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| Gore wrote '']'' (which was published in 1992) while his six-year-old son Albert was recovering from a serious accident. | Gore wrote '']'' (which was published in 1992) while his six-year-old son Albert was recovering from a serious accident. | ||
| The book garnered extensive media coverage and generated controversy. ''The Boston Globe'' called Gore's work "a genuinely prophetic book." Many reviewers, however, mocked what they considered Mr. Gore's overly passionate prose. Gore's interest in metaphors borrowed from the era of ] led some critics to dub the book "Mein Planet." <ref>], ''Gore: A Political Life'', Regnery Publishing, 2000. p. 180. Passages of the book can be viewed online at </ref> ], then a former speechwriter for the ], stated that he discerned a remarkable parallelism between the social views at the foundation of Gore's writings in ''Earth in the Balance'' and the writings of Unabomber ].<ref>Bob Zelnick, p. 180.</ref> | |||
| It became the first book written by a sitting Senator to make '']'' ] list since ]'s '']''.<ref></ref> | It became the first book written by a sitting Senator to make '']'' ] list since ]'s '']''.<ref></ref> | ||
Revision as of 03:28, 7 May 2008
Al Gore is the former Vice President of the United States (1993-2001), the 2000 Democratic Party presidential nominee, and the co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He has been involved with the environmental activist movement for a number of decades.
Background
Gore says that his interest in environmentalism began when he was a teenager. Gore stated in a 1989 interview for the New York Times:
- As I was entering high school, my mother was reading Silent Spring and the dinner table conversation was about pesticides and the environment The year I graduated from college the momentum was building for Earth Day. After Vietnam, as I was entering divinity school, the Club of Rome report came out and the limits to growth was a main issue.
Advocacy in Congress
Gore held the first congressional hearings on the subject in the late 1970s. During his tenure in Congress, Gore co-sponsored hearings on toxic waste in 1978–79, and hearings on global warming in the 1980s.
In 1989, while still a Senator, Gore published an editorial in the Washington Post, in which he argued
Humankind has suddenly entered into a brand new relationship with the planet Earth. The world's forests are being destroyed; an enormous hole is opening in the ozone layer. Living species are dying at an unprecedented rate.
In 1990, Senator Gore presided over a three-day conference with legislators from over 42 countries which sought to create a 'global Marshall Plan,' "under which industrial nations would help less developed countries grow economically while still protecting the environment."
The Concord Monitor says that Gore "was one of the first politicians to grasp the seriousness of climate change and to call for a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouses gases.
Earth in the Balance
Gore wrote Earth in the Balance (which was published in 1992) while his six-year-old son Albert was recovering from a serious accident.
It became the first book written by a sitting Senator to make The New York Times bestseller list since John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage.
Vice presidency
As Vice-President, Gore was involved in a number of initiatives related to the environment. He launched the GLOBE program on Earth Day 1994, an education and science activity that, according to Forbes magazine, "made extensive use of the Internet to increase student awareness of their environment". In the late 1990s, Gore strongly pushed for the passage of the Kyoto Protocol, which called for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. He was opposed by the Senate, which passed unanimously (95-0) the Byrd-Hagel Resolution (S. Res. 98), which stated the sense of the Senate was that the United States should not be a signatory to any protocol that did not include binding targets and timetables for developing as well as industrialized nations or "would result in serious harm to the economy of the United States". On November 12 1998, Gore symbolically signed the protocol. Both Gore and Senator Joseph Lieberman indicated that the protocol would not be acted upon in the Senate until there was participation by the developing nations. The Clinton Administration never submitted the protocol to the Senate for ratification. In 1998, Gore began promoting a NASA satellite that would provide a constant view of Earth, marking the first time such an image would have been made since The Blue Marble photo from the 1972 Apollo 17 mission. The "Triana" satellite would have been permanently mounted in the L1 Lagrangian Point, 1.5 million km away. During this time, he also became associated with Digital Earth.
Post-vice presidency
In 2004, Gore launched Generation Investment Management. This firm, which he chairs, seeks out companies which take a responsible view on global issues such as climate change. It was created to assist the growing demand for an investment style that can bring returns by blending traditional equity research with a focus on more intangible non-financial factors such as social and environmental responsibility and corporate governance.
In recent years, Gore has remained busy traveling the world speaking and participating in events mainly aimed towards global warming awareness and prevention. His keynote presentation on global warming has received standing ovations, and he has presented it at least 1,000 times according to his monologue in An Inconvenient Truth. His speaking fee is $100,000. Gore is a vocal proponent of carbon neutrality, buying a carbon offset each time he travels by aircraft. Gore and his family drive hybrid vehicles. In An Inconvenient Truth Gore calls for people to conserve energy.
In 2007, Al Gore was the main non-official representative for the United States in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, which is a series of discussions that plans to continue where the Kyoto Protocol left off when it expires in 2012. He used a famous World War II poem written by Pastor Martin Niemöller to describe how the international community is eerily accomplishing nothing in the face of the greatest crisis in human history. He ended the speech using his famous tag line: "However, political will is a renewable resource."
During Global Warming Awareness Month, on February 9, 2007, Al Gore and Richard Branson announced the Virgin Earth Challenge, a competition offering a $25 million prize for the first person or organization to produce a viable design that results in the removal of atmospheric greenhouse gases.
In February 2007, critics stated that "a report by the Nashville Electric Service revealed that Mr Gore's mansion in Nashville consumed between 12 and 20 times more electricity than the average family home and that his electricity consumption had risen since the film's release in 2005." WKRN-TV reported that the Gore family obtains their power from the Nashville Electric Service's "renewable energy initiative", The Green Power Switch program. The Detroit Free Press also noted that "Gore purchased 108 blocks of 'green power' for each of the past three months, according to a summary of the bills. That’s a total of $432 a month Gore paid extra for solar or other renewable energy sources.The green power Gore purchased is equivalent to recycling 2.48 million aluminum cans or 286,092 pounds of newspaper, according to comparison figures on NES’s Web site." The Associated Press reported on 13 December 2007 that Gore "has completed a host of improvements to make the home more energy efficient, and a building-industry group has praised the house as one of the nation's most environmentally friendly 'Short of tearing it down and staring anew, I don't know how it could have been rated any higher,' said Kim Shinn of the U.S. Green Building Council, which gave the house its second-highest rating for sustainable design."
Gore has also been criticized by those who argue that he maintains carbon neutrality by purchasing carbon credits from Generation Investment Management, a company for which he serves as Chairman. In response, a spokesman for Generation stated that "Gore is not profiting from his crusade against global warming" and that Gore does not purchase carbon credits from Generation. Instead, Generation purchases carbon credits from third party providers such as the Carbon Neutral Company to offset the personal emissions of all employees and their families, including Gore's. He also argued that Generation does not sell carbon credits, nor does it develop them--rather, they voluntarily purchase credits from others on behalf of employees.
At the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change Weather Channel founder John Coleman stated, "...sue the people who sell carbon credits. That includes Al Gore." He also argued that global warming is a fraud.
Interest in Al Gore's speeches reached such a point that a public lecture at University of Toronto on February 21, 2007, on the topic of global warming, led to a crash of the ticket sales website within minutes of opening. A few weeks later, he spoke at another event in the same city and, for the first time, made the argument that employers have a significant role to play in mobilizing their employees to take action on climate change.
In March 2008, Gore gave a talk via videoconferencing in order to promote this technology as a means, he argued, of fighting global warming.
An Inconvenient Truth
Main article: An Inconvenient TruthGore starred in the documentary film An Inconvenient Truth, released on May 24, 2006. The film documents the evidence for anthropogenic global warming and warns of the consequences of people not making immediate changes to their behavior. It is the fourth-highest-grossing documentary in U.S. history.
After An Inconvenient Truth was nominated for an Academy Award, Donna Brazile (Gore's campaign chairwoman from the 2000 campaign) speculated that Gore might announce a possible presidential candidacy for the 2008 election. During a speech on January 31, 2007, at Moravian College, Brazile stated, "Wait till Oscar night, I tell people: 'I'm dating. I haven't fallen in love yet. On Oscar night, if Al Gore has slimmed down 25 or 30 pounds, Lord knows.'" During the award ceremony, Gore and actor Leonardo DiCaprio shared the stage to speak about the "greening" of the ceremony itself. Gore began to give a speech that appeared to be leading up to an announcement that he would run for president. However, background music drowned him out and he was escorted offstage, implying that it was a rehearsed gag, which he later acknowledged.
After winning the 2007 Academy Award for Documentary Feature. the Oscar was awarded to director Davis Guggenheim, who asked Gore to join him and other members of the crew on stage. Gore then gave a brief speech, saying, "My fellow Americans, people all over the world, we need to solve the climate crisis. It's not a political issue; it's a moral issue. We have everything we need to get started, with the possible exception of the will to act. That's a renewable resource. Let's renew it."
Books
Gore also published the book An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It, which became a bestseller. In reference to the use of nuclear power to mitigate global warming, Gore has stated, "Nuclear energy is not the panacea for tackling global warming."
On 22 April 2008 (Earth Day), Gore will release his new book, The Path to Survival. A sequel to An Inconvenient Truth, the book has been described by its publisher as explaining, "how making bold choices now to protect our environment will also create new jobs, propel sustainable economic improvements, and inspire a new generation to tackle our most challenging issues with moral leadership."
Futurama
Gore appeared in Matt Groening's Futurama as himself and his own head in a jar in episodes related to environmentalism. Gore also reprised the role in the 2007 film, Futurama: Bender's Big Score. In 2000 Gore had offered to appear in the 2000 season finale of Futurama, "Anthology of Interest I". In this episode, Gore led his team of "Vice Presidential Action Rangers" in their goal to protect the space-time continuum. In 2002, Gore appeared in the episode "Crimes of the Hot". In addition, Gore used a short clip from Futurama to explain how global warming works in his presentations as well as in An Inconvenient Truth.
Live Earth
Main article: Live EarthOn July 7, 2007, Live Earth benefit concerts were held around the world in an effort to raise awareness about climate change. The event was the brainchild of Gore and Kevin Wall of Save Our Selves. On July 21, 2007, Gore announced he was teaming with actress Cameron Diaz for a TV climate contest, 60 Seconds to Save the Earth, to gain people's support in solving the climate crisis.
2007 Nobel Peace Prize and India
Gore was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, which was shared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, headed by Rajendra K. Pachauri (Delhi, India). The award was given "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change" on October 12, 2007.
Gore made the following statement after receiving the prize:
I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. This award is even more meaningful because I have the honor of sharing it with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—the world's pre-eminent scientific body devoted to improving our understanding of the climate crisis—a group whose members have worked tirelessly and selflessly for many years. We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level. My wife, Tipper, and I will donate 100 percent of the proceeds of the award to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the U.S. and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis.
Gore and Pachauri accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 in Oslo, Norway on December 10, 2007.
In a talk given during March 2008 in Delhi, Gore argued that India, as a leader in information technology, is in a particularly strong position to also lead the way in climate change. This talk coincided with the release of two children's books by Gore jointly published with the India Habitat Centre.
We Can solve it.org
Gore and The Alliance for Climate Protection created the We Can Solve It organization, a web-based program with multiple advertisements on television focused on spreading awareness for global warming and petitioning for the press putting more attention on the crisis, the government doing more to help the environment, and their ultimate goal is the end to global warming. Although focused mostly upon the United States, and Americans, it is an international petition and effort. It already has over one million signatures.
Selected honors and awards
- 2008 Dan David Prize: "Social Responsibility with Particular Emphasis on the Environment."
- 2008 The Gore resolution (HJR712) passed by the Tennessee House of Representatives which honors Gore's "efforts to curb global warming."
- 2007 Gothenburg Prize for Sustainable Development
- 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (environment)
- 2007 International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences: Founders Award for Current TV and for work in the area of global warming
- 2007 Prince of Asturias Award in Spain (environment)
- 2007 The Sir David Attenborough Award for Excellence in Nature Filmmaking (environment)
- 2006 Quill Awards: History/current events/politics, An Inconvenient Truth
Bibliography
Books
- Gore, Al (2008, forthcoming). The Path to Survival. Rodale Books. ISBN 1594867348.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - Know Climate Change and 101 Q and A on Climate Change from 'Save Planet Earth Series', 2008 (children's books)
- Gore, Al (2006). An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We can do about it. New York: Rodale Books. ISBN 1594865671.
- Gore, Al (1992). Earth in the Balance: Forging a New Common Purpose. Earthscan. ISBN 0618056645.
Articles, speeches, and introductions
- Transcript of Al Gore's speech at the Sierra Summit, September 9, 2005.
- The Digital Earth: Understanding our planet in the 21st Century, by Vice President Al Gore, Given at the California Science Center, Los Angeles, California, on January 31, 1998.
- Vice President Al Gore's introduction to Earthwatch: 24 Hours In Cyberspace. February 8, 1996. 24 Hours in Cyberspace
- "Understanding Earth: Retrospectives and Visions post conferences report." Geojournal, Volume 37, Number 3 / November, 1995.
- "Introduction. In Rachel Carson. Silent Spring. 1994. New York : Houghton-Mifflin.
- The Climate Change Action Plan. Washington, D.C.: The White House, October, 1993 (with William Clinton).
- News briefs — Vice President Albert Gore, Jr., talks about the environment — Letter to the Editor, Science World, 3 September 1993.
- "We must challenge the unthinkable". Integration. 1992 Mar;(31):18-23.
- "Gaining our eco-librium." Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy ; Vol/Issue: 5:2, June 1, 1990.
- "To Skeptics on Global Warming . . .." New York Times, April 22, 1990.
- Earth's Fate Is the No. 1 National Security Issue - Washington Post, 14 May 1989
Further reading
- Kirk, Andrew G. Counterculture Green: The Whole Earth Catalog and American Environmentalism. Lawrence: Univ. of Kansas Press, 2007.
Notes
- DIONNE,, E. J. (June 14, 1989), WASHINGTON TALK; Greening of Democrats: An 80's Mix of Idealism And Shrewd Politics, New York Times
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: year (link) - "The Political Climate". PBS. April 22, 2005.
- Earth's Fate Is the No. 1 National Security Issue
- PHILIP SHABECOFF (03 May 1990). "World's Legislators Urge 'Marshall Plan' For the Environment". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Monitor staff (27 February 2007). "Oscar win was one more first for Al Gore". Monitor editorial. Concord Monitor. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Albert A. Gore, Jr., 45th Vice President (1993-2001)
- "Gore really does get the web". Forbes. September 21, 2006.
- "Remarks By Al Gore, Climate Change Conference". Retrieved 2006-09-01.
- "Vice President Gore: Strong Environmental Leadership for the New Millennium". Retrieved 2006-09-01.
- "U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 105th Congress — 1st Session:S.Res. 98". 1997-07-25. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Text of the Byrd-Hagel Resolution". 1997-07-25. Retrieved 2006-11-05.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Clinton Hails Global Warming Pact". All Politics. CNN. 1997-12-11. Retrieved 2006-11-05.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Earth-Viewing Satellite Would Focus On Educational, Scientific Benefits". Science Daily. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
- "Digital Earth History". The 5th International Symposium on Digital Earth.
- Al Gore - speech at ENBW Part 2 (internet video).
- Al Gore, $100,000 Man July 17, 2007
- "Born Again". Guardian Unlimited. May 31, 2006.
- "Larry King Live — Interview with Al Gore". CNN. June 13, 2006.
- "UN Climate Convention in Bali". Science Daily. 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Al Gore's Speech in Bali". 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Committee on Foreign Affairs". 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Virgin Earth Challenge official web site. Al Gore is listed as a judge.
- "Stephen McGinty - Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize, but do inconvenient truths lie behind the green gloss?". The Scotsman. October 13, 2007.
- "Controversy Surrounds Al Gore's Energy Use". WKRN-TV. 2007-02-27. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
- "Critics question how green Gore really is". Detroit Free Press. 2007-02-27. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
- "Gore Makes Nashville Home more 'Green'. Home". CNN. October 12, 2007.
- Generation:Team
- WorldNetDaily: Gore's 'carbon offsets' paid to firm he owns
- Canada Free Press: Creators of carbon credit scheme cashing in on it
- Gore's Company Says He's Not Profiting from 'Carbon Offsets'
- Generation: Memberships and Initiatives
- "TWC founder and global warming skeptic advocates suing Al Gore to expose 'the fraud of global warming.'". Retrieved 2008-03-05.
- "Climate skeptics roast Al Gore on global warming". Retrieved 2008-03-05.
- "An Inconvenient Rush: Thousands out of luck as Gore talk sells out in minutes". Toronto Star. February 8, 2007.
- "Thank you for attending the 2007 Top Employer Summit". (Picture of Al Gore speaking). Canada's Top 100 Employers.
- Gore uses videoconferencing to make point on global warming
- "DOCUMENTARY: 1982–Present". Box Office Mojo. (Rankings).
- "2008: Democrats in Town". The New York Times. (Blog). February 2, 2007
- "Washington diary: Al meets Oscar". BBC News. 2007-02-28. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - "Will Al's Oscar Bounce Put Him in the Race?". ABC News. 2007-02-26. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
- Jim Malone (2007-02-27). "Gore's Oscar Win Prompts New Political Speculation". Voice of America. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- "79th Annual Academy Awards". OSCAR.com. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
- "Gore Wins Hollywood in a Landslide"
- The truth? 'Nuclear is not the answer' at TheAge.com.au
- Al Gore Readying New Environmental Book
- Zulkey, Jack (June 7, 2007). "Al Gore, The Futurama President". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Associated Press (May 22, 2000). "Veep guest stars in TV cartoon". Retrieved 2007-06-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Associated Press (November 8, 2002). "Al Gore reprises role on 'Futurama' cartoon". Retrieved 2007-06-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Clarke, Donald (September 15, 2006). "You Go, Gore". Irish Times. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ""Live Earth" Concerts in All 7 Continents to Reach Global Audience of Over 2 Billion".
- BBC (2007-10-12). "Indian's surprise at Nobel award". BBC.
- "Peace 2007". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
- Al Gore (2007-10-12). "I am deeply honored". Al Gore.
- Al Gore (2007-12-10). "Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, December 10, 2007". Al Gore.
- Aftenposten Newspaper: Peace Prize winners issue urgent calls for action
- India can lead world in renewable energy - Al Gore
- Al Gore's India vision
- India can show the way, says Al Gore
- Al Gore releases children's Book on climate change
- Al Gore and Amos Oz Among 2008 Dan David Prize Winners, Tuesday, February 12, 2008
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - "House passes resolution to honor Gore's efforts". knoxnews.com. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
- "Al Gore To Be Awarded Gothenburg Prize For Sustainability". SR International - Radio Sweden. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
- 2007 Awards for the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
- "Al Gore". Prince of Asturias Foundation. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
- Lisa Knox Burns. "Gore to People: It's Up to US" edhat.com.
- Al Gore releases children's Book on climate change
- The original toolbox for green living 40 years later
External links
- WASHINGTON TALK; Greening of Democrats: An 80's Mix of Idealism And Shrewd Politics New York Times, June 14, 1989
- Global warming is a planetary emergency: Al Gore - India Today interview with Gore
- Al Gore Speech Accepting 2007 Nobel Peace Prize
- Video: Gore Speaks at TED Conference — 15 ways to avert a climate crisis
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