Al Gore has some interesting things to say during a Will Dana interview in the current (print) Rolling Stone. (found the link)
Rolling Stone : Al Gore 3.0
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Right now we are borrowing huge amounts of money from China to buy huge amounts of oil from the most unstable region of the world, and to bring it here and burn it in ways that destroy the habitability of the planet. That is nuts! We have to change every aspect of that.
This is not a partisan issue. I talked to a CEO of one of the ten largest companies in the United States, who supported Bush and Cheney. He told me, “Al, let's be honest. Fifteen minutes after George Bush leaves the presidency, America is going to have a new global-warming policy, and it doesn't matter who's elected.” And I think that the smartest CEOs, even in places like Exxon-Mobil, now understand that the clock is ticking, and the world is changing, and the United States is not going to be able to continue living in this little bubble of unreality.
Umm, so Gore talked to the CEO of Exxon-Mobil, off the record, right?
But Bush is insulated -- his staff smiles a lot and only gives him the news that he wants to hear. Unfortunately, they still have this delusion that they create their own reality. As George Orwell wrote, we human beings are capable of convincing ourselves of something that's not true long after the accumulated evidence would convince any reasonable person that it's wrong. And when leaders persist in that error, sooner or later they have a collision with reality, often on a battlefield. That, in essence, is exactly what happened in Iraq. But we have to keep that from happening with the climate crisis. Because by the time the worst consequences begin to unfold, it would be too late.
Apparently, Steve Jobs is giving some advertising moxie to an upcoming project.
Tipper and I are giving 100 percent of all the profits we get from both the movie and the book to a new bipartisan alliance for climate protection. It will run ads about the nature of the crisis and the way we can solve it. But the profits from the film won't begin to approach the money that Exxon has. They will have a lot of money. I am not on the board of it, but I'm giving them a lot of money, and I'm raising them much, much more. There are some real heavyweights involved in this. We have former members of the Reagan and first Bush administrations. Steve Jobs is helping to design the ad campaign. At the end of September, I'm going to start training a thousand people to take my slide show all across the country, to high schools and civic clubs and anybody who will listen. We're going to get this message out there -- and when we do, the political system will shift gears, and you'll see a dramatic change. I will make a prediction that within two years, Bush and Cheney themselves will change their position.Rolling Stone: In two years they'll be gone!
Before they leave office. Unfortunately, they've got two and a half years left. Two and a half days is too much, in my opinion. I must confess I'm beginning to lose my objectivity with Bush and Cheney. I regret that, but I must be candid with you [laughs].
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A top insurance executive at Lloyd's of London said just the other week that if we don't act now to prevent this looming catastrophe, “we will face extinction.” You know -- just a typical, long-haired hippie at Lloyd's of London.
D and I saw An Inconvenient Truth with a friend over the July 4th holiday (Trailer here). Liked the movie a lot more than I expected. Not sure exactly what I expected, but was prepared to swallow my dose of information like the castor oil it usually is, fully aware that I should take it, but not prepared to enjoy the taste. However, the movie was actually quite well paced, and the 90 minutes flew by. Strongly recommended.
And Mr. Gore: please don't run for President, just continue doing what you are doing. Apparently, he's already decided to stay on his current course.
I do think the political system as a whole is pretty toxic. I think that it may well be that the highest and best use of whatever skills I have gained is to focus on trying to change the way we Americans think about the most serious challenge that our civilization has ever faced. So that those who do run will encounter an informed, aroused and demanding electorate, one that insists that all of the candidates, in both parties, make the climate crisis their top priority.Rolling Stone: Do you still consider yourself a Democrat?
Oh, yeah. I mean, I still consider myself a Baptist too, even though the denomination has tried to run me off with their attitude toward women and so forth! [Laughs] I will continue to play a role as a citizen, not only on global warming but also on eavesdropping and torture and civil liberties and the other vital issues of the day. I've got a full plate right now. Being a candidate for president again is not part of my plan for the next several years.
Tags: Al_Gore, /environment, /global_warming
