Posted on 10/26/2005 1:32:18 PM PDT by Kieri
Gore skips politics for science in U-M speech on climate change
Ex-vice president talks on global warming
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
BY DAVE GERSHMAN
News Staff Reporter
Al Gore introduced himself as a "recovering politician - on step nine'' before making his case Monday night that global warming presents a moral challenge.
Gore steered clear of politics and embraced scientific data for most of his 90-minute talk in front of a packed crowd of 1,300 people at the Power Center for the Performing Arts on Monday evening.
The former vice president had been asked by the University of Michigan to talk about climate change, and he responded by making a painstaking case that global warming is happening, and going to get worse. He used enough charts, graphs and multimedia visuals to make any professor envious. Two screens behind him displayed dozens of images, and he described scientific studies of ocean and atmospheric temperatures going up, and glaciers and polar ice breaking up and retreating. And if you think this is all part of a normal cycle, Gore said, it's not.
It's not too late to avert the worst consequences, Gore said: "It's up to us to keep our eyes on the prize and act to save our planet.''
He briefly touched on solutions, such as becoming more efficient in the way we use energy and using cleaner-burning energies. Curbing the emission of greenhouse gases shouldn't pit the economy against the environment, Gore said.
Gore confessed that he thinks the hybrid-powered Toyota Prius is the "best car made'' but that he doesn't drive it; he said he is still loyal to General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co.
He used most of his time to talk about the science of global warming, saying the phenomenon presents a moral challenge. Convincing people that global warming is real and is a threat are two of the biggest tasks ahead, Gore said. We are still in denial, he said, even as we are seeing some of the consequences already. He pointed to record floods and more intense hurricanes.
"Glaciers don't care about politics or partisanship; they just melt and freeze,'' said Gore. He complained of an effort to discredit global warming as theory, comparing it to the cigarette industry denying links between smoking and disease.
Projections show the atmosphere's level of carbon-dioxide, the greenhouse gas, continuing to skyrocket. In the worst-case scenarios, ocean levels would rise to put whole coastal areas underwater, he said, and agriculture would be disrupted, he indicated.
In front of this audience, at least, Gore received an enthusiastic response. "I think he presented a very strong scientific basis for the reality of what we're experiencing and what we're going to experience,'' said Bill Holmes, a researcher at U-M.
"The scale of it is something as a researcher I have some understanding of,'' he added, "but I think he laid out a very complete picture.''
Alison White, a graduate student at U-M, agreed. "I think it should be convincing to people,'' she said. She came because global warming "is an issue I'm interested in, but don't know a whole lot about.''
Gore was giving U-M's annual Peter M. Wege Lecture. Wege is an environmentalist and major donor to the U-M School of Natural Resources. Gore's talk was sponsored by the School of Natural Resources, among other academic units. He did not receive an honorarium.
The tickets to his lecture at the Power Center, which were free, had been snapped up early. Overflow seating for several hundred people was arranged at another auditorium, where attendees watched Gore live on video.
He left no time for questions and only briefly touched on politics. He criticized the environmental record of two of President Bush's appointees without mentioning Bush by name. At the start of his talk, the audio-visual display didn't work, so he smiled at a technician and quipped: "Brownie, you're doing a hell of a job.'' Gore was parodying President Bush, who in the early aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, had praised former FEMA director Michael Brown, saying "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job.'' Brown later resigned his post as criticism of the relief effort mounted.
Dressed in a dark suit, Gore was at ease in front of the crowd. "I am Al Gore,'' he said soon after appearing on stage, drawing laughs from the audience. "I used to be the next president of the United States.''
In another light moment, Gore asked the audience members to put themselves in his shoes. (He is now president of the new Cable network for youths, Current TV, and chairman of an investment firm with environmentally friendly portfolios.)
"I flew on Air Force One for eight years,'' he said. "Now I have to take off my shoes to get on an airplane.''
Reporter Dave Gershman can be reached at (734) 994-6818 or dgershman@annarbornews.com.
How embarrasing for my state of Michigan. Note he was in Ann Arbor a 'rat city of snobs.
Why not? He has a Phd in jackology.
You beat me to it. He says Air Force One because it is the Presidential plane. He was NOT the President then and he isn't the President now either. Wonder if he knows that??? Mmmmm, just curious.
I would say clintin, kerry then gore. They're all pretty much the same I know but I had to rank order them.
Step Nine: Made direct amends to such people [we had harmed], except when to do so would injure them or others.
>>>>>And if you think this is all part of a normal cycle, Gore said, it's not.<<<<<
Based on what evidence, Al? Just you saying it doesn't make it so.
Especially the armored ones paid for by the American taxpayer.
I`d go a little further,I`d say mental illness,he`s got a hate you can see when he talks.The SOB thinks he should be the President.
His papa was a POS too.
Laugh + Barf = Gag
Hey...good point! I wonder though..if algore is still reaping any Secret Service benefits. Highly LIKELY that he retains an entourage. I know there is a timeframe for most former Veeps and their families but not sure what it is.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.