Al Gore certainly contributed to my involvement in cleantech and climate change mitigation. So when he is launching a new campaign – called The Climate Reality Project – I believe this deserves some mention here.
Furthermore, I am amazed on how little attention this got. There were only 1,520 people who watched the video on their website so far. This should get at least a thousand times more! Come on, let’s spread the word!
Launched on Tuesday, the project was the occasion for the Nobel-Prize winner behind An Inconvenient Truth to be interviewed in one of my favorite climate blog, Climate Progress.
Here are some extracts of the interview :
(I)t’s urgent to rendezvous with reality in order to take the appropriate steps to save the future of civilization as we know it. That sounds like an expansive goal, but that’s really now what we’re facing.
This crisis is very threatening, very urgent.
We know the solutions require broad changes and we know it’s a fight that won’t be won overnight. And the politics, the campaigns, the media cycle, will all ebb and flow on this issue. But the reality of the crisis marches on.
If we keep focusing on that reality, it is only a matter of time before we reach a tipping point with the public, beyond which inaction is no longer an option.
Joe Ramm, the author of Climate Progress, notes that :
There are people out there saying, “Well we should stop talking about climate change and we should be talking about other things like energy security.” And you have been consistent in talking about the climate.
And you write a lot in the book about behavior change and persuasion. I’d be interested in your thoughts about people who think we’re talking too much about climate change.
Here is Al Gore’s reaction :
Well, I simply and strongly and vigorously disagree. The scale and magnitude of the changes that are necessary to solve the climate crisis mean that all of the collateral reasons for taking these steps will not get us to where we need to go without a clear understanding of what we’re facing if we don’t act.
I think it’s a mistake to move that to the periphery of the conversation as so many have done. I think it has to be the heart of the conversation.
Joe Ramm notes at some point of the interview that makes me shiver :
This manifestation of climate change now is ultimately what lends urgency to Gore’s actions. Human-caused climate change is harming people now – and that’s with only a very small amount of warming to date. We are poised to warm 10 times as much this century if we don’t act swiftly.
To conclude this article, here is the video :
What do you think of the video ? Of the new campaign ? Of the interview ? I look forward to reading your views
reality has been hidden under an inconvenient blanket of denial–people prefer to ignore the distant problem and cover up the discomfort of change…
Al Gore has a fine comfortable voice, and a sad face..his one strength seems to be tenacity–he is consistent..the public however is fickle and demanding.
i hope that the writers of this new documentary find the gut rope to tug at the conscience of humanity..just long enough to stir them into proper action.
Hello Nadine and thanks again for your continuous support. You are my main – I should write only – commenter and this is truly appreciated. 🙂
I hope as well that people – and most importantly governments – will see that it’s high time we act on energy and climate issues…
But since I first delved in these issues eight years ago, very little has been done.
I am not exactly optimistic, but well as I said on my previous post, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and go on with it ! 🙂