Al Gore’s Fight Against the Climate Crisis: Exclusive Audio
Al Gore may not officially be running for president (yet) but between his Oscar-nominated documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, his current book Assault on Reason, and his promotion of Live Earth (which takes place worldwide on July 7th) the man has already established himself as our nation’s undisputed leader when it comes to the environment.
In “Al Gore’s Fight Against the Climate Crisis,” which appears in our issue on stands now, the former vice president talks about the threat posed by catastrophic climate change and explains why he believes it is not too late to stop it. Listen here to three audio snippets from the interview, conducted in Gore’s office in Washington, D.C., in late May of this year.
On why purchasing our way to a greener planet won’t solve our environmental problems but is still a good start: “We’re not going to solve this problem by buying Priuses and changing our light bulbs. But that’s not to say that buying hybrids and choosing better technology isn’t important.”
On why caring for the environment is becoming an increasingly bi-partisan issue: “More and more people have been connecting these dots and I think there will be no shortage of statements from Mother Nature, if you will. April was the hottest April in the history of Europe. The hottest winter in the world’s history was December, January, February. Hottest year in America’s history was 2006.”
On the sacrifices that need to be made, and explains why they aren’t really sacrifices: “Most, not all but most of the changes we need to make have to do with eliminating these absurdly wasteful practices that continue not because they make good sense or good economics but because of inertia. Is this important enough for us to make sacrifices? Yes, of course it’s that important. It’s the survival of human civilization.”