VIDEO: Al Gore gives a new slide show. Now with increased optimism!

Al Gore had the opportunity to address the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference again and he gave them a slide show which was recorded that we can now bring to you. This one differed from "An Inconvenient Truth" somewhat. Sure, there were images showing the awesome amount of changes happening on our planet but, with a confident and highly optimistic tone, there were also some solutions presented beyond changing light bulbs and driving a hybrid. Concentrating solar renewable energy plants in developing nations to supply Europe with power was one interesting example.
Al's performance was exceptional and even more than that, with statements like, "How many generations in all of human history have had the opportunity to rise to a challenge that is worthy of our best efforts?", very inspirational. We think the twenty-seven minutes spent watching this video (after the jump) may well be your best spent time all day.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Whopper 2:28PM (4/16/2008)
Al Gore is a fraud and I wouldn't hire him to clean out my garage. He needs to drop the bs and go re-invent the internet or something.
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ryan paxson 2:57PM (4/16/2008)
I agree with you. He is totally making this whole global warming thing up. He is one of the shadiest politicians out there.
We obviously more educated on the subject of global warming, due to the extensive amount of research we have done on the subject of global warming. And all those fancy powerpoint slides?
Those are obviously propoganda to make me sell my Hummer... I won't fall for it.
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why not the LS2LS7? 3:05PM (4/16/2008)
The the blogger not see the first one?
The main point of the first one was not "we're all going to die", but "we can beat this". It specifically made the point that we cleaned our air and water in the 70s, this will be tougher, but not all that much tougher, that it's very doable.
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Phil Toney 3:24PM (4/16/2008)
"Whopper", I'll resist the urge to call YOU a fraud --however, your comment borders on the fraudulent!!!
I'm a scientist who's devoted his life to the US space program, and EVERY NASA environmental scientist I know has indisputable scientific evidence that global warming is a problem of monumental proportions! It needs IMMEDIATE action of the kind Al Gore proposes!!!
PS: I have always voted against Al Gore as a politician, but I'm voting FOR him in this campaign!
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CC 3:49PM (4/16/2008)
Though algore did not start up global warming he did take the hoax to a whole new level. Yes Phil the science behind the facts show it is a hoax. Now if he would have brought up pollution, that is a real issue we all need to work on.
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Gordio 4:02PM (4/16/2008)
@CC:
What pollution? Whens the last time you (assuming you're not in India or China) had acid rain? Technology and combustion has improved. Global warming molecules are almost the only pollutant that is to worry about.
And how can you tell a scientist what he studied is fake? Your statement lacks any substance or credibility.
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CC 5:24PM (4/16/2008)
gordio
You could start by going to google and type in global warming hoax, or global warming myth. Or go to youtube and type in one or both. Then go to a library to research books. Then you should be able to start to figure out fact from fiction.
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Bill 5:29PM (4/16/2008)
I'm all for California-sized subsidies so I can afford to put a 5kW (or even 10kW) photovoltaic system on my roof.
I figure I'll need it to run my Volt when carbon taxes add a few dollars per gallon to the price of liquid fuels...
If $150/ton CO2 tax is good, why not $500/ton, the politicians will say, once they realize how immensely profitable carbon taxes are.
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Mark 5:40PM (4/16/2008)
I've worked 20 years for a coal company that spends millions each year putting out that "global warming myth" info. You know, I told them that no one was stupid enough to believe this crap, that people would simply check the real science, that they'd figure out what we were doing was exactly the same as the doctors hired to say cigarettes were healthy. Eh, shows what I know.
Go Google Bigfoot and Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy next, CC. I'm sure you'll have no trouble sorting fact from fiction.
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KarenRei 5:47PM (4/16/2008)
"You could start by going to google and type in global warming hoax, or global warming myth"
And you could start by actually reading peer-reviewed papers, or at least the *summaries* of peer-reviewed papers (such as makes up the IPCC technical reports -- not the summary for policymakers), so you actually know what's out there rather than what you *think* you know is out there. Don't fancy yourself smarter than the scientific community until you've read a fraction of what they have.
What's your pet theory? Here, let's pick one from the Deniers' list: "The sun is getting brighter!". The IPCC cites about fifty peer reviewed papers on the subject. How many of them have you read?
Let me guess: a big, fat, zero, right?
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Edsel 5:51PM (4/16/2008)
That was a very chilling performance. Mr Gore gave me the distinct impression that the best way to solve his climate crisis (now cleverly labeled an opportunity) is to make him Emperor of Carbon.
Controlling the production of carbon credits is the means of controlling industry. Is the United States ready to use democracy to nationalize control of carbon consumption?
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KarenRei 5:55PM (4/16/2008)
"You know, I told them that no one was stupid enough to believe this crap, that people would simply check the real science, that they'd figure out what we were doing was exactly the same as the doctors hired to say cigarettes were healthy. Eh, shows what I know."
Do remember that tobacco companies managed to keep that "smoking doesn't cause lung cancer" stuff going for decades. And there are still some people who refuse to believe it.
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Gordio 6:16PM (4/16/2008)
At CC
I know all the anti-GW theories, or alternatives, including one regarding gamma rays and solar winds.
If that theory were true, do you know much money you can make with gamma ray guns? Set them up to blast the ocean and make clouds, and solve GW. Why haven't anyone made any gamma ray guns?
Just because googling "Global warming hoax" has results doesn't make it valid. You're just the type of person who roots for the underdog, but overdoes it.
Can you tell me what the motive of making such a hoax is? There's actually no money involved. Anti-gore people once said it was a marketing gimick to get him the presidential election, but now we know it's not true since he doesn't want to run.
There's two types of facts. Facts taht are solid, and constnatly are being attacked. And "facts" that can't be disproven, b/c they're not real. It's always easy to make conspiracy theories, b/c most of those are based off the latter.
I can say Satan wears a cowboy hat. And because you can't disprove it, can I assume it's true? That example I said pretty much all anti-GW theories.
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BlackbirdHighway 6:21PM (4/16/2008)
Yeah, it's on the Internet, so it must be true, right?
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Kevin Nugent 7:27PM (4/16/2008)
Well lets just get one thing straight ( i will leave the debate to others as to whether global warming is rue , i know its true and that is all that matters ) . The earth is heating up , the more ice that melts the more water enter the world oceans which lessens the concentration of salt water, Salt water is denser than fresh water and as more water is added (due to melting ice burgs ) the transcontinental water cycle will slow and eventually stop. When that happens believe it or not we will push ourselves into the next ice age .So if you don't believe it keep on driving your hummer 1
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Mik_Cal 7:37PM (4/16/2008)
I just baffled by the number of stupid people here who weigh in with an obviously totally unresearched anti-Gore Anti-AGW rap. Why the hell are they reading Autobloggreen which is about green autos?...90% of what a "Green" autos are about is reducing CO2 emissions nowadays. I just don't see why they even waste their time here. There are so many sites about cars that have nothing to do with the environment.
How stupid can you get?
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ryan 9:52PM (4/16/2008)
Conspiracy theories usually only gather a handful of people with certain tendencies. Most of the industrialized world is "buying into" global warming though.
Business will ALWAYS find a way to capitalize on opportunity -- that is it's mission. Legally. Companies will claim to save the earth, because that is what their stockholders demand, knowing that these days that is what drives profits.
The glaciers ARE melting. Animals ARE changing. Sperm counts ARE dropping.
Nothing can grow forever. There is always a beginning and end. I prefer to delay that end, and to provide for a better beginning for those who come after me.
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bilvish 11:54PM (4/16/2008)
Politics and science do not mix. AG has short-circuited the peer review process of global climate change. Funding is not equal for scientists posing theories for or against this issue (guess which side gets the most funding). Websites espousing both sides of the issue are plentiful, but websites with real data moderated by real scientists with a scientific tone are few and far between (see pro-AG www.realclimate.org and anti-AG www.climateaudit.org).
I don’t discount the idea that man is impacting the global climate, but I think it’s shortsighted to reduce the extremely complex climate dynamics down to effectively only Roger Revelle’s theory (the one AG adheres to). Example: what about the extra energy input from the sun due to the rapidly decreasing earth’s magnetic field strength?
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Jen Turriff 12:21AM (4/17/2008)
Why would anyone associate the global crisis with politics? Al Gore has devoted his life to this cause, and we are fortunate to have had his service in politics, but this is no political scam. It's unfortunate that there are still people who can sit and watch the news about tsunamis and hurricanes and tornados that have become severely more lethal, especially in the last 40 years. Im sorry, but my preceding generation not only did not "solve" the issues in the 70s, but they continued at an alarming rate to add to the problem. WAKE UP! Don't let fear overcome you and do something to help not only the earth, but YOU. Global Warming affects YOU, and should you choose to disbelieve then you bet you'll suffer the consequences.
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Furion 3:56AM (4/17/2008)
He seems more like the South Park "Man-pig-bear"-Al Gore than the more professional and interesring Al Gore of Inconvenient Truth. The man is panting throughout the new slideshow, he sounds desperate and pathetic at the same time .. I felt sorry for the dude who yelled "Run for president!" to him.
I also kept hearing Stans voice saying "He's Al Gore, he doesn't have any friends".
Talk about overstaying your welcome.
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