Al Gore's Inconvenient Proposal - "Moving Beyond Kyoto" - and editorial
by Jeremy Korzeniewski on Jul 2nd 2007 at 2:59PM 
Just yesterday, July 1st, Al Gore authored an opinion editorial which was published in the New York Times. I have copied a few choice portions from the editorial, and will have a few comments after the break, if you care to read them. All of the following are quotes attributed to Gore from his editorial:"On Sept. 21, 1987, President Ronald Reagan said, 'In our obsession with antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity. Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to recognize this common bond. I occasionally think how quickly our differences would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world.'
"This threat also requires us, in Reagan's phrase, to unite in recognition of our common bond.
"Americans must come together and direct our government to take on a global challenge. American leadership is a precondition for success.
"To this end, we should demand that the United States join an international treaty within the next two years that cuts global warming pollution by 90 percent in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy Earth.
"We should aim to complete this global treaty by the end of 2009 - and not wait until 2012 as currently planned.
"It is, after all, a planetary emergency.
"Are we so scared of this challenge that we cannot lead?"
- Al Gore
Click past the break for a few comments on this editorial piece from Al Gore.
[Source: New York Times]
I have often heard from multiple people that humans are too small to be considered a true threat to our planet. I have also heard that there is no way that we could dump enough greenhouse gas into the atmosphere that we could be causing the climate to change.
In defense of those contentions, I bring you the ant. Yep, the ant. You may be aware of them, you've probably seen them many times. They are small, real small. Yet, if enough of them are present, they can kill you. I don't mean with poison, either, although they might be. Ants are more than capable of literally ripping apart their enemies and carrying the assorted pieces away so that nothing really exists of said enemy afterwards.
Don't like that one? How about the termite? Again, pretty small on the grand scheme of things. But, they can ruin your home if left unchecked. Sound familiar?
Alright, how about the locust? Let enough of them loose and they can wipe an entire country free of vegetation. It has happened before, it could happen again.
Which brings me to humans. Yeah, we too are pretty small when compared to the scale of the earth. But, there are plenty of us to go around. Left unchecked, we can build cities where deserts used to exist. We can populate just about the entire planet, and we do. In the process, we create a few undesirable consequences. We have brought some species to extinction in no time at all. We have an entire list of endangered species, many of which are endangered because of our own activities.
I could go on, but I am honestly not trying to sway any opinions here. What I am trying to do is demonstrate that humans can in fact impact our environment. We can, and we have. Now, are we going to do anything about it?
Click here for the entire editorial from Gore.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Don 3:47PM (7/02/2007)
I'm sick of this guy.
You LOST the election, bub...time to quit politicking.
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ug 4:05PM (7/02/2007)
"Are we so scared of this challenge that we cannot lead?"
Apparently Gore is too scared of leading since he won't run for president.
Besides, Gore had his chance to make a difference as VP under Clinton and what did he accomplish?? Underneath Gore's stewardship of the US, GM was happily crushing EV-1s.
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frank78 5:33PM (7/02/2007)
90%????
Is that a joke??
Just how the heck is that even remotely possible?? You'd have to ban all automobiles, have all goods moving by train freight, and most of us would have to go vegetarian. We'd of course bring our groceries from the only place possible, the farmer's market (grocery stores would have to close) in a big basket on our bicycle.
Al Gore thinks we want to go back to the 18th century. We certainly need to improve, but he's a nutjob if he's serious.
Let me know when Al Gore has stopped flying a private jet around the country to promote these whacky ideas. Also let me know when he is driving a Tesla or Phoenix Motors vehicle, while getting 100% of his electricity for his home from solar and wind power. Paying some companies to plant trees doesn't do jack to offset a monthly electric bill that is higher than the average person's yearly electric bill. Until then, he can keep stuffing his fat, hypocritical face with some more of the red meat he's obviously been eating too much of.
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Tony Belding 6:45PM (7/02/2007)
By this time Gore has long since lost whatever credibility he ever had.
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Scatter 6:50PM (7/02/2007)
Sorry Frank but he's not crazy. A cut in the region of 90% is probably going to be necessary to avoid the worst extremes of climate change. It's not impossible but it'll be challenging. It doesn't require going back to pre-industrial standards of living but it does require changes in how we live our lives and soon.
There's some more comment on this here:
http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2006/09/21/an-87-cut-by-2030/
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Arnie 9:08PM (7/02/2007)
Gore should buy one of those air cars. He could connect his head to the engine and drive forever.
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Domenick 6:20AM (7/03/2007)
What is it with people attacking the messenger. Who cares?
The message on the other hand is important. I think setting a high goal like this is necessary. To even get close to achieving it would take sacrifice. Sadly, people are more worried about living the lifestyle they desire than whether their grandchildren will be able to survive on the planet we're leaving them.
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ak4nu 9:29PM (7/03/2007)
OK..... if man can cause global warming, can man cause global cooling? IF so, and algore is so smart how come somebody hasn't figured out a way to COOL the earth?
algore just needs to go away!!! The majority of people agree that global warming is all hype
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Kevin Shayne 1:09AM (7/05/2007)
The energy problem can be resolved - check out this web site and just have a bit of an open mind. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3484490731703421398&hl=en
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David D'Andrea 9:57AM (7/07/2007)
What is wrong with you people? Listen, I love my car too but it's obvious that GLOBAL WARMING IS A REAL PROBLEM. Fixing it will require changes in the way we live: the food we eat, the goods we produce, the electricity we generate and consume, as well as transportation (of goods and people).
I think people are SCARED of this issue because modern culture is empty and our lives revolve around consumerism. The environmental crisis will be good for humanity if it makes us reconnect with what is really important in life.
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NORBO 11:45AM (12/04/2007)
AL GORE IS A NUT, PURE AND SIMPLE HE NEEDS TO GO AWAY NOW
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