Yeah Energy Revolution! Today at dead noon Al Gore sauntered up to the national media and made some pretty hot comments Read the whole speech here, but here are my highlights:
“I don’t remember a time in our country when so many things seemed to be going so wrong simultaneously. Our economy …gasoline prices …electricity rates …Jobs …outsourced. Home mortgages …Banks, automobile companies….”
Ugh, what a bummer…But wait!
“Yet when we look at all three of these seemingly intractable challenges…our dangerous over-reliance on carbon-based fuels is at the core…[of] the economic, environmental and national security crises…
Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years. This goal is achievable, affordable and transformative. It represents a challenge to all Americans – in every walk of life: to our political leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers, and to every citizen…
So I ask you to join with me to call on every candidate, at every level, to accept this challenge – for America to be running on 100 percent zero-carbon electricity in 10 years. It’s time for us to move beyond empty rhetoric. We need to act now.”
I can’t resist but to include a few more favorite quotes:
Regarding the potential for renewable energy to get very cheap very fast if we start actually developing it, Gore said, “You know, the same thing happened with computer chips – also made out of silicon. The price paid for the same performance came down by 50 percent every 18 months – year after year, and that’s what’s happened for 40 years in a row.”
And finally, a last favorite quote: “It is only a truly dysfunctional system that would buy into the perverse logic that the short-term answer to high gasoline prices is drilling for more oil ten years from now.”
SOOO, now that Al Gore has shown us the wisdom, intelligence and common sense of any damn 6 year old who isn’t in the pocket of a the fossil fuel industry, I guess it’s time to up the ante.
Hop on over to http://www.sierraclub.org/maps/coal.asp and get thinking about how we are going to stop the 100 or so coal fired power plants still on the docket to be built, as well as shut down the 500 existing ones, and then maybe to www.coalriverwind.org to support one of many Coal to Renewable transitions we are going to have to make, and soon. And go to www.Powervote.org.
And then get off the internet! I’ll meet you on the street!
Onward!
Reading about this speech, I couldn’t help but be reminded of this SNL gem:
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/play.shtml?mea=229115
(OK, fair, ‘gem’ might be generous. But worth a watch if you haven’t seen it.)
Stark – why don’t you go fly a kite and leave us alone? Are you really posting a comment on his house? That shit was played out years ago. No one wants to hear your bought and paid for opinions. You suck.
Just to humor you, Gore’s home uses clean energy sources like wind and solar. Here is an article for ya,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/28/AR2007022801823.html
Please don’t post here anymore.
Al Gore is awesome.
Anyways, onto a serious questions that this brings up…
Why is Al Gore making more dramatic demands than the youth climate movement? Aren’t we supposed to be pushing the envelope? I know we have put forth many strong stances through different campigns, but I haven’t heard something this bold come as a united message from youth – the closest we have come is 80% by 2050 (and no new coal to an extent).
Re: Matt’s Comment, I think you’re right — I think that when we water down our demands because it makes them “easier to pass” or “more politically acceptable” it is a self fulfilling prophecy. If you say something enough times, it becomes true.
So, instead of saying, the best we can do for now is CCS and 80% by 2050, we should be repeating — pull the $9 Billion that went to Coal in the 2005 energy bill and throw that into Renewables!
For more instances of Al Gore saying things that we and every child with common sense can tell you, but it still feels great to have some famous guy say them, see his recent comments on Mountain Top Removal Coalmining
http://www.wvablue.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=1D2DCBA64018DF9D0CA84D269F8D4451?diaryId=2737
FYI- the poster known as “Stark” is either working for the fossil fuel industry or some front group funded by the fossil fuel industry. It’s best to ignore him or delete his abusive attack posts.