared with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In 2006, he was the subject of an Academy Award-winning documentary on global warming, “An Inconvenient Truth,” which was based on his book of the same name."
cont. at link.

Podcast of Al's keynote
"

Study Links Rise In Rain and Snow to Human Actions

2011-02-17T22:48:00.005-05:00

Study Links Rise In Rain And Snow To Human Actions

Excerpt:

"An increase in heavy precipitation that has afflicted many countries is at least partly a consequence of human influence on the atmosphere, climate scientists reported in a new study.

In the first major paper of its kind, the researchers used elaborate computer programs that simulate the climate to analyze whether the rise in severe rainstorms, heavy snowfalls and similar events could be explained by natural variability in the atmosphere. They found that it could not, and that the increase made sense only when the computers factored in the effects of greenhouse gases released by human activities like the burning of fossil fuels.

As reflected in previous studies, the likelihood of extreme precipitation on any given day rose by about 7 percent over the last half of the 20th century, at least for the land areas of the Northern Hemisphere for which sufficient figures are available to do an analysis.

The principal finding of the new study is “that this 7 percent is well outside the bounds of natural variability,” said Francis W. Zwiers, a Canadian climate scientist who took part in the research. The paper is being published in Thursday’s edition of the journal Nature.

The paper covers climate trends from 1951 to 1999 and therefore does not include any analysis of last year’s extreme precipitation, including catastrophic floods in Pakistan, China and Australia as well as parts of the United States, including Tennessee, Arkansas and California. However, the paper is likely to bolster a growing sense among climate scientists that events like the 2010 floods will become more common.

Indeed, an increase of weather extremes has been a fundamental prediction of climate science for decades. Basic physics suggests that as the earth warms, precipitation extremes will become more intense, winter and summer, simply because warmer air can carry more water vapor. Weather statistics confirm that this has begun to happen.

Scientists have long been reluctant to attribute any specific weather event to global warming, but a handful of papers that do so are beginning to appear in the scientific literature. One such installment is being published on Thursday in Nature as a companion piece to the broader paper. It finds that severe rains that flooded England and Wales in 2000, the wettest autumn since record-keeping began there in 1766, were made substantially more likely by the greenhouse gases released by human activity.

In that analysis, scientists at the University of Oxford used computer time donated by the public to analyze the climate of Britain in 2000 as it actually existed and to compare that with a hypothetical climate in which the Industrial Revolution never happened and few greenhouse gases were released.

The computers found that the chances of those memorable floods, which sent geese swimming through city streets, were roughly doubled in a climate with the greenhouse gases.

That it took a decade to come to that conclusion illustrates one of the major problems of climate science at the moment. Researchers are barraged with questions about weather extremes like the recent winters in Europe and the United States and the heat waves and droughts of last summer."

_______________________________
We do need to make models able to predict this faster and more accurately, because the rate of destruction of agricultural land and water is increasing. However, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the trends that are outside the boundaries of natural variability. Perhaps Mr. Gore's Triana shoudn't have been scrapped. How many times has the vision of this man been dismissed? Big mistake. I have always believed in him amd always will. He would not put himself out on a limb about something as important and crucial to our future as this if he were not certain it was happening. The collective denialism borne out of passivity, apathy, comfort, or political partisanship is what we shoud be questioning.

Mr. Gore To Speak Regarding Forests, Climate Change and the American West

2011-02-17T22:29:00.007-05:00

For The Forest

Forests At Risk:
Climate Change & the Future of the American West

What: An educational symposium of distinguished scientists from around the U.S. and Canada to explore the critical connection between forest health and climate change.

Who: Nobel Laureate Al Gore, Undersecretary of Agriculture Harris Sherman, and top scientists from universities and institutions around western North America, moderated by Renee Montagne, co-host of National Public Radio's Morning Edition.

Where: Doerr-Hosier Center at the Aspen Institute, Aspen, Colo.
When: 12:00 - 5:45 p.m. on Feb. 18, 2011. The event will also be shown via a live video stream in Paepcke Auditorium.
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Another important topic and appearance I will miss. ;-( I am still hoping to one day see him deliver a talk in person and to finally get the chance to speak with him for at least twenty minutes regarding Sustainable Agriculture and climate change. This is such an important topic in relation to the effects of climate change on forests in relation to beetle infestations, deforestation, water scarcity and the effects on agriculture.

Forests are the lungs of the Earth and there is nothing more important than preserving them in conjunction with water, especially at a time when we will see more drought and wildfires. Also, I do hope this talk touches on the dangers of GE trees and that they are not the answer to this crisis, but in fact will exacerbate it.

I really wish I could have been able to attend this. I hope to be able to find news on it afterwards and report on it as well as my take on biomass and REDD. Thank you to Mr. Gore and all those speaking out on this important issue for our sustainability.

Keith Olberman to Join Al Gore's Current Media

2011-02-12T14:41:00.007-05:00

Keith Olberman Jump Starts His New Career

Excerpt:

"According to an article in the New York Post today, Keith Olbermann is on the move. In a fast shift from the days of MSNBC, former "Countdown" host
Keith Olbermann is moving to a more newsworthy position. Current-TV, a network that was co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore, has just signed him on board. His new position includes the title of Chief News Officer and Evening News Host for this channel, whose main focus is public affairs.

Olbermann boasted his new title on Twitter early Tuesday morning. In stark contrast to his previous position, he will be the executive producer and evening host of a new nightly primetime news and commentary show beginning at the end of this year. In addition, the position also entails a step up for Olbermann as he becomes the channel's primary Chief News Officer. The change also includes the perk of an equity share in Current Media.

In a quote from Gore regarding the move "We have more subscribers today than MSNBC had when Keith began working for them," according to the New York Post. Olbermann started with MSNBC in 2003, when he began "Countdown" and his journey to becoming a favorite liberal mouthpiece for commentary and satire.

It is not unusual for former commentators to make such moves between networks. Previously, other commentators like Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck, who left CNN, have found themselves with more opportunities to define their destiny. Dobbs is presently hosting his own radio talk show, airing on radio stations across America. "World News with Lou Dobbs" on Independent America Radio offers listeners the opportunity to call in and share opinions and comment on his show. The radio show format allows commentators a lot of freedom, and radio political shows have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years. Lou's new show is similar to other political radio personalities, like Bill O'Reilly, Michael Reagan and Rush Limbaugh. In Glenn Beck's move a few years ago, he joined the Fox News Group, where he has hosted his own show, as well as airing his own radio show daily."
__________________

Well, wow. What a coup for Current Media and Mr. Gore. Keith Olberman's following is huge mainly made up of Progressives tired of the RW slant of news. He is also known for his no nonsense unabashed rendering of current events and those influencing them and I have no doubt that any news format he brings will light the fires of both praise and condemnation. I am sure it will be an interesting ride and hopefully a well deserved boost for Current and for their line-up of other shows as well as current.com of which I am a prolific supporter and participant.

And as such, I do have my own personal opinions about this latest news. I have been as I stated a prolific member of Current since they first appeared in August 2005. I joined the first day with great anticipation and support of the vision Mr. Gore laid out for the station. The ability to see the original works, or "pods" presented by those with a story to tell and news to share which then decided what was watched by our votes was a bold and innovative concept in media democracy that I believe in its own right would have afforded Current finding its own Olberman had it been allowed to take off.

Alas however, that format has since been changed in lieu of other ways to increase viewership, ratings and marketshare. And they are missed by a contingent of those of us who saw what it can do in the way of presenting issues not seen in any other medium. So in regards to changes taking place now I truly hope this format makes somewhat of a return as well, even if such pods were to be featured on Mr. Olberman's show in relation to events he would be discussing. That would be a way of allowing the audience to have a stake in their future.

Now, I really did not watch Mr. Olberman on MSNBC all that much because I don't watch much tv in general, and don't watch cable news and actually had the impression from the few times I saw him that his ego was as big as his following. I may be wrong (and am sure I'll be told that ;-)) and hope that in his time at Current that he proves me wrong, because what we need from independent non corporate run media news is truth that engenders action, not just a following that turns on the tv, watches and then shuts it off. The times we now live in call for much more... not left, not right, but truth. Truth takes no sides. It informs, it enlightens, it makes you aware and it empowers you.

That is what I want to see Current bring and I am hoping Keith Olberman can and will deliver that. And as someone who has supported and loved Al Gore for many years I have this to say to Mr. Olberman: Welcome, bring us truth, and don't forget who the boss is. ;-)

Al Gore Schools Bill O'Reilly: Edit: Fox now looking for "debunkers"/ LOL

2011-02-01T14:33:00.020-05:00

For Bill

I love it. How do you like that Bill? I hope that wasn't too hard to understand. BTW, figure out what controls the tides yet? Oh, and shame on you for playing on the ignorance of others instead of doing your job in giving the answer you more than likely already knew was correct or at least could have found out instead of playing the Al Gore card just because you are on FOX and it gets you ratings. Or are you really that illiterate regarding how the Earth works? If so, lucky for you Al was here and gracious enough to help out.

And he was timely. I've been waiting 33 days for a response to my mail to this tea partier who seems just as ignorant about all this as Bill O'Reilly is. Just test them or respond to them on their feigned knowledge in lieu of just letting them get away with their uninformed politically partisan drival covering up their real ignorance and voila, you got them right out of the gate.

Oh God, So Many Idiots!
________________________________________
Update 2/5/11:

Fox News Places Personal Ad For Debunkers

The so called science correspondent of Fox has actually put out an ad for people to "debunk" Al Gore's response to Bill O'Reilly because he can't do it himself...... when I stop laughing I will type my response: .............. OK:

Waters are warmer at the surface in the Arctic due to excelerated melting which decreases the amount of sun radiated back into space as it is absorbed in open waters. The warm water then evaporates as glaciers melt mixing with colder air. Warm air rises faster as it is lighter and therefore what you get as a result of this interaction is snow over cooler surface temperatures and rain over warmer surface temperatures. I don't understand why it is that certain people need to constantly bicker about this but for the fact that they are either clearly ignorant of this process and or upset that Al Gore understands something they don't. It is fairly easy to understand as is the way warm and cool air and water effect each other when added to factors such as wind shear, fronts and ocean currents.

The fact that stands out now is that there is an overabundance of moisture in our atmosphere due to more runoff in our oceans, more evaporation, and amplification of the greenhouse effect on natural cycles through the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices over time that have now brought about a positive feedback loop regarding glacier melt and our forests' and oceans' ability to absorb CO2. The more we continue to amplify natural cycles with a continuation of adding GHGs to the atmosphere added to the current rate of melting the more intense and the more erratic the hydrologic cycle will become.

We are already seeing places where monsoons are not coming that have depended on them for years, and places where rain has been scarce where they are now flooding. From Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Columbia, Brazil, Australia and even California which recently saw 15 inches of rain in 3 hours time to intense snowfall (which is also precipitation) over much of the US, and drought in the Amazon which is being described as "alarming", to Bejing which has actually set a winter record for no snowfall, climate change is being felt.

But hey, by all means keep taking whacks at your favorite political pinata Al Gore as he shows you that through all of the childish rhetoric and embarassingly ignorant representation of the denier movement that whether you believe the science or not, it is still true.

I know it hurts. Truth usually does.

But it is so good to see how much he still gets to you all.

Makes me love him even more.

Oh, and just to add: They are also saying there is nothing on the Internet to corroborate that scientists talked of climate change causing extreme weather events including snow: I didn't have to go far to find one, and I am sure many more are on the Internet. It simply requires knowing what to put in a search engine, and that would require some knowledge of the topic:

Harder Rain, More Snow

Al Gore highlights climate- flooding link

2011-01-18T22:17:00.011-05:00

Al Gore highlights climate-flooding link

"Al Gore is highlighting a recent news report that casts devastating floods in Australia and Brazil as signs of climate change.

In a Tuesday Twitter message flagging the broadcast, he called the ABC News story an “important link.” He also addressed the issue on his website.

“As the earth warms, scientists tell us that we will see more and more extreme weather conditions. Each of these occurrences further underscore why we need to take immediate action to solve the climate crisis,” Gore wrote on his website Tuesday.

The ABC News report includes comments by Dr. Richard Somerville of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California-San Diego.

“This is no longer something that’s theory or conjecture or just something that comes out of computer models. We’re observing the climate changing. It’s happening. It’s real. It’s a scientific fact,” he said on the Jan. 13 report, calling extreme weather events “hints” of events that “will become stronger.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported last week that 2010 was tied with 2005 for the hottest on record worldwide.

The 10 warmest average global temperatures since 1880 have all occurred in the last 13 years, according to NOAA, which also reported that 2010 was the wettest on record, in terms of global average precipitation.

And of course, the usual response:

Washington Times attacks Gore over flooding/ global warming link even though climate scientists agree with him
____
Looks like it isn't hard to tell who the real opportunists are. Imagine that. He gives one little "tweet" about what climate scientists say about this, and the RW mediaalgorehaters club and also political opportunists on Internet sites attack him as if he just pulled it out of thin air. This is what we are dealing with. You even see it right here on Current everytime I post something about climate change. This type of journalism has nothing to do with caring about what is happening, but everything to do with using it to attack their target or anyone who supports their target. It is absolutely valid to state that the intense rains and flooding as well as intense snowstorms taking place over much of the globe at this time may well have been amplified by the forcings behind climate change. However, you can be rest assured that the usual suspects will never attempt to put it together because it does not fit in with their ideological and political agendas. And of course, it is so much easier to use the same chickensh** tactic of personally attacking the messenger.

It's a shame the Internet has been hijacked by nothing but hateful ignorant people regarding this important topic. I think certain interests will continue to try to find a way to discredit the science and deliberately not piece this together because it doesn’t fit in with their profit motives, ideology, political agendas, etc.

Melting Arctic ice sheets can indeed have an affect on wind patterns in mid and upper latitudes that do affect weather and its severity. This past November saw the second lowest Arctic ice extent per the NSIDC in line with what we are seeing in regards to more severe weather events. More moisture from warmer melting ice and albedo leads to a positive feedback which we are experiencing in the Arctic. Melting freshwater from glaciers also mixes with salt water and in turn has an affect on the ocean conveyor belt. It has also been stated that the Atlantic current is particularly vulnerable to reversal due to the excess forcing on it, thus also bringing Europe and much of the Northeast and other states more severe and colder weather. Methane from melting permafrost is already having an affect as well.

Scientists have also stated that the amount of sun being reflected back into space is declining which is contributing to the positive feedback of glacier melt and also melting more perennial ice even below the surface. Ocean acidification, coral bleaching, thinner ice extents in the Arctic. The signs of this becoming more pronounced have been coming while the media and interests looking to preserve the status quo have been doing all in their power to hide it. In 2003 for example, 35,000 people died due to a heatwave in France and in other parts of Europe. Since then we have seen this past decade as the hottest on record with many records individually broken in many countries. The current severe flooding we see in Pakistan, Australia, Brazil, Columbia, Sri Lanka, where downpours are more severe, and places where the monsoons do not come anymore affecting crops. All indications that we need to wake up.

Over half a million people are already climate refugees, with sea levels rising in vulnerable areas (the Tuvalu /Carteret Islands just two examples) with more intense wildfires, desertification, and water scarcity due to evaporation and uneven distribution of rainfall as we affect the hydrologic cycle taking its toll on agriculture in Russia, Poland, India, China, and parts of Africa where lakes such as Chad and Victoria are dwindling down. Our own Colorado no longer flows to the Gulf of Mexico, and it is only recently that Lake Mead has been somewhat replenished due to intense rains in California, but how long will it last with higher demand for energy and agriculture? How much more do we need to see before we realize we are headed for that tipping point?

We need to be more vocal than the interests now in line with Republican (and some Democratic) deniers for profit in Congress who have continually stopped progress on this. We need to light a fire under a movement in this country that melts away the lies and propaganda being paid for by the likes of the Koch Brothers and others who are totally bereft of the moral courage it is going to take to face this challenge. Sorry for going on, but I am truly concerned about where this world is heading. I fear that we as a species as usual will not fully see this until it is too late. Until that frog jumps out of the pot.

Building efficiency is key to sustainability

2011-01-09T14:44:00.007-05:00

Gore says inefficient building design worsens global warming
"Inefficient building design worsens global warming, causing 40 percent of the climate crisis, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore said.

“Efficiency is the number one solution,” Gore said at The Global Urban Development forum in Beijing yesterday.

While China has had “unusual success” with its economy and in accelerating carbon-use reduction, it also faces emissions problems similar to those of the U.S., because 80 percent of its electricity is supplied by coal.

A global agreement on emission cuts wasn’t reached at the climate summit in December at Cancun, Mexico. China, the world’s biggest power producer, is taking its own measures to reduce its carbon intensity, the amount of carbon it emits per unit of gross domestic product. It aims to cut carbon emitted per unit as much as 45 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels.

China may spend about 5 trillion yuan ($750 billion) in the next decade developing cleaner energy to reduce emissions from burning oil and coal, Jiang Bing, head of the National Energy Administration’s planning and development department, said on July 20."

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net.
_____
Mr. Gore if you read this site at all (which I know is highly doubtful since you are such a busy man, but nevertheless...) I wonder if you are aware of passive homes whose construction has been going on in Europe for some time now, and only just getting certification here in the US. Now while it may not seem as sustainable as LEED certfied building, it is however a tremendous saver of money and also in conservation. See the video and story here:

New Passive Homes Are So Energy Efficient They Make Heating And Cooling Practically Irrelevant

I agree that we now must look to better energy efficiency, retro fitting, and putting plans such as those for passive homes which can be applied to businesses and other buildings as well into building codes. Problem is if China and other countries continue to spew out CO2 emissions from coal plants and keep building them, just how does this all balance out?

Oh God, so many idiots!

2010-12-29T15:25:00.011-05:00

Making It Snow On Al Gore

Read this to understand the title. This is the crux of the problem in trying to explain reality and truth to people about global warming and climate change. I was actually compelled to write this "journalist" :

Are you serious in writing such drivel? It is obvious you know nothing of climate science or the events leading up to the abundance of moisture, CO2, and methane in our atmosphere that is now presenting itself as monsoon rains in California after a three year drought (which btw, has not affected the Colorado River which no longer flows to the Gulf Of Mexico or Lake Mead which has receded so much it may well be gone in the next five years) as it also did in Pakistan, India, China, South America, the Philippines and now in Australia. Or the intense heat in Russia, Bulgaria, and other places in Europe along with the majority of the US (particularly the Northeast) just a few months ago. Do you have short term memory loss? In case you've been living under a rock, NASA has also stated that 2010 will be the hottest year on record. Care to dispute that with real scientific evidence, or is dumping on Al Gore because it is so easy to do for those who are ignorant about science all you know?

The ice in the Arctic as well as glaciers worldwide are indeed melting and at an accelerated rate over what was predicted by scientists, which is the crux of the crisis we face regarding the changes taking place on Earth. You know, Earth, that round orb that doesn't just include your backyard? Do you know what the word paradox means? I would actually try to explain to you the process of how melting ice in the Arctic (which BTW just had the second lowest sea ice extent this past November as recorded by the National Snow Ice Data Center) affects the Beaufort Gyre and the ocean currents which control climate globally in bringing us these paradoxical extremes, but based on the total lack of substance in your writing I doubt you would understand, which is my point. It is so called journalists like you who get paid to spread misinformation and ignorance who are the problem.

My advice to you. Open up a book first and read about earth science, the carbon cycle, and how ocean currents work.

Next, try to write about it objectively instead of just using the whipping boy of the scientifically ignorant to get readership because you think they are just as ignorant as you are on this.

Believe me, many of us are not and we are tired of seeing this type of disingenuous dangerous journalism that seeks to keep people in the dark about a real problem.
______

Let's see if I even get a real response or just more of the same drivel. I truly think this is part of the strategy those of us who understand this need to employ in this next year. Nipping this kind of false journalism on climate change and the tactic of deferring to attacking Al Gore to cover up their ignorance in the bud. Unbelievable.
_____
Update:

Ok, after three days no response. I'll keep you posted on this and any other tea baggers I choose to educate.
________________
Update:

Well, after 11 days, no response. Seems those who try to pretend they are not totally ignorant of what they speak have no choice but to be silent when proven otherwise. No surprise there. I'll be continuing to peruse the Internet when I get the chance to see what other trash is out here. Seems oil companies, climate denial sites, the tea party, and other interests have their minions out in full force to spread hate and lies everytime a story about Mr. Gore's endeavors surfaces. I think it's time they were made aware of some truth.

Ten years ago today...

2010-12-12T20:54:00.016-05:00

"Some have asked whether I have any regrets and I do have one regret: that I didn't get the chance to stay and fight for the American people over the next four years, especially for those who need burdens lifted and barriers removed, especially for those who feel their voices have not been heard. I heard you, and I will not forget."

President Al Gore in his withdrawal speech of December 13, 2000.

History changed forever, my heart was broken, and my faith in the political process in America died. I really don't want to say too much about it, but suffice it to say that we were robbed of someone who would have been one of the greatest presidents this country ever knew. I will leave it at that now, because back then I completely submersed myself in those 36 days and after that tried as best I could to try to right the terrible wrong that was done to our entire system. I learned a great lesson from that experience however that I will never ever repeat.

But that is water under the bridge now I suppose and in looking back at the ten years since, I can say I never imagined that Mr. Gore would accomplish all he did. But even though that is the case, here we sit still waiting for adequate progress on a crisis that will define this century. The same political impasses and partisanship that decided the fate of our country a decade ago still loom over us to the point where the future of our very civilization is now down to what a climate denier Congress will not do as the world's banks and governments now line up to seek a way to profit from something they deny.

So, the fight continues in trying to make people see that this is not political and not just economic. It goes to the very core of what and who we are as humans. This is something Mr. Gore has always understood. I truly hope he continues to understand this, because he is one of the main reasons I continue to fight.

I wrote a small series on this five years ago:

Anatomy Of A Coup-part 1

Anatomy of A Coup-part2

Anatomy Of A Coup-part3

End Of A Series, But Not The End

My Thanks To Portland Indymedia

And Mr. Gore, if by some chance you ever read this blog and see this, thank you for fighting. Peace and love to you.

Alliance for Climate Protection Report on Climate Finance: Vague

2010-12-08T07:18:00.024-05:00

Report on Climate Finance

In all honesty I have to admit this report sounded too "DC political" and too much on the side of the very financial institutions whose financing actually led to this crisis, which is disappointing. Where is the science coming into play here?

Hopefully this report really speaks of solar energy, sustainable agriculture, etc. that gives indigenous peoples and people in developing countries access to their land without huge corporations being able to landgrab it through World Bank/corporate schemes in order to continue polluting here while claiming to be helping solve the climate crisis. Just because the US Congress didn't do its moral duty shouldn't mean the polluters and they now get a break. That won't solve anything. The developing world is also rightfully skeptical of carbon markets and with good reason. It has already been abused in Indonesia and other countries in Asia and more than likely would be again. You try forcing that on them again and they will fight you. Foil the Carbon Market Plan Says La Via Campesina

I don’t understand what appears to be not holding the World Bank and other institutions accountable for financing the very causes of climate change in the developing world. Are we now to cater to banks that already got bailouts as well to continue financing CDMS as if all is forgiven? The World Bank is also financing the construction of coal plants (currently a huge one in India and one in South Africa) and mega dams which exacerbate climate change through deforestation, methane emissions and diversion of waterways which affects agriculture, drought, and rainfall patterns.

Look under "Coal Project Plans"

So will we see people unable to work their land unless backed by a corporate entity? They won't be able to do anything on their land freely but corporations will still be allowed to deforest their land to build megadams for hydropower (even if solar and wind are more viable) because dam building is actually now seen as a CDM? So then Monsanto could do the same thing in deforesting South America to grow monoculture GM soy and state it is a CDM because they claim it is "sustainable agriculture?" Isn't that backwards? Isn't it absurd?

Mr. Gore wrote of the hydrologic cycle being affected by human behavior which is correct, so why support the very financial institutions causing this to be done? World Bank Quietly Funding A Massive Corporate Water Grab. Certainly developing countries as a whole if you add in China and India are gaining ground as far as emissions, but you must also then understand that in many of these countries it is US companies that are deforesting the land (landgrabs to grow corn for biofuel, cattle ranching, water extraction, backing the building of dams, causing pollution (oil companies most notorious) etc.)

Many people in these countries have no control over this and are excluded from the process. If developing countries are ever going to have a chance to truly be part of the solution they cannot continue to be made victims of the policies of the World Bank and other institutions that use these country’s resources for their own profit under the guise of caring while leaving the people out of the process.

I don’t know, I just got the feeling based on what I read that this report caters still to industry and institutions, and not enough to indigenous peoples and populations of all countries who are at the mercy of governments in collusion with these financial institutions which is where this report should be directed to if you truly wish to tackle climate change effectively. I also saw no tables referencing anticipated GHG decreases due to implementing any of these mechanisms that would meet scientist's urgent warnings in the required timeframe.

If people truly understand their connection to this planet as many of these people do, there should be no need for mechanisms such as CDM that only seek to benefit corporate backers that can still pollute. It is the banks and governments of this world exacerbating climate change in developing countries, and yet the people will be penalized and they rewarded? That may not be the intention of this report, but then, human nature must also be accounted for, no?

My impression of this crisis from seeing the science is that it is urgent. Why then in this report does it talk of 2012 meetings, etc. as if this is just business as usual? How many years will the UN be allowed to fail on this and still get a reprieve? It leaves me as a citizen of the world and someone who does want to solve this feeling a bit skeptical myself of just how this will happen in time through only concentrating on the political and economic. Sorry, but that isn't going to be enough to solve this crisis. Again, this was disappointing to read, and I surely hope my first impressions were wrong because I know where Mr. Gore's heart is, and that there is a better way.

Only through the human species looking at this from a moral perspective in line with economics and superceding politics will we be able to work to now adapt to the changes coming and those already upon us. We can only hope that the lessons learned both in Cancun and in Copenhagen serve as a spark for more grassroots action that can circumvent the false solutions put before us. To expect the very institutions such as the World Bank that precipitated this crisis to now solve it in continuing the status quo is ludicrous.

We need to place a fee on the pollution at the source (instead of rewarding those making it through CDMs) through a revenue neutral carbon tax that spurs transition to renewable energy sources thus decreasing GHG emissions adequately and making polluters accountable while not hurting consumers and or those who live a world away.

Gore's Ethanol Conversion a Miracle Of Better Judgement

2010-12-02T11:53:00.009-05:00

Gore's Ethanol Conversion A Miracle Of Better Judgement

This was one of the more fairer articles regardng what so many are touting as Mr. Gore's "conversion." Of course, the usual subjects are feeding on it as a condemnation of him once again, totally forgetting all of those politicians who supported it and still do because hell, Mr. Gore invented everything, even ethanol... :::rolling eyes:::

I only made a passing comment on this in a previous post on his talk in Greece, but I did want to expand a bit on it here. For one, yes, I am a bit disappointed that he waited so long to state this publicly but I also know it is not the first time he has mentioned it. He mentioned it at a talk in Argentina a few years ago and again in his 2009 book, Our Choice. I suspect this was a revelation he has known about for quite some time only this public announcement was the one that caught the attention of the press. So on that score it really wasn't a surprise to me that he said this.

My greater disappointment stems from the fact that he too allowed political pressure to influence his moral decisions regarding the environment, especially since I read Earth In The Balance three times and saw him as the one political voice who truly had that higher consciousness. But we all know how toxic the political environment is and how it can compromise who you really are. One can only imagine the moral dilemma and reconciliation one has to face after having been in the political realm for so many years and once being out of it seeing how it carried them away. What determines a man's character is then the actions he takes once the reflection is done. In this case Mr. Gore showed himself to be a man of character in admitting his mistake and in now working to rectify the consequences of it. In this last decade he has done so much to support renewable energy and Sustainable Agricultural practices. One could then say he has finally expiated the political demons and now can see the world clearly. All I can say to that is, amen.

I have written many times here during all of the pushing for him to run in 2004 and 2008 that he was a much better man than what he would have to become to return to that realm. I cannot say in words how grateful I am that he too sees this and has truly come full circle in not returning there.

In the case of corn ethanol Mr. Gore, it is a direct threat to the food security of millions of people in the developing world who now struggle for sustenance as huge conglomerates seek out landgrabs to take their land and use it to grow monoculture corn for biofuel while deforesting the land and exacerbating climate change. You are now a voice of true change for the world, and I can only hope that your talks globally centering around renewable energy and sustainable agricultural practices will bring about the shift we need to save lives and land.

Gore calls for bold thinking on environment

2010-11-23T18:23:00.011-05:00

Gore calls for bold thinking on environment

Excerpt:
"By Jean Christou
Published on November 23, 2010 +-Text size

FORMER US vice president and climate activist Al Gore was the main speaker at Marfin Popular Bank’s third Athens international conference yesterday, which focused on Commodities, Environment and Climate Change.

At the conference, attended by businessmen and bankers, Gore called for a price to be put on carbon emissions. “Everything on the marketplace is measured but it’s important to look at what we’re not measuring. Put a price on carbon so it can be measured, because it has a value,” said Gore. “We’ve got to get our act together. The longer we delay the more costly it’s going to be. This is a global problem so there has to be a global solution,” he added.

Gore repeated the doom and gloom claims made in his documentary and book An Inconvenient Truth about overpopulation, carbon emissions, rising sea levels and melting icecaps.

“If we don’t address the problems soon we will condemn future generations to steadily rising sea levels,” said Gore.” Choices have to be made and they have to be made now. What has guided us in the past is no longer relevant. Survival depends on clear thinking and bold decision making.”

Gore did backtrack on one of his earlier pet issues - biofuels. Ever since the US in particular has been granting subsidies to farmers to cultivate crops - mainly corn - for ethanol, cereal prices have spiked causing global food prices to increase dramatically.

Yesterday Gore said ethanol had been a mistake. He said the amount of fossil fuel used to carry out the conversion of grain to fuel meant that net gains had been “trivial”.

Another speaker at the conference, Gerard Wynn, Senior Environmental Markets Correspondent at Thompson Reuters, who also talked about biofuels, said rapidly increasing oil prices had prompted the demand for biofuels. “The US is now the biggest provider of subsidies to the biofuel market,” he said, adding that 41 per cent of all corn grown in the US goes to biofuels.

More subsidies are given to the biofuels’ sector than any other renewable energy source (RES), Wynn said. Wynn estimates that this sector would continue to receive the lion’s share of interest over the next 25 years. “Under the EU’s RES targets ten per cent of all road transport fuel will be from alternatives including biofuels, “ said Wynn. “Most states plan to meet that target from biofuels alone.”

However there was still some controversy over the ‘food versus fuel’ he said. “The connection was made that we have higher food prices and yet we are putting it in to cars,” said Wynn, adding that the UN Food Agency said only last week that the output of cereals would be down two per cent this year.

He maintained the biofuel industry was not sustainable in the long term however, given that more and more land would be needed to grow the necessary crops."
~~

I respect Mr. Gore for admitting this. Proof positive of the toxic environment of politics that rivals that of the planet. So glad you're out of it and working to make it right, which is more than can be said for the likes of a Bush or Cheney. It also speaks volumes about farmers as well who would rather take the subsidies knowing what they are doing and not speak out as well. Second generation biofuels are truly the best way to go, and that includes not only switchgrasses but hemp. Unfortunately however, hemp is illegal in much of the U.S, and that is a mistake because it is a great source for biofuel, clothing, food, etc. Also, many switchgrasses are not as water intensive and are not used for food which is already a plus in a world where over a billion people now go without (access to) the food they need to survive and over one billion currently live in water stressed and scarce areas. Cyprus knows this all too well already in regards to water scarcity.

In regards to first generation biofuels, they have resulted in a net loss of sustainability across the board. The fossil fuels needed to grow the corn, cultivate it, ship it, and the water involved in it's production have caused a net loss environmentally and only fed the profits of corporations like Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland and Monsanto (through using GMOs like BT corn to be grown through subsidies which tests have shown to cause health effects in mammals and a decrease in biodiversity through transgenic contamination of organic crops.) A world where only three major crops are grown is a recipe not only for lack of biodiversity which feeds all life, but worldwide famine.

In order to decrease carbon emissions and other GHG emissions through the production of biofuel, the switchgrasses need to be grown organically and sustainably which minimizes pesticide, fossil fuel and water usage. There is also a way to produce it using solar energy that would truly be a net environmmental gain instead of playing a dangerous game with our environment for profit.

I hope other countries truly begin to see the importance of transitioning to these types of fuels quickly as we are also seeing peak oil encroaching. We must be prepared, otherwise the global financial recession we are now facing will be mild in comparison to what will happen should we not look towards the future with moral courage and vision.

Addendum:

"Gore repeated the doom and gloom claims made in his documentary and book An Inconvenient Truth about overpopulation, carbon emissions, rising sea levels and melting icecaps."

Just one comment about the wording here: what was covered by Mr. Gore in An Inconvenient Truth was the work of climate scientists he was relaying, and unfortunately is now a reality. Mocking it by calling it "doom and gloom" does not relay the true importance of this nor instill in people an understanding of the ramifications of ignoring it.

Addition:

Growth Energy ethanol plant tour offer to Gore

Sigh, as if they think one tour will change what has happened to the environment and economy from this destructive scheme. I have always been against first generation biofuels. Happy to see Mr. Gore speaking out against it now. I hope it is not too late.

Here is the comment I posted at this site that is still waiting moderation... uh huh... ;-)
__
I invite Tom Buis to take a trip to South America to see how clearing forests for growing BT corn and GM soy monocultures has hurt the livelihoods of the people there and how much it has exacerbated the very climate change it claims to mitigate. First Generation biofuels are a net loss environmentally when you grow the corn using fossil fuel industrial agriculture and oil based pesticides. Not to mention the fossil fuels needed to process and transport it to market. Mr. Gore is correct. Time to stop the gravy train that these companies have been on at the expense of our environment and move to Second Generation biofuels that are not water intensive, not food, and not GMOs that are only being grown to make Cargill and Monsanto richer.

India Can Lead The Way In Green Energy

2010-11-20T20:11:00.008-05:00

India Can Lead The Way In Green Energy, Says Al Gore

As Mr. Gore continues his climate mission and work to speak to people around the world regarding the benefits of transitioning to a clean energy future, interests still work in the U.S. to derail such progress. It is then going to have to be nations like India that move in showing the world that using the power of the sun and the elements of the Earth in harmony with man will be what saves our species.

The global economy will surely benefit from such a transition but it also speaks to more than just a profit sheet. It speaks to our very souls. Spiritual harmony and oneness with Earth is also a part of this transition. It is not just a transition of energy sources that is needed but a transition in our mindset in how we see the world and how we use our inner energy and light to respect it.

To know that economic progress can come just as well from utilizing clean energy sources and choosing not to use them is also a betrayal of our spiritual destiny. Energy sources that toxify and defile the planet wear away at the balance of mankind and in turn seal our fate. As the world looks upon an age of Peak Oil, moving to energy sources that work in harmony with man and our planet will become a moral imperative for survival.

Just as the people of India celebrate the festival of Diwali, the celebration of light, so should they move to celebrating the great light that can provide enough energy to light their future.

Climate Change Is The New Global Terror

More on Mr. Gore's visit. ;-)

Al Gore To Host Time Warner Cable Global Town Hall

2010-11-15T21:09:00.008-05:00

Former Vice President Al Gore To Host Time Warner Cable Global Town Hall

Live interactive discussion will connect students from the US with students around the world11.15.2010– On Wednesday, November 17 at 9:00am, Time Warner Cable will host a live interactive online town hall called Math, Science and the Future of Our Nation, hosted by former Vice President Al Gore. This unique event is part of Connect a Million Minds (CAMM), Time Warner Cable’s philanthropic commitment to connect youth to ideas, people and opportunities that will inspire them to pursue education and careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

The town hall will connect young people from across the United States with students from around the world, and with internationally known science and technology leaders including inventor Dean Kamen and astronaut Sally Ride. The discussion will focus on attitudes among American youth toward math and science, and how to inspire and motivate them so they will be successful in a competitive global marketplace.

For this unprecedented event, Time Warner Cable selected one middle school student from the area to represent Coeur d’Alene in the discussion from the viewing party at the KROC Center (1765 W. Golf Course Road). The selection process included having students submit an essay of 350 words or less, addressing The Importance of Math and Science to the Future of Our Country and Community. The selected student will team up with the local event moderator, KXLY-ABC’s Chief Meteorologist Kris Crocker, to develop a news story about the event and the Connect a Million Minds initiative.

Simultaneous viewing parties are also being planned in 16 Time Warner Cable markets across the country, including one in Fountain Valley at Masuda Middle School (17415 Los Jardines West).

Following the Global Online Town Hall, students at Masuda Middle School will participate in a discussion adults who use science, technology and math in their fields. Panelists include Jamie Knight, Director, Commercial Recording Arts Department, Huntington Beach High School; Grace Adams, Executive Director, Bolsa Chica Conservancy; and Paul Pooler, Director of Education, Discovery Science Center. The Fountain Valley discussion will be moderated by Nino Polizzi, founder and president of Rocket Science Tutors (www.rocketsciencetutors.com), an all-volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to improving STEM education in America by generating excitement with real-life engineers in the classroom.

Members of the public can join the town hall at www.connectamillionminds.com, where – using a new online broadcasting platform from Vokle.com- they can submit live video questions and comments from anywhere in the world in real time.

Also see:

Connect A Million Minds
________
Great initiative. I hope it inspires more youth to seek out meeting their potential. And not just in science and math, but music, art, history, and especially understanding the world around them and their role in shaping it.

Al Gore to receive honorary degree from Tilburg University

2010-11-14T12:07:00.008-05:00

Al Gore to receive honorary degree from Tilburg University

RNW

Former US vice president Al Gore is to receive an honorary degree from Tilburg University. The degree will be presented on 23 November, when Mr Gore is due to hold a lecture at the university and open the Tilburg Sustainability Centre TSC.

A spokesperson for the university says the former vice president is to receive the honorary degree for his huge contribution "to drawing attention to the importance of sustainability".

Mr Gore's lecture in Tilburg will focus on the global economic and political consequences of climate change. A dozen students will speak with him after the lecture. Extensive security measures will be in place during the visit.

The TSC is a new international research institute, in which scientists of various disciplines will search for solutions to create a sustainable society. The institute will work for both the government and commercial businesses.

____
Congratulations to you Mr. Gore on this honorary degree and once again thank you for your relentless devotion and passion in working for a better world. You know, I read plenty of derogatory remarks about Mr. Gore in regards to his motives regarding his work. And in all honesty with each one I read I am more convinced of his sincerity as he continues to prove them wrong. It would appear that there is a large segment of interests that do not want to see this planet preserved sustainably for future generations and it is they who are wrong not Mr. Gore. I also know that Mr. Gore's passion for this is because he has a family of his own he loves and it is them I am sure he is thinking of in these endeavors. I can state that because I too have a child I love dearly and for me he and the family I love are why I too devotedly speak out about this in trying in any small way I can to work for a better future for him, his children, and the world to come.

So while political and corporate factions still seek to diminish the importance of his work and claim that he is irrelevant for their own selfish purposes that could not be farthest from the truth. And just as an aside, I noticed the line in this report that stated extensive security measures would be in place during this visit in opening the sustainability center there and receiving this honorary degree. I haven't really written about this much but I can definitely believe he may well be getting death threats. Let's face facts: everytime he speaks people do listen regardless of what detractors would have you believe. He is well respected in many circles and has the experience and background to back up everything he says with facts. And as such everytime he speaks out for sustainability he speaks out against the fossil fuel industry which does not promise us anything in the way of sustainbility, and he also warns us of the peak oil phase we have entered that now demands we shift and transition to renewable energy in order to preserve our civilization.

Those are some pretty big issues that we need to now face, but since this is about money to those who make too much from polluting, toxifying, and overdosing us on their GHGs and they don't want to see that gravy train end it does not surprise me to think they would do anything to maintain their status quo. All I can say to this is, Mr. Gore please stay safe out here. You do have many people across this globe myself definitely included who support your efforts and stand with you in the cause of sustainable living in gaining back the respect for this planet that has been lost and passing that on to our children.

Much love,
Jan

Tilburg University

Tilburg Sustainability Center

Thank you for this decade: Part 2

2010-11-11T11:18:00.013-05:00

How do you begin to express what you feel about what happened a decade ago and measure it against all that has happened since? In the aftermath of the 2000 selection of Bush by the USSC over Al Gore the true winner of the 2000 presidential election, we sit in a United States more divided than it has ever been. The same divisions that prompted the coup then still contribute to the impasses we see today only with more of a tinge of disdain. Which is truly a sad statement for America. In the wake of this constitutional and moral tragedy however, Al Gore showed grace and good faith in conceding (and just to mention, I call it a withdrawal not a concession) as he had exhaused all legal measures to have votes counted.

His "concession" speech which was reconciliatory and illustrated the true statesman he is hoped to bridge the gap that already existed as well as bringing himself political closure after serving the American people for nearly thirty years. It was an ambivalent speech for me, filled with sadness but also hope that even though he had not been allowed to take his rightful place justice might one day be served and that failure would also serve to allow us all to "let our glory out."

If only they had foresight into just what that fateful day would bring for this country, I wonder how many people would have been so quick to dismiss him then. Especially those establishment Democrats who deserted him... but hey, that's all water under the bridge now right? Such crimes against our Constitution aren't important anymore. All that matters is that the one who played ball with the status quo was crowned King. ::::sarcasm::::

I don't have to go into all of the events that happened since that day under the immoral Bush regime and don't really want to. Suffice it to say however, that he indeed was the worst pResident in US history, and as his book tour now winds its way across the country seeking to rewrite history it will fail because there is no amount of writing or false contrition that can wipe the blood from his hands or make up for the crimes of the soul that have been committed. And surely, he and his den of vipers in anticipation of it all thought they had gotten rid of Mr. Gore as well after that fateful day. That they had broken him. But they were proven wrong and that is the true victory I wish to focus on. The indominitable spirit of a man on a mission.

I always knew in my heart that Mr. Gore was a special person. That he possessed a dedication to the environmental cause far surpassing anything that was relayed in our biased media and far beyond anything he could have accomplished in the constrained political world where such passion was demeaned instead of being respected. However, I never surmised that he would accomplish so much in the way of awareness and action and indeed, he was in my opinion a far better president in exile than Bush ever was sitting in residence in a house he had no business being in. Therefore, in my next installment I will highlight his work in this past decade and some endeavors I took as well to give notice to them.

This is an entry I wrote when I first started this blog on how he was changing the world. And despite all of the vitriol aimed at him from the usual suspects this still holds true.

How Al Gore Is Changing The World

Mr. Gore speaks in Trinidad and Tobago

2010-11-07T00:16:00.013-04:00

Gore: Courts must be insulated from politics

"Gore: Courts must be insulated from politics
By COREY CONNELLY Sunday, November 7 2010

The lines of jurisdiction between the Judiciary and politics must always be clearly defined, former United States vice-president Al Gore has said.

“The courts should be insulated from politics. The courts should adhere to constitutional principles and insist on the enforcement of the law,” he said on Thursday after delivering a lecture titled “Thinking Green: Economic Strategy for the 21st century”, at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port-of-Spain.

Gore, a renowned environmental activist, made the statement while responding to a question from a member of the audience who wanted to know if protection of the environment required an adherence to the rule of law.

“Of course, obviously,” he said.

However, on the issue of the extent to which local environmental organisations should be influenced by politicians, Gore added: “I am not qualified to say how that should work in your (TT’s) political system.”

Gore said in the United States, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was answerable to the President and could also be dismissed by him. He added that the organisation was insulated from the Congress.

“Your system is different and I, with all due respect, will not try to venture an answer in an area that I don’t think I have enough expertise in,” said Gore, the 45th vice-president of the US.

In his discourse, Gore, who has been urging world leaders to develop green economies, also told a gathering of schoolchildren that they should never underestimate their ability to direct their lives at issues to which they feel passionately about.

“Equip yourself with the knowledge to make it possible for you to play a meaningful role,” he said.

“I find all over the world more and more young people are going into environmental science because they want to be a part of the solution. Be part of this change and be open in your heart to the truth and be prepared to articulate that clearly with truth force,” Gore said."
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Unfortunately, Mr. Gore knows all too well what can happen when courts are not insulated from politics. The US would have been better for it had that not been the case ten years ago. However, I still believe the world has now benefitted from his passion and dedication to this most crucial crisis.

More on Mr. Gore's visit:

Gore praises anti-smelter stance

It was good to read that Mr. Gore mentioned peak oil here. It is something not mentioned and I believe oil companies are avoiding it for obvious reasons. Mr. Gore has held over thirty sustainable solutions summits, so with the information he has shared and gathered I am sure he has touched upon this. Usage and demand are outpacing capacity and as such, fossil fuel agriculture added to increased usage and spills and catastrophes makes it imperative that we now move to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels and onto more sustainable agricultural methods. This isn't about politics, this is about survival. People need to come to the realization that Peak Oil is now upon us and if we do not move now to plan for it, Trinidad and Tobago will not be the only place experiencing the fallout from it.

He also led a conference on climate change in the Dominican Republic:

Al Gore heads Dominican Republic conference on climate change

<3

Al Gore gives lecture on sustainable capitalism in Gothenburg

2010-10-31T12:55:00.021-04:00

Mr. Gore speaks on sustainable capitalism in Gothenburg

Excerpt:
"2010-10-28

Every seat in the school’s largest auditorium was taken at the School of Business, Economics and Law in Gothenburg on Monday. The topic presented by Al Gore was sustainable capitalism and students were also able to ask questions.

Al Gore held the seminar together with two other prominent individuals: Björn Stigson, President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and Visiting Professor at the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg; and David Blood, Senior Partner of Generation Invest Management (Al Gore is chairman of the company's Advisory Board). Eva Halvarsson, CEO, Second Swedish National Pension Fund, acted as the moderator.

Al Gore is a strong proponent of sustainable capitalism, i.e. capitalism that strives to maximize long-term economic growth while integrating environmental, social and governance issues into strategies, risk assessments and not least, reward systems. According to Al Gore, the short-term nature of today's form of capitalism is the greatest obstacle to sustainable capitalism.

He pointed out that every part of the value chain must be included in assessments and price-setting. The way it is now, we are measuring the wrong things. He used the fishing industry as one example of this:

“By taking more fish from the sea, we are able to report better numbers and growth - that is, until all the fish are gone and everything collapses. What value have we created by that?” he asked.

David Blood, Senior Partner of Generation Investment Management, the company that he started along with Al Gore, emphasized that sustainable capitalism is not some type of “feel-good factor”. Rather, it has to do with profitability:

“Companies that focus on the long term and take an overall approach, which is the foundation for sustainable capitalism, are also the most profitable,” he said.

Generation Investment Management is now cooperating with business schools in USA in order to spread knowledge on sustainable capitalism."
____________

What Mr. Gore spoke of at this lecture is similar to the premise Raj Patel has written about in his book, The Value of Nothing and it is a premise that needs to be instituted in business practices now in order to preserve our planet's biodiversity and sustainable development. Currently we place too much value on the product and little to no value on the process that gets it to market that takes into account its environmental and health effects which skews its perception thus also building a false market picture. For instance, coal is priced based on its excavation and sale yet no market value is placed on the environmental and health effects of it thus making it cheaper, but not a better product. If that were the case solar power would be a steal in comparison and thus easily the power source of choice because it does not possess the health effects and devastation to the environment that fossils fuels do (though of course, nothing is perfect but again, this is a comparison.)

It is the same let's say for a hamburger. If the indirect costs of actually clearing the land in the Amazon which causes deforestation and exacerbates climate change along with GMO animal feed grown in ways that aren't sustainable and pesticide use on them were added to the price of a hamburger besides taking into consideration the health effects of eating meat and the residual damage to Earth's ecosystems, hamburgers would cost twenty dollars as opposed to the 99 cent ammonia treated meat you get at McDonalds that allows them to falsely value it in the market and get away with speculating on prices which cause hunger strikes in many parts of the world and obesity and diabetes here. This also applies to industrial agriculture regarding the indirect costs of fossil fuels, pesticides, GMOS and other factors not being taken into account in pricing, thus leaving organic food more expensive even though it is the better choice for health and environmental sustainability.

Now, some would say to do this would be catastrophic but I don't think so. It would bring a level playing field in a fair and real market and usher in a new age of sustainable business that sees ethics as a part of the market equation. It might also compel industries currently operating in ways that despoil environment and health to actually look for ways to cut down on such abuses. That translates to more vigorous competition in the marketplace, better quality products, and more choices for consumers which help lower prices and save them money on other costs such as healthcare. Of course, to bring such a paradigm shift to the marketplace seems highly unlikely based on the entrenchment of those companies such as the fossil fuel industry that have had such a hold on the market mechanisms and how their products are priced for so long.

But that is why we need people like Al Gore, Raj Patel and others speaking logically about a system that has been despoiled just as drastically as our environment has been. When we place value on all components of a product it simply translates into not only quality products now but sustainability and health for the future. And considering where the Earth now stands that is a mindset that is truly a moral and economic imperative.

Edit:

Refutation of more lies

Ok, after typing the above comment, I saw an entry on Google that this Exxon backed website named 'Climate Depot' had printed that Mr. Gore left his car idlng for an entire hour while giving an environmental lecture in Gothenburg. I would laugh if this wasn't so pathetic. The link posted refutes this outright lie and desperate attempt to once again slur Mr. Gore's name. And just for reference, Marc Morano is the shill claiming this... So I sent him an e-mail asking him for evidence and he replied that there was a picture of the car idling from "swedish media." To which I replied asking for more specific evidence such as film of Mr. Gore driving there alone and leaving the car running with the time noted to prove it was an hour... no reply. Typical lying coward. How sad these stalkers of Mr. Gore are in being so desperate in trying to deter him from the good work he is doing.

To Mr. Gore: Thank you for this decade: Part 1

2010-10-23T21:19:00.006-04:00

Where to begin. At this time ten years ago I was knocking on doors and talking to people of my own accord to come out in November 2000 and place their vote for you in the presidential election in order to retain the peace and prosperity we then knew. I also did it because I saw in you a man who had been kept in the shadows for the preceding eight years and knew there was so much more to you as a man and as a leader. I was never more hopeful for the future and for our environment than the day I walked to the polls to place my vote for you...then that night brought it all down.

It is hard for me to describe in words even now the depth of despair I felt at seeing the projection for Florida recanted by the media, and then the announcement that Bush had won. The urgency I felt as my heart raced faster in thinking it must be a mistake was only overcome by the tears. The subsequent days afterward between then and December 13th were days spent in constant protest and not only because of the outrage I felt at you being so robbed of what you had earned. It was the outrage I felt at what we as a nation were being robbed of and a system that would allow such a blatant attack on justice and freedom.

At the hour of the USSC final decision and your concession I felt so lost. But then I looked at my nine year old son and realized that I couldn't give up. There was work to do in righting this terrible wrong. In all honesty I looked to the January after to the vote certification in Congress hoping something would happen. That the Congress would see the egregious injustice of having the USSC pick our president over the votes of the people. But alas, nothing happened save for the protest brought by a few members of the Black Congressional Caucus. I have to admit that seeing you bang down the gavel for order was one of the saddest things I have ever seen you do. I tried to understand it, and actually now I do. As you stated, the next step was violent revolution and while it would have been a response in seeking justice it would have done nothing but destroy our country. You truly believed that and were willing to sacrifice your own legacy for it. So very bittersweet and truly one of the saddest days for this nation.

In response to that I swore that I would never acknowledge George W. Bush as my president and for the next eight years I never placed the word president in front of his name... ever. You were my president those eight years and I fought for the restoration of that through my PAC and other means as you know, and if I do say so myself you were a better president out of the White House than he ever was squatting in it.

So in commemoration of those years that you gave to the American dialogue and the search for truth since then, I wish to remember your accomplishments for this decade. I do this because you have been a constant inspiration and source of hope to me. At a time when you could have given it all up and just disappeared never to be heard from again you decided to stay and fight for what was right. And for that and the man that you are I will always love you.

Mr. Gore in Chennai compares Earth's hydrology to human heart

2010-10-23T19:42:00.008-04:00

Al Gore's Message To Docs-See Earth's Hydrology Like Human Heart

"CHENNAI: Former US president and green campaigner Al Gore addressed a select gathering of cardiologists and cardio-vascular specialists in Chennai on Wednesday, in a speech that drew comparisons between the human heart and the hydrological cycle of the earth.

The 45th US vice president and Nobel peace prize winner was in the city to deliver a lecture on thinking green' at the 20th world congress of the World Society of Cardio-thoracis Surgeons and the 6th Global Forum on Humanitarian Medicine in Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery. He left the city soon afterwards, avoiding any interaction with the press.

In his introductory remarks, Gore outlined how temperatures were rising in different parts of the globe and erratic weather patterns were being witnessed in different parts of the world. The relationship between human beings and the ecological system of the earth has radically changed in a short period of time, he said.

From his own personal experience, he cited the unprecedented instance of a flood in Nashville, Tennessee, where it rained for many days last May and people lost homes and businesses. "They had no flood insurance, as there had never been any flood in the city's recorded history," he said.

With more than 19 countries across the globe recording an all-time high in temperature, this year has had many firsts-in-1000-years' phenomena: a place in Pakistan recorded 53.5 degree Celsius in May (hottest ever in Asia), another place in Russia recorded about 40 degree Celsius for many days in a row, Australia had faced drought due to unprecedented weather and again Pakistan had to face the wrath of the rains as over 20 million people were homeless after floods.

As he addressed the gathering predominantly of doctors, especially cardiologists and cardio-vascular specialists, the 2007 Nobel laureate sought to see similarities in the role of the heart in the human body with the hydrological cycle of the earth. Just as the heart's regular beating helped in the distribution of blood to the various parts of the body, water moves through processes of evaporation, condensation and precipitation to return through rivers and streams to work its way back to the ocean, he said."
__________________________

Mr. Gore is correct in his assessment of the human body in relation to the hydrologic cycle. We as humans are now effecting the hydrologic cycle just as a person who smokes or drinks can effect their own human cycles and health. Through excessive amounts of ghgs constantly being spewed into our atmosphere effecting climate balance and ecosystems we are seeing changes in rainfall patterns and increases in sea levels as well as melting glaciers worldwide.

The Colorado River in the US as well as other rivers such as the Yellow River in China no longer flow to their ends. Overconsumption and excess regarding water use along with pollution, waste and altering the ecosytems of our world through biodiversity loss is leading us to the point where in relation to the human body would require us to have either an intervention or major surgery or be on life support.

It would behoove us as humans to understand this corrolation and see that unless we face the cause for the symptoms our Earth is now facing, the diseases will overcome her. We are inextricably linked to the Earth. When she is sick, so are we.

Thanks again, Mr. Gore. Love you.

Al Gore: Vote NO On Proposition 23

2010-10-22T17:03:00.003-04:00

My Comment:

What the Koch brothers in league with climate deniers and the fossil fuel industry are doing to deny Americans the clean energy future that will help mitigate climate change, give us cleaner air and water, better health, jobs, and a thriving economy to suit their status quo is nothing short of evil. I wish I lived in California so I could vote no on this mockery of democracy. After what we saw regarding the Gulf ecocide it should be clear what is at stake in fighting for our future. Our children deserve cleaner air to breathe, better health, healthier food, clean water, and a climate balance that sustains life. They deserve to live in an exciting time of progress and new innovations that work hand in hand with technology and nature to better life for all, not hold us hostage to the whims of the BPs and Monsantos of this world.

It is time for the clean energy revolution, but more importantly it is time for the peoples’ awareness revolution. To break the shackles of the dirty energy sources that have dessimated our planet and our health and killed our children in the Middle East sands. To do this will be the metamorphosis needed for humanity to move forward into the future. And this should not be decided based on what media spinmeisters say, or in listening to politicians. Just look into the eyes of your child or someone you love and envision a world where these purveyors of cancer, asthma, heart disease, toxic waste, coal ash, polluted water and lack of vision will lead us. There is no other decision for the future of California and the nation but to vote no on proposition 23. Just because these bastards have money to burn, shouldn’t mean they get to burn our planet along with it!

Climate: Al Gore Wants Business To Step Up.

2010-10-05T13:27:00.007-04:00

Climate: Al Gore Wants Business To Step Up

"Posted by Bryan Walsh Monday, October 4, 2010

I'm still at the B4E Summit in Mexico City (though it's not so much Mexico City as the business district of Santa Fe, which is less than walkable—my hotel and the gargantuan convention center are next to each other, but getting from one to the other is a 15-minute walk around streets designed for cars, not people). Al Gore—former Vice President, Nobel Peace Prize winner, 30 Rock guest star—gave the keynote address at lunch. (I was there to introduce him—I didn't include the 30 Rock bit, but maybe I should have.)

It's been a while since I've heard Gore speak—I believe the last time was his address to the 2009 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science—but his message was still the same: the climate crisis was mounting, thanks to growing population and fossil fuel-fuelled growth, but there was time to come together and halt a coming catastrophe. He had a few digs at the undemocratic nature of the U.S. Senate, where the need for a 60 vote filibuster-proof majority made passing climate legislation all but impossible. (Gore: "I happen to believe that the person with the most votes should win, but that's just me.") And he argued that controlling population growth—and slowing carbon emissions—could go hand in hand with reducing global poverty, by empowering women and girls, expanding access to contraception and reducing child mortality.

But this is a meeting of businesses, and I found Gore's words on the role that corporations could play particularly striking. During most of his remarks, Gore gave the usual spiel about the changes in the business community globally, the growing comprehension of the impact climate change will have on business and the need to grow more sustainably. Stuff we've all heard before—and several times here at the B4E Summit. (Yes, smart corporations from GE to Siemens to Nike to HP are looking to cut waste and improve energy efficiency, and they see business opportunities in the move toward renewable energy—but that's a long way from the sort of carbon emission cuts science demands.)

Then Gore went further, responding to a question from the audience about why climate legislation failed in the Senate this spring. He pointed to some of the arguments he's made in the past—including in his underrated book The Assault on Reason—about how the shift from a print-focused media to the primacy of television, with its all-powerful 30-second campaign spots, made politicians more beholden to moneyed interests who could keep their campaign coffers well fed.

That might seem like a strange message to bring to a business meeting—where many of the attendees are no doubt well-monied—but that was the point. In the U.S. this year a group of rich individuals like the Koch brothers have channeled millions of dollars into advertising and candidates opposing climate action. (See Jane Mayer's investigative piece on the Kochs in the New Yorker.) Mainstream green groups like the Environmental Defense Fund tout the major corporate players on their side, yet the anti-climate legislation forces seem to be winning the lobbying battle.'
End of excerpt.
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This would truly be a change that would catapult our world into the future. Many have discussed how legislation from DC must be what we have in order to stave off the worst effects of climate change. While that is certainly a factor in addressing mitigation and adaptation, businesses and how they are run and what they are powered with are also a very large part of this solution.

If you have been paying attention to the noise on cable news particularly Fox all you hear is fearmongering about cap and trade and what it would do to our economy. They always go on about how it would break it (while saying this in a recession stoked by Gulf ecocides, bank bailouts and perpetual wars for oil) in an attempt to make this political rather than moral and social.

However, the piece of this they always leave out is that there are many businesses coming to the realization that sustainable development and ethical business practices are in fact far more economically advantageous ways to do business. Not only in regards to lessening emissions contributing to climate change but also in regards to simply being a more ethical and healthy way to do business, which in the longrun brings you profits besides the benefits of maintaining customer bases longer as well as longterm returns on investments.

The dot com bubble of the nineties was I think one factor that brought more people to their senses in realizing that quick fixes to make a quick dollar and get out now on schemes that were unsure or had little to no longevity is not the way to run businesses that last. The relationship a person has with those investing their money is a very personal one. It is delving into a part of their lives in which you know who they are by what they invest in. It speaks to their very character. In this day and age we need businesses set on looking to provide alternatives to the old quick fix model and that speak to those looking to invest more altruistically. There is no reason why being environmentally aware should not be something that spawns the fruits of capitalism that worked so well for those dealing in dirty money with selfish intentions.

These times we live in call for a more sustainable way of doing business and for a more ethcial way to invest in the future. The climate crisis is just one way those looking to make a difference in our world can use their investments to bring about the kind of world where longterm investments lead to clean water for all instead of poisoned waterways, sustainable food instead of monoculture spawned by fossil fuel intensive pesticide driven ag, and /or energy sources that respect rather than despoil our environment. In other words, investments that preserve resources for future generations. Truly, green money.

This I believe is what Mr. Gore speaks of and it is a way of doing business I agree wholeheartedly with. And actually, if corporations and businesses worked to make their way of doing business more ethically minded with an emphasis on growth that preserved the environment and reduced GHG emissions there might not need to be any talk of bills to force them to comply with a cap and trade scheme or carbon tax on their emissions. They in turn could lead the way in working with consumers and investors to do what our government doesn't seem to be able to do: see the big picture and act.

Many deride Mr. Gore for his vision but when it comes to ethical sustainable business practices he is right on target. This is the kind of business that to me truly exemplifies what capitalism should be about. Fair competition in a marketplace that rewards ingenuity and creativity in the quest to provide services that benefit both the customer and their environment. Thanks again Mr. Gore, for being an innovator in doing the morally right thing for our economy and our planet.

Mr. Gore Goes To Florida

2010-10-02T07:45:00.030-04:00

Mr. Gore campaigned for Congressman Kendrick Meek in Florida a couple days ago. The Democrat is way behind and sorry to say it, with good reason. They aren't leading. However, even I know that as much as Democrats on the whole (particularly at the national level) are a disappointment they are really all that now stands between us and the total ruination of America. Every Tea Party candidate out here is an extremist loon, Republicans are useless, and in this particular race in Florida Charlie Crist is just using this to his own advantage. We are seeing the stealthy, subtle and deliberate taking of our government by people backed by corporate interests like the Koch brothers who want to infiltrate the government with anti climate change candidates. The thing that I fear is that some of them may actually win because Democratic candidates are afraid to talk about it PASSIONATELY and really stand up to the status quo.

So it is no surprise that Al Gore spoke about it at this rally he just attended in Florida, as Florida is one of the states predicted to feel the worst effects from sea level rise in the coming years. However, mentioning Pakistan more than likely went over many heads even though it was a valid corrolation because the people there (let's face unfortunate reality) don't care about Pakistan because they don't know how to connect the dots from there to Florida and weren't told how to. They care about jobs, and the potential of green ones now should be vigorously talked about at public events whenever possible... only, Mr. Gore really can't do that either because this administration has not only given not much more than lip service regarding that (more is being done on state and local level,) they have failed in general to do anything substantial regarding addressing the climate crisis as a whole and are now actually backing tarsands pipelines being built into this country while essentially covering up for BP. It certainly does make it difficult to stump for a candidate, which is why I kind of wish Mr. Gore wouldn't do it ( I have safety concerns too) and more than likely why he didn't (according to reports) mention Obama's name once (?).

He needs to remain the voice of a passionate independent defender of the planet he truly is and take on both sides in the dereliction of their moral duty to this planet which in turn affects policies regarding our lives and health. The fiery Al Gore in black is indeed a passionate spokesperson that people can get behind. The impression he gives as a politician is one of someone just doing this to be a "carbon billionaire" and though I know that is not true, that propaganda repeated over and over again sticks in peoples' minds.

I don't know, I feel so disappointed right now and so disillusioned with government and people in this country as a whole. The effects of the climate crisis are real and present yet so many still have such a disconnect from it all. I just went to You Tube trying to post facts in a sea of verbal sewerage about Mr. Gore's appearance at this rally where he was heckled by someone saying global warming is a hoax. This is what you get after years of work doing the right thing and fighting the good fight. He didn't respond to it which I actually think was the right thing to do in this case because it wasn't a political rally for him but on the other hand, sometimes these jerks need to be confronted.

EDIT: I subsequently found out that the disruptors were from "We Are Change" Tampa, the same group that verbally assaulted him in Chicago and burned his book. They sound like Larouche followers based on their MO. To target Al Gore and use global warming as the reason is a dead giveaway. I certainly hope he has good security at these events! To think these obsessed people actually paid to get in just to harass him is a bit scary.

I truly don't know how he gets on the stage at a political rally anymore anyway, because to do that you have to revert a bit to being the politician and that restricts your words. It's a double edged sword really. The one thing that saddens me even more in reading of this appearance was that he was called President Gore. That is just more sadness and disillusionment to heap on what I already feel along with the anger I feel towards the same people standing in that room that let that injustice pass.

This country and its system is awash in dirty money, ignorance and hatred all brought on by politicians of all stripes too damned SCARED to speak truth to power. So while I absolutely love Mr. Gore for his relentless devotion, dedication and passion to the cause of the environment, the political side of it leaves me wanting much more.

However, I give much credit as well to him for having the temerity to stand up there and endorse a candidate with what would appear to be a long way to go to victory also knowing the abuse that would more than likely be thrown at him. I never have and never would begrudge this good man his choices. Especially when we see other Democrats supporting Crist simply because they think "he can win" instead of supporting Meek and doing all they can to see him win if he is indeed the better candidate. Loyalty to his political beliefs is of course something Mr. Gore has always been true to. And while I really have no party affiliation I give full allegiance to, I respect that.

Hey Al, if I were to run for office would you come and stump for me? I wouldn't hesitate to ask you and give you a big hug and kiss in return. ;-) And stay safe out there.
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Al Gore and media access

2010-09-25T13:00:00.007-04:00

Al Gore To Meet The Press For Five Minutes

Five minutes? That long? Mr. Gore, you are too kind. Yes, once again we hear the clamoring from the media that Al Gore is only allowing them five minutes in the room with him before giving his presentation on Aruba going green this next week. Seems to me that should be more than enough time to rattle off the stepford questions about his separation, scandals, and all the other talking points that distract from the topic. Frankly, I'm more jealous he is going to Aruba. Wish I was going too. ;-). Anyway, it seems in absence of the media having any urgency at all about global climate change or anything remotely important it's time to attack Al Gore again for actually not being a media hound.

And really, it's a little absurd. I mean, what with the Lindsay Lohans, Kim Kardashians, Sarah Palins and other insignifcant distractions of the world more than willing to stick their faces and everything else in the face of the media they should have more than enough material to keep them going for a good decade or more. Why so worried about the fact that Al Gore, a private citizen dares to give a talk behind closed doors to guests who actually were invited to be there? Especially since he will be stumping for a Democratic candidate in Florida the next day which is open entirely to the media? Well, because it's Al Gore.

Now, I have been a supporter of this man for a good twenty years and have seen much in that time. However, the absolute rabid relish some in the media have of doing everything possible to make him look bad is downright macabre at this point. And of course as the title of the article I posted here illustrates this isn't about climate change. This is about the five minutes they will have in the room because of course they are just so full of urgent questions about the state of our planet! Sure. And they wonder why they only have five minutes? Personally, I think that is generous considering the all out assault he has had to deal with over the last decade or more from this media as a whole. A media that lied about his character, perpetuated mistruths about his life, and basically threw all semblance of moralistic journalism out the window to sell copy.

But let's just sit and ponder the deep meaning of all of this as if the reason is so obtuse to them that they just can't figure it out. Please. A little levity and honesty would be refreshing at this point. According to what I read a spokesperson for Mr. Gore claimed it was due to scheduling. Now, that may be the case as well because he is scheduled to be in Florida the next day and is actually a very busy man. However, the under layer of media scrutiny in my mind also plays a part in this.

So on the other hand now let me state that while I do agree with the media having such limited coverage of the talk, I do think it is also unfair to deprive those who look forward to seeing him speak the chance to do so because of it as well. It seems as the years go by Mr. Gore becomes more inaccessible to the very people who support him the most. Of course, I can understand that precautions also have to be taken. So, here I sit on my blog typing this hoping that by some miracle he even reads what I type... someone who is not in the media but who if given the chance to have even five glorious minutes in a room with him to ask him a question would take it upon myself to do it right. Sigh, life is just not fair. So to stay on the topic of why he is going there in the first place, more information on the energy conference:

Vice President and Nobel Peace Laureate Al Gore To Speak At Green energy Conference On Aruba