Rolling Stone: Al Gore's Fight Against The Climate Crisis

[RestoreGore]

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/15051572/al_gores_fight_against_the_climate_crisis/1

Al Gore's Fight Against The Climate Crisis
ERIC BATES AND JEFF GOODELL
Posted Jun 12, 2007 7:37 AM

Page 1 2 3 4 5

Listen to Exclusive audio from the Al Gore interview

This is from the latest issue of Rolling Stone, on stands until June 28th.

As the world heats up, so does Al Gore. Every melting glacier, every catastrophic storm, every record-breaking hot spell is a planetary-scale endorsement of his belief that tackling global warming is the biggest challenge of our time. Gore may not have announced his candidacy for president - not yet, anyway - but he is already running one of the most aggressive campaigns in American history. His Oscar-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, brought the harsh facts of the climate crisis to millions of people around the world. He's in the midst of an intensive tour to promote his new book, The Assault on Reason, which savages the Bush administration for its deceitful war in Iraq, its illegal wiretapping and its reckless refusal to take action on climate change. And he's gearing up for Live Earth, the global rock concert he has orchestrated for July 7th.

Gore understands that confronting the climate crisis will require not just new kinds of technology but a new kind of politics. In a sense, he is following a path blazed by filmmaker Michael Moore, using his own presence and political outrage to focus public attention on a broader cause. In the two years since he wrote "The Time to Act Is Now," the introduction to the special issue on global warming we published in 2005, Gore has not only shifted the national debate on planet-warming pollution, he has found his true voice - at once reasoned and impassioned, urgent and optimistic. At the end of May, he sat down with ROLLING STONE in his office in Washington, D.C., to discuss the threat posed by catastrophic climate change - and why he believes it's not too late to stop it.

The world's leading climate scientists - the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - issued a report earlier this year that shows global warming is far more advanced than even the most dire predictions had led us to believe. Is there any one finding from the most recent wave of science that alarms you?

The degree of certainty the scientists are willing to assign to their conclusions has gone up. But what's more interesting to me than the IPCC report is the stream of evidence just in the last five months since that report. Many scientists are now uncharacteristically scared. The typical pattern in a dialogue between scientific experts and the general public, of which I'm a part, is for the scientists to say, "Well, what you've heard is a little oversimplified. It's a lot more textured than that, and you need to calm down a little bit." This situation is exactly the reverse. Those who are most expert in the science are way more concerned than the general public.

Why?

For the first time, we can see in the numbers that the rate of increase in global warming is accelerating. One of the studies that has come out since the IPCC report shows that the Arctic ice cap is melting three times faster than the models predicted. And in the Antarctic, near the South Pole, an area the size of California has melted ? with temperatures up to forty-one degrees Fahrenheit for an extended period of time. That's really unexpected.


end of excerpt.

[IndyOp]

1. The scientific certainty is terrifying to me, too.

Rolling Stone: The world's leading climate scientists - the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - issued a report earlier this year that shows global warming is far more advanced than even the most dire predictions had led us to believe. Is there any one finding from the most recent wave of science that alarms you?

Gore: The degree of certainty the scientists are willing to assign to their conclusions has gone up. But what's more interesting to me than the IPCC report is the stream of evidence just in the last five months since that report. Many scientists are now uncharacteristically scared. The typical pattern in a dialogue between scientific experts and the general public, of which I'm a part, is for the scientists to say, "Well, what you've heard is a little oversimplified. It's a lot more textured than that, and you need to calm down a little bit." This situation is exactly the reverse. Those who are most expert in the science are way more concerned than the general public.

:(

[IndyOp]

2. Non-linearity in the political system. Our survival depends on it.

Gore: It's impertinent for me to disagree with such a distinguished scientist about anything in the scientific realm - James Lovelock has forgotten more than I will ever learn. But I think I may know one thing about politics that he doesn't know. And that is that the political system shares one thing in common with the climate system: They're both nonlinear. For those who look at the frustratingly slow pace of change that has characterized the last few decades on this issue, it is tempting to simply extrapolate that pace of change and conclude that we're not going to get there. But I think that we are closer than ever before to a genuine political tipping point beyond which the pace of change is going to accelerate very dramatically.

[glitch]

20. This statement exemplifies why I love Gore. He gets it better than any other national figure.

Thanks for highlighting.

[RestoreGore]

3. Live Earth will be the catalyst

And it must be a spark that ignites a moral awakening in people regardless of politics. We will NOT solve this crisis ( what we can now solve) by making it a partisan political sound bite issue. Period. Matter of fact, I was speaking to someone yesterday who told me they are a registered Republican who also stated that politics is not the issue here, but the future of our plaent. It is not jsut about cheerleading for who you want on a ticket, but EVERYTHING to do with what WE now MUST do in a concerted effort unlike any other to join together as Americans and world citizens to mitigate a crisis, the affects of which are already being felt worldwide.

As Mr. Gore reiterates in this interview, it has already started and it will take adaptation on our part because some of it we will not be able to totally stop, like glacial melt. However, we can still do many things within our own lives and in inspiring others as well as businesses and governments to see the moral imperative and act. I see it too Mr. Gore, and while we will need the legislative mechanisms to help us make changes, this really does go in context so far beyond it all. How fortunate we are to have his guidance on this crisis now. I will always believe this is his true calling, and I am 100% behind him and determined to do all I can to make a better world for my child by DOING IT.

[IndyOp]

14. Brent Budowsky on the surge in optimism he sees in "Live Earth"...

I associate Budowsky with veteran's issues, he doesn't pull any punches, he is an older man - and I am impressed to hear this from him:

Al Gore, Live Earth Concert, and the Coming Surge of American Optimism (Brent Budowsky)

On July 7, 2007, Al Gore and a galaxy of entertainment superstars, a worldwide army of idealists, and 2 billion concerned
citizens from seven continents will take a stand on global warming that will advance a new political era of optimism and hope.

Sooner than people realize, Americans are going to be astonished and amazed at the rekindling of American optimism and the can-do attitude that good people who care passionately can make a difference.

In recent years American politics, culture and media have been so drenched in negativity, pessimism and civic poison that our institutions of political and media power have lost sight of the classic American spirit of can-do optimism.

On July 7 the Live Earth concert will fire a cannon of hope that will be heard around the world. It will be a moment for generations, a shared communion based on the ancient idea that every generation leaves a better world for the next.

July 7 will be a moment for 2 billion people linking arms, from nations that span the world, speaking languages heard on all the continents with a common voice and a common purpose.

More...

=======================================

I have a dream and a plan

America stands at the threshold of a new Democratic president, Democratic Congress, FDR-magnitude realignment and a national spirit reminiscent of the New Frontier.

There will be a transformation of American media as powerful as the days when Edward R. Murrow took integrity and quality to broadcast radio and then network television.

By November 2008 there will be a giant mega-move of mutual empowerment and support networks of the progressive Internet, radio and politics that will have extraordinary power to drive ratings, move money and turn out votes.

Follow the numbers. American politics today involves a large majority of Americans who feel disrespected by the power institutions of politics and media.

For every poll about high disapproval for the president and Congress, and declining ratings for fossilized forms of “entertainment,” giant constituencies are waiting for a voice.

If a Democratic president is elected, the Democratic House will maintain its majority and the Senate will include 53 to 60 Democrats because so many Republicans (22) are running for reelection.

JFK was right: The presidency is the center of action in America, and imagine the spirit in January 2009 on Inauguration Day with a Democrat putting his or her hand on the Bible, with rejoicing throughout the free world.

<snip>

I have a dream and a plan

[IndyOp]

4. Emotional & spiritual component to the tipping point...

Gore: There is also a very deep emotional and spiritual component to this tipping point we're going to cross. The civil rights movement took off in the United States only when it was lifted out of the political framework and placed in a spiritual framework. Young people asked their parents, "You tell me to choose right over wrong, so explain to me why this guy Bull Connor is acceptable." When the adults couldn't answer, that's when the laws changed. Young people are now asking their parents and grandparents, "Please explain to me why what's going on with global warming isn't insane." A lot of adults can't answer. The revolution is beginning.

I concluded a long time ago that the only pathway is through a mass political movement that engenders a sea change in public opinion across the planet. Special interests have way too much power to block progressive change. But their power, as impressive as it is, is still no match for a genuine mass movement. Reason, logic, knowledge, evidence - these all may play a diminished role in our conversation of democracy today. But when enough people lock into the same narrative and connect the same dots and feel the danger facing their children, then these objections will be set aside. They will be. And we're close. We're not there yet. But we're close.

[RestoreGore]

5. Mr. Gore On Live Earth-From interview

Bolding my emphasis.


"The Live Earth concerts on July 7th represent the starting gun. It's a unique moment to ask for the world's attention to deliver an SOS for the climate - and to then begin a multiyear campaign to persuade enough people at the grass-roots level to become a part of that mass movement. We'll have a very specific set of tasks around which everybody in the world who chooses to do so can mobilize. What's the old Bob Dylan line? "Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call/Rattle your windows" - what's the rest of it? - "for the times they are a-changin'."

That's what I want to happen. And I think it's going to. I really do."

[donsu]

6. it's getting worse faster and faster

nt

[RestoreGore]

9. And unless we mobilize now...

Well, you know.

[IndyOp]

7. Addiction metaphor - Junkies find veins in their toes...

Asked about "our addition to oil..."

Gore: I don't like the addiction metaphor, because it carries with it a sense of powerlessness. But there are some aspects of the metaphor that are accurate in ways that Bush doesn't intend. The spiral of increasingly self-destructive behavior - spending more and more for supplies of a substance that is harder and harder to get - is just bizarre. I caused a stir in Alberta, Canada, recently when someone asked me about the advisability of trying to extract oil by processing the tar sands they have up there. I said, "Well, junkies find veins in their toes" . The then-premier of Alberta lost it - and hasn't recovered since.

:wow:

On edit: Spelling counts!

[Viva_La_Revolution]

12. lol! see #10

great minds and all that. :)

[IndyOp]

16. Great minds indeed - we both admire the Goracle! :-) (n/t)

[Odin2005]

25. The Canucks call Alberta the Texas of Canada for a reason

[RestoreGore]

8. On "That" question again...

Bolding my emphasis

You've devoted much of your life to building a movement to combat the climate crisis. Be honest: Wouldn't that movement be far, far better off if you were able to lead it as president?


I'm going to do my best to provide leadership for this movement in whatever position I hold. I think there are a lot of good reasons not to run for president. But as you know, I haven't completely ruled out getting involved in the political system again at some point in time - there's no reason to do that. I hear myself repeating the same phrases, so forgive me if you hear that too. I really am focusing on this larger - make that different - kind of campaign. I won't say larger, because I know there's no position that can even approach the position of president in terms of the ability to influence events. But the way our political system operates in the United States today, the politics of reason faces a head wind. The skills that are rewarded in this communications environment include a lot of skills I don't think I possess in abundance. Some people catch on earlier than others that they're not well suited to the career they've chosen . I'm fighting through the denial right now.
~~~~~
And Mr. Gore is correct. I was in a profession for over 17 years that I enjoyed, but had a bad experience that led me to leave it... Now, would I ever as an adult say or feel obligated to say that I would never ever do that line of work again? No, and as an adult why should I place such restrictions on my life to suit others? But it doesn't mean I have plans to do it or that I am secretly doing anything in my life to lead me there, because I truly enjoy what I am doing now. I then know exactly what he is saying and I agree. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be enough for those who simply cannot conduct an interview with this man without asking that question yet again.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

10. I said, "Well, junkies find veins in their toes"

pg. 4
Are you at least glad that Bush now refers to our "addiction to foreign oil"?
I don't like the addiction metaphor, because it carries with it a sense of powerlessness. But there are some aspects of the metaphor that are accurate in ways that Bush doesn't intend. The spiral of increasingly self-destructive behavior - spending more and more for supplies of a substance that is harder and harder to get - is just bizarre. I caused a stir in Alberta, Canada, recently when someone asked me about the advisability of trying to extract oil by processing the tar sands they have up there. I said, "Well, junkies find veins in their toes" . The then-premier of Alberta lost it - and hasn't recovered since.


Harsh! and oh, so accurate.

[RestoreGore]

11. It's right on target

And as the Arctic melts this country and others have already sent ships into the waterways looking to control the oil reserves said to be undernetath it all. Unfortunately at this point it seems some are powerless to stop this addiction, and it is killing this planet.

[mopinko]

18. my favorite line also!

the truth. someone who tells the truth!

[Uncle Joe]

13. Kicked and recommended

Thanks for the thread RestoreGore.


"What figure in the administration, other than the president himself, do you hold most responsible for standing in the way of meaningful change on global warming?"

"Oh, Cheney, of course. Both Bush and Cheney come out of the carbon-extraction industry. But Cheney has been the more forceful determinant of the two where this issue is concerned. Not that Bush has ever wavered - he does what ExxonMobil wants, every single time. When support for action against the climate crisis rises, he sometimes tweaks his rhetoric ever so slightly. But he never actually does anything to try to solve the problem. To the contrary, he's made it much, much worse.

Here's another thing Bush and Cheney have in common: Who would you rely on as the source of the best information about the wisdom of invading Iraq? Ahmad Chalabi, of course. Who would you choose to rely on as the source of the best information about global warming? ExxonMobil, of course."

[Kurovski]

15. K&R. (nt)

[RestoreGore]

17. But yet, even with this scientific FACT

Many still sit and go ah, ah, ah, when asked what they are doing to be a part of the solution. I have a job now that allows me access to speaking to the public, and I have talked to many people who see that this crisis is real and think something needs to be done. However, when I ask them what they are doing to be a part of the solution, they ah, ah, ah, and ask what effect they could possibly have in changing anything! Of course, I am more than happy to tell them how, but either they are brainwashed into thinking government will do it even though they live in a country where they see that government CLEARLY cannnot and will not do what is morally right, they think it fruitless, or they are just agreeing with me for conversation's sake. I fear this turning into a political sound bite.

[mopinko]

19. we need someone who we can really, really, really, really,

really trust to implement the world wide last ditch measures that might be down the road. can you imagine listening to dick cheney if he were to say, 'we are repurposing missiles from the defense department to deliver some volcanic dust into the upper atmosphere, to see if we can slow this down.' yeah right, penguin. but al? my question would be, what do you want me to do sir? tie myself to the nosecone? sure.

[RestoreGore]

21. In Greece: Mr. Gore implores us to become "active citizens"

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/civ__KathiLev&xml/&aspKath/civ.asp?fdate=16/06/2007

"This is our generation's Themopylae"

How true

[RestoreGore]

22. Adaptation is defeatism to me

Many climate scientists say, off the record, that they have grave doubts that we'll be able to slow global warming in time to stave off a planetwide catastrophe. James Lovelock, one of the world's most esteemed scientists, told us recently that he believes it is already too late to save ourselves by buying Priuses and changing light bulbs - that we need to begin preparing for life on a different planet. Do you agree with that?


I agree that we're not going to solve this problem by buying Priuses and changing our light bulbs. But driving hybrids and choosing better technology is still important in two respects. First, it makes a small contribution to reducing CO2. And second, when people make changes in their own lives, they are much more likely to become part of a critical mass of public opinion and to support the bigger policy changes that are going to be needed to really solve the problem.

Another part of Lovelock's analysis I agree with is that some degree of change in the planet's climate is now clearly unavoidable. Some is already beginning to take place, and a good deal more is programmed into the climate system because of the extra heat stored up in the oceans. That will play out in our lifetimes and beyond. So some degree of adaptation is sensible and necessary. But it's crucial that we not fool ourselves into thinking that we can adapt to this climate crisis. If we don't begin to sharply reduce CO2 emissions, then there would be no adaptation to the constant reshuffling of the climate deck - rainfall and storms and sea level and soil moisture and diseases and ice melting and all the rest. It would be a different planet from the one on which human beings evolved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think talk about adapting to changes has to be tempered with the reality that the adaptations we are talking about are not simply thinking we will be wearing shorts in December... adapting will also include accepting environmental refugees in the hundreds of thousands or millions due to rising sea levels, drought, water shortages or other catastrophes caused by stronger more severe storms and weather events. This is not something we can sinply say we can adapt to and then ignore, so again, I agree with Mr. Gore that while a bit of adaptation will be necessary now, it should not dissuade us from doing all in our power to limit our GHG emissions, and that includes other gases such as methane and nitrogen oxide besides CO2. What has been put up in our atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution is what is now bringing on the affects we see as we continue to only add to it for future generations. We now know that, so morally we simply cannot turn our heads and say that we will simply have to adapt to it.

[SharonRB]

23. This is the second Rolling Stone article on Gore in the last

six months or so. I'll have to try to get a copy.

Thanks!

[RestoreGore]

24. kicking in support of Mr.Gore's work for our planet

[Samantha]

26. A kick for the message of The Man Who Should Be President

Thanks for posting this.

[Robson]

27. What America needs is some serious Anti-Corporatism from the top

What America is overdue for is a generation of some serious bitch slappin (to use an olde cliche) on the corporatist robber barrons and K Street that run this country. That is the root of the problem with everything in this country.....the very wealthy not only controlling but being subsidized by the rest of us and the redistribution of our resources to them.

The DLC is out there with Bush on this. They are the problem not the solution.

If the corporatists don't consolidate us with Mexico and Canada, they'll bring in 100 million cheap laborers from Mexico to provide the political support and profits at our expense.

I don't see it from Hillary, I'm not sure about Obama, Gravel I could support, I'm hoping Gore decides to run.