Al Gore Doles Out a Dose of Reality
14 Sep 2011
Please take note: this event is happening globally today and tomorrow:
Call me crazy, but when Al Gore talks about the environment, he makes me feel safer. (Please don’t send the elephants to trample me.) Gore’s message is like a reliable parent. In this role, he does not concede in the protectiveness of his message – the planet. Gore’s sheer doggedness may turn off some, but for me, his persistence is like a parent standing at the threshold of harm’s way.
As a parent, writer, teacher and clean air advocate, Gore’s given me the tools to talk to people about climate change. An Inconvenient Truth brought us a strong dose of reality. In fact, it’s grounded so many in their fight to protect our air, land and water for future generations.
5 Realities We Can Learn From Al Gore
1. “The climate crisis knows no political boundaries.”
Climate deniers on both sides of the political spectrum are putting the future at risk when they side with polluters. Check out who voted to block or delay efforts by the EPA to reduce carbon pollution. Here’s how it fleshed out in my state:
Polluter Contributions to Politicians in New York State: $1,015,554
Total Kids with Asthma in New York State: 414,950
Check your state here.
2. “The global environment crisis is, as we say in Tennessee, real as rain, and I cannot stand the thought of leaving my children with a degraded earth and a diminished future.”
Climate deniers would like us to believe the models that show the planet is warming are wrong. Thousands of scientists including Nobel laureates, defend climate science integrity
“There is compelling, comprehensive, and consistent objective evidence that humans are changing the climate in ways that threaten our societies and the ecosystems on which we depend…We are deeply disturbed by the recent escalation of political assaults on scientists in general and on climate scientists in particular.”
Read more at Climate Progress.
3. “…polluters and the deniers and their ideological allies are going to attack green jobs; they’re going to shift the national security argument to the exploitation of coal, tar sands, and shale….”
They already are. We keep hearing from some politicians that energy is a national security issue, or energy is a jobs issue as they chip away at the future of the planet. This is a well-financed disinformation and denial campaign that allows power companies to continue to pollute. It’s time for our politicians to advocate for clean energy initiatives.
4. “…people all around the globe living with the impacts of climate change will connect the dots between recent extreme weather events — including floods, droughts and storms — and the man-made pollution that is changing our climate.”
Hurricane Irene brought this issue too close to home for me, and I hope others will come to the conclusion that our weather has been impacted adversely by climate change.
5. “We have something that they don’t – Reality.”
Yes we do…and we have Al Gore fighting for a safer future.
Reality Rules!
Al Gore’s latest endeavor, The Climate Reality Project is planning an incredible event – spanning the globe for two days – September 14th &15th. I’m standing with the Climate Reality Project as they actively put our environment first. Will you?
Here’s more about the Climate Reality Project:
Jan w.
Sep 17, 2011 @ 12:12:42
I love number 5 most of all but it’s number 3 that concerns me the most. A large percentage of the voting population is in complete denial about climate change. They are anti-science and anti-fact. There is even a republican womens group in W. Virginia that advocates for mountaintop removal. What can we do to counteract this drive towards anti-intellectualism to open peoples eyes to what is really happening? They have been manipulated into believeing that in order to save jobs they must be open to sacrificing clean air and water.
Thanks for all you do….
Ronnie
Sep 17, 2011 @ 17:51:00
Jan, I’m with you on 3 & 5. There are pro-polluting groups popping up all over the place. The pro-polluting lobby is very well funded.
Ever since I started working for the EDF, I’m discovering that both the EDF and NRDC are hard at work counteracting the anti-science folks. But, it’s going to take a “real” information campaign to address all the misinformation that’s coming out of some politicians and climate deniers.
Thanks so much for your comment!
Miryam
Sep 23, 2011 @ 14:44:34
I have to agree, people are starting to connect the dots between floods, droughts and storms and man-made pollution that is changing our climate.
“Hurricane Irene brought this issue too close to home for me, and I hope others will come to the conclusion that our weather has been impacted adversely by climate change”.
I think many people are realizing it now but our power is so limited compared to those who have interest not to change anything.
The truth is that we also contribute our own actions to this outcome. Our way of life is based on consumption. If we want to change the direction, we need to start changing ourselves first. Reducing the amount of electricity we use, saving water etc.
It seems like small things and it is hard to let go of comfort but when you think about the children and what kind of planet they will have there is no other way but to take action
.
Ronnie
Sep 24, 2011 @ 08:33:12
Climate Reality seems to be a success – 8.6 million views so far.
Yes, most people could do more small actions to curb consumption. But, we are also going to need the political tides to also move in a direction that makes these connections between climate science and what’s happening to our planet…and right now, I do not see that happening. In fact, that seems to be a reality moving in the wrong direction.
Thanks for your comment, Miryam!