Not too late for Gore ‘08.

Are you kidding me? While I am all for renewable energy sources, there is no way the infrastructure of this country can change that dramatically that fast. I agree that new oil drilling is not the answer, but this kind of change has to be done slowly or you will do more harm to your economy than good. I think the concept is great, but we need to be realistic about timetables and costs.

And how will you overcome the stasis in Congress on this issue? The oil companies still own a large number of Senators and Congressmen/Women on Capitol Hill. They will NEVER permit such a change. It would require major change in our politcal arena to achieve this. The Congress can’t even over-ride the veto of a lame-duck (not to mention lame brain) President. How will they ever pass this kind of law?

So, let’s look at the reality. It’s necessary, actually mandated by the state of our planet. that we make changes. But, we need to start small and think big. That’s the only way this will work. So, set a realistic timetable, and then move forward. And reward those people who reach certain targets ahead of schedule. Encourage power companies to hit accelerated goals, but make sure they understand that as long as they meet the end goal they won’t be punished. And if they do miss the hard target date, they WILL be punished. And get rid of ALL lobyists in Congress. As long as they run the country, nothing will get done that doesn’t make someone rich. Someone other than the middle class.

Jim

Sounds wonderful. Congress will get back to you in about 8 years with a resolution to proceed with research.

I happen to agree with Al Gore and therefore feel he is very relevant. We are in a real tough situation — not only in the US but the whole world. It seems that people have become extremely selfish and do not care about future generations.

Mr. Gore is the only one who has been working on this problem most of his life. People can make fun of him as much as they want but it does not change the dire situation that we are in.

I also feel the overpopulation of the planet should be brought up. It does not take a genius to see that this is the major problem. It is like the elephant in the room that no one talks about.

Big challenge; eliminate income tax to impose a carbon tax (with special support for most needy only) makes sense. That alone can get us a long ways in the right direction.

Wonder why gore is partnered wit GE could it be money not saving the world Nah! Gore is PHONY

Until Gore puts far more emphasis on nuclear power, his credibility is questionable. The US should start building about 100 new nuclear power plants asap. Nuclear is safe, clean and containable, and puts out zero carbon. Convert all cars to electric and we would greatly reduce CO2 getting into our atmosphere. Biofuels are not the answer. They will continue to release carbon. Wind and solar are supplemental technologies, not the end all.

Al Gore needs to worry more about his own huge “carbon footprint” before he starts telling everyone else what to do.

Gore had a fateful crossroads: be President or be a Great Man; I wish he would fulfill the former..

Al Gore speaks the plain truth. He addresses the issue in straight terms and he is absolutely on when he says the economic, environmental and national security crises are all related.
He likens his speech to Kennedy’s challenge to land on the moon.You can also liken it to the challenge of winning World War II. This new effort will require every bit of sacrifice and resolve as winning that war did. Those who can not see that now will see it eventually if they live for the next 20 years.

This is THE most important speech in my 62 years on this planet. Acceptance of this challenge can once again guide the US towards preeminence in science and technology; help us rebuild our once great country around the needs of future, not the failed policies of yesterday which lead only to decay and extinction. We can show the world real leadership if we wake up now. If not, others will do it and they will in turn become the world leaders of the tomorrow, while the US gradually declines, forced to purchase every new and necessary technology from those new world industrial powers, losing bit-by-bit all of our wealth, lifestyle, health and international prestige in the process. Ultimately, these great changes aren’t optional, what is optional is who chooses to lead and profit from that leadership and those destined to follow, relegated to the dustbin of the history.

Vice President Gore is correct….living with alternative energy is possible, responsible, clean and efficient. I have been living off-grid for over 10 years……my home operates on solar energy only . There are many people that live as I do. We live comfortably with all the amminities that any urban dweller has. Wind, Solar, Hydro and Thermo are all clean, renewable sources of energy that we must utilize now. Our future, the future of generations and the wellbeing of our planet, depends on us taking action, changing our energy needs and utilizing these clean resources, now.

Hey, Obama
Gore provided the detailied enery policy now stay true to your word and bring the CHANGE. If not Gore is right America will no longer have the standing we have enjoyed in the world. If it was easy it would have been done before, we accomplish the hard task.

I agree that we cannot drill our way out of the crisis. I also agree that using up foodstuffs and arable land and potable water is not the answer. Using all of the available innovative technologies can solve the problem AND mitigate global warming at the same time. Wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and tidal can be harnessed to generate electricity. Coal fired generating plants are still the most economic way to produce electricity BUT FOR putting out massive amounts of greenhouse gasses. Nuclear power plants are “non-polluting” EXCEPT FOR the devastating environmental issues at the mining milling, and disposal stages of the cycle.
The above can provide the electric power we need but does not address the liquid transportation fuels that are needed.
There has been little mainstream media coverage — and no political comment — of the R&D being done on the use of algae cultivation to produce chemical feedstock that can be processed into biofuels, including diesel, ethanol , jetfuel, hydogen, and others with a production volume substantially more efficient than using “traditional” sources.
There are a number of university and small start-up programs that are developing techniques for using the CO2 and other “wastes” from flue gasses and sewage treatrments and elsewhere along with non-potable water and sunlight under controlled condiions that are proposed to produce all the liquid fuels required while using productively the main cause of global warming.
It seems to me that all it takes is the National Will to invest in the commercialization of this new technology.

The answers to the last three questions are:

No, unfortunately yes, and no.

This is rehashed from the 1970’s. If nothing was done about it then,
why on earth makes us think anything will be done now? I fear that
we are a nation of sheep.

The environmentalists care more about seals than humans.
http://stockparadise.blogspot.com/2008/07/faith-in-free-market.html
This article sums up the conservative opinion on this subject.

I think it is a great idea… regardless of what it does to the economy.. too many people worried about themselves and not the reality of what Carbon based fuels are doing to this world and this country as a whole. We should have been doing this for the last 10 years instead of starting now but once again the lack of insight by previous regimes has hurt this country in one way or another… or politics itself being bought out by big oil.

You wrote:
“Is Gore relevant? Is anyone listening to him? Should we listen to him? ”

Well gee, let’s see - you have a front page story about him and you just blogged about him, he won the Nobel Peace Prize, an Emmy, an Oscar and a Grammy within the past year and “An Inconvenient Truth” is constantly playing on cable.

So, um, gosh I guess the answer is ,er - yes? What kind of neo con BS spin was that anyway? Is Gore relevant? Why does CNN despise Gore so much but are so utterly giddy with man crushes around the reprehensible John McCain?

Too bad this guy isn’t running for president. He is the only politician that speaks the truth and from the heart. I hope we wake up and smell the coffee. It’s a shame that during one of the most important speeches of the last 5 years or so, Gore gets “interrupted” by Grandpa Simpson telling the people of Missouri how well the war in Iraq is going. Pathetic. God help us if he is elected.

well jim, look at all our other solutions we said were too fast, so we slowed them down and after it was finished people thought it cost me to wait it out than to to in a number of years. we should challenge ourselves. but i still know that we will still use propane and other gases in 10 years. if we help our economy by USING natural devices like solar energy roofs or something and make it cheap and easy to produce. it will greatly help the economy and will help Gores challenge. BUT ITS IMPOSSIBLE IN 10 years.

Absolutely, we should be listening! The technology is here today to become energy independent and with proper funding, it could happen in a decade. Solar and wind energy, Hydrogen and natural gas fueled cars (see Honda’s web page for more) are proven technologies. I’m tired of seeing no action on this crisis from our elected leaders and feel it’s time for a good old fashion 60’s movement to get us moving in the right direction. Over half of the oil consumed in the US is from foreign sources, many of whom are less than friendly to us. Can you imagine what would happen if all of a sudden foreign oil imports stopped. Frightening. To those of us living in large cities, are you fed up with seeing and breathing that ugly brown haze hovering over us? I once saw a Native American quote which states “We did not inherit the earth from our parents and grandparents; we are borrowing it from our children and grandchildren”.

Sort of a Manhatten project on new energy, eh? Sounds like a great idea. Get rid of the lobbyists? Another great idea, and necessary for the implimentation of the first. Can either be done? Maybe with a revolution. Did you know Henry Ford built and ran a car out of Hemp? Check it out, its on You tube. There have been solutions around for a long time, but always money and those greedy people with all the power get in the way.

It is a great challenge and the Country - big people and little people should do everything we can to make sure that this happens. It can happen. If we want it bad enough.

The effect of Jim’s knee-jerk “neo-realism” in response to Al Gore’s challenge is to sever the nerve chord of effort and absolutely guarantee that it won’t be done in 10 years - if ever.

Larry

He’s a flaming idiot!

Absolutely…we have been able to make so many technological advances in my lifetime…why would this be any different? Let’s get our best minds to work and we will be well on our way.

There is no doubt there is lots of money to be made…when did we become so afraid of new technologies?

First of all, coward Al Gore should take the challenge of Lord Monckton

http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=20873

Jim, I am not kidding you. The change can and will come in the next ten years. and it’s going to be easier than anyone thinks. Why? Because the development and installation will come from outside the government. How? By forgetting about the grid and through the integrated use of available technology, distributing the energy generation to the users on a scalable baisis. Remember the old saying “Think globally, act locally”. this will work with energy generation as well.

Skeptical? I was too, but it will work and it doesn’t require any change in laws.

So, realism? Al Gore finally got iit right. Human caused global warming is a debatable issue. Increased reliance on the burning of fossil fuels while supply diminishes is not. It is necessary to develop renewable sources of energy, yet a much more cost effective and adoptable methodolgy is to develop scalable solutions which can be installed on a local level. The profit potential and debveloping technology will make this mandate a reality, not some artificial governmental dictate.

The effect of assuming that something is impossible in this case is to guarantee that Gore’s challenge won’t be met in 10 years - if ever.

Larry

While the current political system doesn’t make Gore’s challenge feasible, it is the kind of radical commitment that will someday be needed to make this country and this world free of it’s addiction to oil. The solutions to our energy demands are not more drilling, ethanol, natural gas, or any other carbon-based (and food-reducing) option. We need to create wind farms, solar farms, and even more hydroelectric plants (yes, I know the environmental impact of dams and reservoirs) . We need to tax pickups, SUVs and other gas-guzzling vehicles upon purchase for their emissions impact. We need to think boldly, creatively, and dynamically to create a suite of energy sources that can heat our homes, power our cars and planes, and provide us electricity. It comes down to everyone doing their part - the homeowner with solar roofs, the corporation with green power, the politicians with freedom from lobbyists and the courage to act. At least Gore has the courage to challenge us.

To prove Lee’s point, I haven’t seen anything in mainstream media about the use of algae cultivation for the ultimate production of biofuels. Why not? Site moderators should pass this up the line. More info please. Members of Congress will move on the issue when it becomes profitable to do so.

Jim wrote: “Are you kidding me? While I am all for renewable energy sources, there is no way the infrastructure of this country can change that dramatically that fast.”

umm….yes it can……we built our gas line infrastructure in less than a decade……our railroad infrastructure took even less time…..and these were made before the use of internal combustion engines for transportation became prominent.

and as far as the economic impact…… If America becomes the leading producer or renewable energy…..we will take away the trillions in oil revenue that OPEC gets……become independent in our energy needs…..and create tens of thousands of jobs to create this new “green infrastructure”…….sure we will have to suck up the initial cost of going green but the long term affects will pay off. Our generation is being continually burdened by the status quo mindset of the baby boomers who dont care about the long run because lets face it…..they wont be around so why make the sacrafice.

Gore is absolutely right.
People want to start drilling for more oil. WHY? People just in case you dont know this is our SECOND oil crisis. We had one in the 70’s. There will undoubtedly be another one again if we “stay the course” .
But if we get something that can never run out (at least not for an estimated billions of years): wind&solar, our generation as well as those in the future will have sustainable energy.
Making our future generations deal with the effects of global warming and the daunting task of getting off oil once its nearly run out, falls under the same category as our forefather complained about:: NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.

What drives me crazy is people (like Glenn Beck) who call anyone Un-American who says there is anything wrong with this country. Yet they doubt are ability to get off oil and just say ‘eh, lets drill some more, I don’t care about anything except my wallet!’

By the way Gore won in 2000!

Love,

A concerned environmentalist

Al Gore, if you really think your plan in conceivable, then your’e full of more bull than I ever previously imagined. For the idiots who haven’t heard (especially the watchers of the extremely liberal CNN, CBS, or NBC news channels) Al Gore’s claims of Global Warming have been discredited as extremely exaggerated by almost every Scientist in the world.
We do need to get rid of our dependence on oil, but doing it in 10 years is a completely childish fantasy. What I want to know is why Gore doesn’t support feasible plans such as nuclear energy usage. As for his plan to increase production and use of ethanol: Ethanol costs exponentially more to produce than any form of energy we currently use, and its now been proven that in the end ETHANOL RELEASES TWICE AS MUCH CARBON as standard gasoline.

If Gore knew what it’s like to not live in a 20+ room mansion, and if he wasn’t so rich to be able to afford numerous gas-guzzling SUV’s and other expensive toys, maybe he would be able to think about financially capable energy plans.

Let’s start off with fact #1 - The electricty use in the United States is not based on foreign oil. Most electricity in the United States is derived from coal. So linking oil companies to this particular facet of this debate is baseless. In order to move this debate forward, Al Gore needs to explain why he does not embrace nuclear power as a clean alternative. Solar and Wind will only get us so far. We need a plan to eliminate coal power plants and the restrictions placed on power companies in the 90s only encourages use of old, out-dated coal plants. Congress needs to get on board with a real energy policy, not a policy based on election campaigns.

Great point, Larry. Gore laid out the issue of our energy crisis, and put out the feasible alternatives: geothermal, wind, and solar energy. The majority of the science community is on board with this, and it opens up the country to the spirit of innovation and change that makes it great. What boggles my mind is that off-shore drilling is even being considered given these better options. I’m from Florida, and maybe it’s about time we make the Sunshine State the Solar Energy State, instead of looking off our shores and killing off the rest of the Everglades.

Sigh - Al Gore was long on rhetoric and short on any specifics. There is no real plan here - just a challenge. The thought you could base your energy system on wind, solar, and geothermal without a technological breakthrough in energy storage is ludicrous (I’m unaware of any ‘breakthrough’ in the works). And if you can’t store energy then basing your energy system on things that go away randomly (wind) or periodically (sun) seems kind of foolish.

If he’d come out and said nuclear is needed as the base and then have 20, 30, 40% on true renewables - oh - and all in 10 years. Maybe, just maybe you could do it. Frankly I’m disappointed by this - he’s just into giving self serving speeches and not real solutions.

Leland

How about a new idea — have the military construct hundreds of nuclear power plants on US military bases and operate these as a force against the external enemy: foreign energy sources. The power generated would need to be sufficient to cover all the US needs for the next 50 years as alternative sources are explored. It is the suggestion that the military budget used to defend the US abroad needs also to defend the US here in the States.

Simply put, the military will operate these facilities at a profit and that profit needs to be used to offset construction cost and be directly invested in the exploration of alternative energy sources. By pricing the energy at a level higher than the ‘lowest-cost’ alternative, PUCs and commercial utility plant will have access to a price-stable source of electricity to power homes and the new generation of hydrogen and Electric hybrid vehicles.

If we were to require that 49 states use at the minimum 2 military bases to deliver the first 98 plants – assuming that Nevada can be optionally excluded as they house the waste containment center for the US. And, in fact, the waste containment center should become a military run facility as well to protect the national interest against any threats.

I’d like to see the federal government use some of the military budget allocation to fund this project as it directly increases the US security profile, decreases the reliance on foreign oil, and stabilizes the price of electricity for the US consumer.

Andy, We have been taxing the gas guzzling vehicles at the time of purchase for years. Look where it has gotten us — lobbyists working to relax the requirements until we find ourselves in a country full of gaz guzzling large vehicles with only one occupant.

Al Gore,

Thanks for your service to the US and the world as a soldier against Global Warming! Your nobel prize for this cause is a testament of your devotion.

Our planet is truly in peril, but many take it for granted. Within this decade alone, we had more natural desasters than going back thousands of years ago, combined. (Katrina, Tsunami, China’s earthquakes, California’s fire, Greenland’s melting, volcanos erupting, and the list goes on.)

WE can start making a difference, if WE try.

GO AL!

I will do my part.

Everyone should disregard jim’s comments…I highly doubt that he has put the time, effort, OR research into these issues as Al Gore has. Regardless of who gets rich, who gets angry, or who is in office, these are changes that need to be made. It seems like those citizens with a mindset comparable to that of Jim’s are the ones thwarting the progress we’re making toward a green america, and ultimately a green world.

Perhaps you should read the actual speech and not merely a paragraph long blog post before you pass closed-minded judgment on Gore’s proposal! Thanks!

-An informed Opinion

Someone has to say it, and he’s right. It is necessary. As a country we’ve been holding on to carbon based fuels for far too long, in my opinion because it’s easier to sit our butts that do something about it. Not to mention that it would initially cost companies money that they don’t want to invest.

We have been in desperate need of a wake up call, and now are sitting in the middle of it.

And for those of you nay-sayers– the technology is ALREADY there. To say that it is impossible to achieve the transition in ten years is ridiculous.

Al Gore and Boone Pickens - guys that get it

Bush, Cheney, et al. - dinosaurs

The USA needs to lead the world in the shift in new energy models and public awareness. Not just to ‘do the right thing’ but to develop the technical leadership that will again propel us to strong business positions in the shift as the rest f the world comes about.

Wind and solar are technologies that are easily recognized as power generators - with issues. But there are many other possible areas of effort that may yield as important solutions as those. BUT - we need a major direction change to take on this challenge.

While similar to the race to the moon that Pres. Kennedy challenged the technologiests of the 60’s - this challenge really needs to be much more pervasive - not just the technologists - but ALL Americans. Can such a challenge strike at the American psyche? Of course it can - but it won’t from such a nonvisionary as the current President. He was quoted as saying that he need not make a plea for Americans to do their part in the current situation as he felt they understood that they needed to drive less. What a hoot.

The challenge for America - and Americans - is to step up and do our part in conserving and enabling the new solutions. For those leasing cars - switch to improved efficient models - and are you looking/demanding such models from American suppliers? Have you looked at adding insulation or improving the cooling/heating systems in your houses? Are there efficient solar systems available to do your own electricty farming?

For American companies - develop solutions that make sense to be used. How many of the wind turbines being put up were manufactured in the US? How many batteries needed in hybrids were manufactured in the US? How many solar panels being put up were manufactured in the US and did their solar cells come from US?

Is government a helper or a hindurance? Is it helping to support improvements in the infrastructure (e.g. electric grids) or service locations (siting of wind systems)? Does it protect legacy systems or does it permit net billing inititatives? At best - they can help enable the new paths. At worst - they can be roadblocks to our future. Demand accountability of the politicians and get rid of those who won’t help us move forward.

And the technologists - oh so much they can do. So many areas to examine. There are many possible areas of improvement - it’s not just making better solar panels. We should examine various bio systems (e.g. bacterium, algae, seeweed) that may be able to consume carbon dioxide and through photosynthesis - produce components that may be usable as a fuel. That would be a two-fer - help reduce the carbon footprint of other activities and come up with a new fuel potential. And with all that coal - can there be better things we can do with it than burn it? Could it be used as a base for alternative fuels (need to remove sulphur and other contaminants - but it might be useful as an intermediate system).

So how does the USA change gears - need to set the challenge and provide leadership and vision.

Won;t happen under today’s administration - but we need to make it happen.

Erin - no, the technology is NOT here yet. Yes, we can harness the wind and solar energy. Sure, we can power a house or even a neighborhood. But what we cannot yet due is build an energy *storage* infrastructure to allow the country to continue in the event of a downtime in energy production, being that solar, wind, and geothermal energy are not 100% consistant and never will be. The energy storage answer needs to be developed and scaled up and that is part of this solution which needs to be worked on.

One easy way to help reduce electricity usage is to add a small national tax (e.g. 50 cents / bulb) to purchase incandescent light bulbs. As a 60 Watt incandescent light bulb is only about 2.5% efficient, significant electricity can be saved by using higher efficiency lights like compact fluorescents.

Energy policy will change when martial law is declared, and changes mandated, or the world runs out of oil. Business has no incentive to do so. We can make the needed changes now but only as a public works project costing about $1.5 trillion. We would require a war time economy or a depression type economy with rationing. In 10 years, we could move to short term dependence on coal burned in “clean” coal fired plants and a conversion to hydrogen power/electric mobile transport. Infrastructure changes could be implemented to produce all energy needs of the nation by renewable sources in another 10 years. All of this with existing technology. Removing pollutants from coal smoke is “easy” when enough energy is used~about 10 percent of output. We only need build more plants and use our 250 year supply of coal. Continuing to allow greed weasels to manage our national energy policy is a prescription for misery and destruction of our economy.

The prospect of someone or some industry getting rich from a revolutionary change in energy sources is about the only hope we have that progress may actually happen.

We’re so busy attacking people and political parties, we keep ourselves from realizing we can no longer afford to live like this.
….unless you’re looking forward to paying $10 for a gallon of gas

It’s definitely a time for change in America. The people of this country need to stand up and place a call to action. We can’t stand idly by and wait for our own government to make the right decisions. It’s a government for the people by the people, too bad that sentiment has been lost. If you’re a Gore advocate or not, the message is invaluable – We need to change or risk losing or status in an ever changing world. Your voice is key.

We should do something. Our dependence on oil has created a HEAP of problems for us. So let’s start — We can’t determine how long something is going to take until we get into the details of it.

That being said — A GOAL with a target date is GOOD. Now all we need is some ACTION!

i wish he’d run with bill clinton as vp.. i’d take that over any candidate we have today

Gore gets it… Bush, Cheney and the rest of the Republicans don’t. When things start getting REAL bad due to global warming, I’d like to see them publically apologize for their stupidity and ignorance… and them give them all 30 lashes like they did in the old days to stoopid people.

Where has Gore been the last few months? Running up his electric bill!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is just trying to “cash in” (again—like he did before-”Incovenient Truth”). There have been others before him to be touting this strategy for the last few months, ie T-Boone Pickens, President Bush–where have all the news media been on this? Al Gore just needs to GO AWAY! I cannot stand to even hear his name!

We are a nation of whiners,
10 , 20 30 years
does not really matter if we dont start somewhere
So lets argue and whine while nothing gets done

If drilling on the coast and up North would help why didn”t the Rep. do it when they were in control. Why have the CAFE STANDARDS not changed? Gore You Are The Man.

He’s no JFK!

Nuclear power is a developed technology and 100% carbon netral. It would be the shortest term solution.

Don’t ever be fooled into thinking this country will be 100% independent from oil. I wouldn’t want to be defended by a military that has some crapy solar panel operated fighter jets or wave generated air craft carriers. Do you think Isreal would buy those from us?

We should continue to reduce our own oil consumption but still drill for oil on our own soil/cost. Maybe we can be a greater exporter one day. We’d be stupid not to capitalize on increasing world demand.

Why is so dificult to understand what´s he is talking about? Shouldn´t we were worried about climate changes and enviromental deterioration?
If we (all of us) do not participate at this very moment, we won´t have to be sorry or crying in the near future. As yourselves a question: is it just becuase he´s a politician or I really do not care about nobodyelse in the world but myself?
Stop polution, stop the damage to ourselves.

Gore is right on target. You will notice, however, that his message is not the same as that of either political party–not even the democrats. For one thing, he emphasises “carbon-free” sources of fuel, not just “renewable.”

This is important, because the most popular of the so-called “renewable” energy sources includes biofuels, which have been a major blunder on our part. Biofuels are supposedly “renewable,” but they are certainly not “carbon-free.” People tend to support their use by subtracting the carbon that the plants take in while growing from the carbon that is emitted from burning them. This is a fallacy. In nearly every case, the land that grew the corn or sugar cane had previously been used to grow something, whether corn or eating, another crop, or the rain forests of Brazil.

Beyond that, using land that would have contributed to food production, whether corn for human consumption, feed corn for livestock, or sugar cane, worsens the global food crisis. This leads to food inflation here, and starvation around the world.

So, Gore is right on target, and the examples he mentioned are the ones that should be pursued. Let’s not get side-tracked with the dead-end distraction of ethanol.

Did you know that most power companies produce extra power to make sure that theres power if the wind stop. So we are producing just as much coal power and carbon as if there wasn’t any wind power. Boy this makes a lot of sense!!! Little know fact! So have we reduced our carbon footprint at all.

nuclear waste is most definitely not clean, 300 million tons of nuc waste are produced from our reactors/per year as it is. And now Mc cain is advocating Yucca Mountain for a World Wide Nuclear Waste Storage site.

Although there have been recent advances in the recycling and reclaiming of waste(using plasma torches) Nuclear Waste IS NOT GOOD

The gasoline powered automobile and the infrastructure to support it propped up and exploded over the course of a decade. Solar and wind power could be more spread out, thereby REDUCING demand on the existing grid. It is true that the disparate mini-grids must be linked and a nation-wide strategy adopted. But this too is possible. Think of how the government directed the development of railroads. This too was accomplished amazingly quickly considering the technology and knowledge of the land at that time.

If conservatives are not afraid of losing jobs to foreign countries they certainly shouldn’t be worried about losing jobs to ourselves.

I was very interested in hearing what Al Gore had to say this morning regarding our national problems, and was prepared to listen to what I had hoped his entire speech, but was really upset when CNN broke away to John McCain giving us his same old same old.
Al Gore has in my opiion, a FAR better grasp on our situation and the solutions to them then John McCain wanting to build 45 Nuclear Power Plants and drill off our shores for more oil.
More attention NEEDS to be given to getting away from oil and fossil fuels. More news reports covering how you can convert your home to solar/wind and or a combination of solar during the day and only drawing electricity from your local power company at night using INVERTER technology, that does not require expensive storage batteries, and what Federal and States are giving tax breaks/rebates for installing such equipment . So what is the very least you could buy a system for your home.
People like myself, a homeowner are hungry for information on how to Install Solar, the cost, what’s available now and where and who from?

Gore has a good heart. Unfortunately, capitalism does not respond to politician’s calls, it responds to supply and demand. If oil goes down to $50/barrel, Gore’s call will be forgotten; or Gore will change his own call to “Drill drill drill…”.

Go Gore!

Thank God someone of his stature is saying this - and it IS technically and economically feasible - we just have to create a protected market for alternatives.

To do that, Congress should pass a bill that caps petroleum imports - if current imports are 12.3 million barrels / day - that’s the cap. Then, every six months, the cap drops by 500,000 to 1 million barrels, depending on how aggressive we want to be.

That puts control of the oil supply in our hands, not the commodities market.

Better, to fill in the energy gap, investment dollars will pour into the US from all over the world to get a piece of the cornered US energy market and alternatives will go up like gangbusters.

Apart from protecting petroleum profiteers or misplaced free trade dogmatism, I can think of no reason to oppose this, with all the alternatives available that can’t compete with petroleum on sole account of its economy of scale, this is probably the only way short of inefficient government mandates that pick and choose winners and losers. We’d never finish that fight - this lets the market.

I’m fasting 28 days and writing elected officials to promote this and I’ll support Gore anyway I can.

http://www.usafuture.org

David made an interesting point (above) about the unpredicatable output of wind over time. This line of reasoning, however, fails to take into account the fact that any excess power produced can be stored for later use. A solar plant in Austrailia, for example, stores some of the energy produced during the day as heat, sored underground, for producing electricity at night. Wind power, of course, would use a different mechanism, perhaps hydrogen, but the result would be the same. As alternative fuels become a larger part of the equation, ways will be found to handle the production-level challenges.

Gore is right again.

Oh how better off this country would be if he had won the Presidency in 2000.

But as has been done before, we will continue on with the status quo knowing we will all be dead when that inevitable date comes when global warming has gone past the point of no return and the supply of oil has diminished far beyond the demand for it and then the world (our grandchildren) will pay the piper for having no alternative energy sources because we didn’t sacrifice today.

If this generation of Americans and our politicians were running this world in the 1930’s and 1040’s, we’d all be serving under a Hitler regime. We might as well be, because only the wealthy caucasians and our politicians are living the dream life with pensions, health care and overpaying jobs with golden parachutes.

All these energy generating ideas are good but I wonder how long the technology will take to catch up to reality? We need to go ahead and drill and devleope nuclear as well as coal resources. Don’t bash Bush. He didn’t cause this problem. We all did through our lack of foresight. It will not take 10 years to get more oil in production. It may take longer to bring on line new technology. What will we do in the meantime? This didn’t happen overnight. Save the planet and sacrifice our way of life. I don’t think so.

Nero sang the “Sack of Ilium” in stage costume while the city burned.

Bush did nothing while America fell.

lets see, gore is reportedly now worth in excess of 100,000,000 on his global warming investments//gore’s personal carbon footprint is larger than 56,000 average homes. the real theat to the planet is the pile of fools that believe this crap. by the way Mars and venus have also warmed at the same amount as the earth. Wonder if you idiots ever heard of the sun

Ted,
This power is not stored, just not used, kind of crazy!! This is a commen practise in Europe.

Wind isn’t the only answer, but I believe in what T.Boone Pickens is saying. Solar gets cheaper daily. We KNOW we need to make the change yesterday. No one is saying never use oil or coal again, but let’s not divert attention from the real issues by arguing over drilling or scraping the earth to get oil sand with all its dirty refinement…

That said, what Gore says is what many have been saying all along - if you want to be picky, it’s what the Carter administration tried to do so many years ago and it was and is the Republicans and their oil-buddies (the Saudis) who derailed that then and now. Just imagine where we’d be today if we stayed on track to develop alternative energy…

So let the McCain crowd compare Obama to Carter. I’d rather have 4 more years of Carter than 4 more years of BUSH.

One more question to those that talk about nuclear power: where are they going to trow the nuclear waste? and if you do some elementary math: how much waste would it be if they build 100 nuclear plants if they are having problems with a few? Are you sugest to export the waste to poor countries?

Aw, my oil addiction joke got redacted!

I am all for alternative energy and being green. Not because I think we have that big of an impact on the Earth, but because I think it is the right thing to do.

I cant understand why people act like sheep and following a man blindly! where effects may be OK but cause is not.

Hm…. Sounds like scare tactics. Wasn’t Bush accused of that as well?
Let the people decide.

Gore is right, of course. We all know that if we could wave a magic wand and make it happen it would be great.

The problem is that we’ve heard it all before. I remember Nader coming to my college in 1978 and giving the same speech. Boy, we all marched out of the assembly hall into the night air determined to figure out how to make cars run on solor by 1980.

And, of course, why do some people extol Gore and blame “past administrations” for failing to see this earlier. Gore was in one of those past admins for 8 years. If it was so easy to do why didn’t he get it done when his party had control over congress and he was in the White House in ‘92 and ‘93?

Hate to rain on the parade, but there are too many interests involved in this to allow government to do the job in a democracy. Sure, everyone knows about the oil interests… but there also are the Anti-nuclear environmentalists, the Anti-hydro environmentalists, the Anti-wind don’t block my back yard viewers, the Solor will never work because it always rains here naysayers, the Don’t starve the world by using bio gloomsters, etc.

Much as I would love to see us all get along and fix this, the free market got us into this and the free market will be the only thing to get us out. Just the fact that demand in India, China, and the rest of the world has a lot more to do with this whole issue than anyone wants to admit shows us that our government can’t do it. Only the evil called “Multi National Big Business” will do it and it will do it when it makes money from it. (Which normally works out pretty well)

This issue is just another in our long history of government short-sightedness. Why do our planet’s health and money have to be at odds with each other? In the past couple decades a large percentage of our manufacturing has been lost to cheaper labor sources overseas. Now that wages, especially in China, are raising the next competitive advantage will be energy costs. If we would take the inititive and develop cheap renewable energy a lot of the lost jobs would find their way back. Also, thousands of new jobs would be created during the transition. Progress has always been the fastest road to wealth: railroads, oil comapnies, computers, etc. Instead of trying to protect their current income streams oil companies should be dumping their record profits into developing new ones. The free market system will take care of this eventually but a little push from the government could speed things along and make life easier on everyone.

Maybe we should start with something easier… like ridding the world of nuclear weapons…

On a serious note… I agree with being greener… but Oil will continue to be extremely important for decades… that being said… we should work toward all avenues of energy and swing away from oil over time. Many countries will simply go the cheapest route… which means having oil will continue to be a priority… not forever… but not tomorrow either.

The evidence debunking the scam of AGW becomes stronger and stronger day-by-day. The green post-modernist media and the climate change alarmists can’t fool all of the people all of the time no matter how shrilly and repetitively they shriek. 31,000 scientists and engineers including 9,000 PhDs are calling BS on the IPCC and AGW are sending AGW “Climate Change” straight to the rubbish bin of history. This is modern climatology’s Piltdown man.

“I think environmentalists will have a lot of trouble proving their case with proof in light of mounting evidence against all the “evidence” that AGW alarmists rely on.”

CO2: The Greatest Scientific Scandal of Our Time:
http://tinyurl.com/2rpxz4

Global Warming: Forecasts by Scientists versus Scientific Forecasts:
http://tinyurl.com/6jd95u

Falsification of the Atmospheric CO2 Greenhouse Effects Within the Frame of Physics:
a) http://tinyurl.com/yr3mtk

b) http://tinyurl.com/5ve6su

“Global Warming: Pure Fiction”
c) http://tinyurl.com/69kvc4

List of global warming activists, now skeptics
Growing number of major scientific figures convert to skeptics after reviewing new research:
http://tinyurl.com/2vas6a

The current list of 31,072 petition signers includes 9,021 PhD; 6,961 MS; 2,240 MD and DVM; and 12,850 BS or equivalent academic degrees.
http://tinyurl.com/4qk5xt

I don’t know if we can do all that in ten years. One thing I know. If we don’t try we won’t do ever!

“Global Warming” is truly a misnomer. It should be called “Global Fleecing” because that’s precisely what it is.

Global Warming is a trend no doubt, a simple natural cycle of nature. But Anthropogenic Global Warming (aka the Al Gore hypothesis) is discredited science at best, intentional fraud at worst, and is being soundly refuted. See:

U.S. Senate Report:
Over 400 Prominent Scientists Disputed Man-Made Global Warming Claims in 2007

Senate Report Debunks “Consensus”
Report Released on December 20, 2007
U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee

http://tinyurl.com/24ym5b

Intro:
“Over 400 prominent scientists from more than two dozen countries recently voiced significant objections to major aspects of the so-called “consensus” on man-made global warming. These scientists, many of whom are current and former participants in the UN IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), criticized the climate claims made by the UN IPCC and former Vice President Al Gore.”

2007 was the watershed year in which scientists, even those from the IPCC committees, completely discredited the IPCC review process, exposed its purely political motivations and machinations, and drove the final nails into the coffin of the Al Gore / Hansen AGW climate change monster. Especially enlightening was the complete discrediting of Mann/Bradley/Hughe “Hockey Stick” graph, a centerpiece of Al Gore’s campaign, which has been so thoroughly discredited as inaccurate that even the IPCC had to throw it out long before the current AR4 report. Not only was the Hockey Stick incorrect, but closer inspection of the data showed that the purported correlation between CO2 emissions and temperature rise were incorrectly reported; CO2 emissions actually lagged temperature rises by 800 years as the effect, not the cause - although Gore et al. would have you believe the reverse to be true since in only that way does it support his thesis.

Climate change fearmongering is now being driven less by science and more by BIG Business which forsees huge “Green Field” markets in peddling “Green” wares to populations preconditioned to respond to the various “global warming” and climate doomsday hysterias. Typically, these are the unscientific masses who don’t understand the science, who don’t subscribe to Nature or AAAS Science, and who take everything they see or hear on the TV as the gospel truth. AGW and Climate Change are all about PROFITS, not saving the World from a fate which will not occur anyway.

As for motive: Not only does Al Gore have an ego the size of Air Force One which needs to stay in the limelight since it’s not in the Oval Office, but Al and his cronies stand to profit immensely from his climate change monster. Once government mandates are in place, cash will really begin to flow - directly into bank accounts of “Green” corporations directly from yours - and not just from book sales and DVDs, but as hidden costs on everything you purchase. That’s why Gore is now rolling out PSAs to scare you into influencing Congress, and also why he has been asked to join one of the largest venture capital firms in the nation out on Sand Hill working on - wait for it - carbon credit trading.

There are so many other more immediate issues facing the world than “Global Warming.” Try cancer, cardiovascular disease, starvation, depletion of pelagic fisheries, water reclamation, ensuring adequate future supplies of food and energy, and curtailing whale hunting. But these issues don’t make headlines and don’t allow politicians to mandate the massive global redistribution of wealth possible with AGW. Think about it. When was the last time a blockbuster movie was made about the collapse of the wild Slimehead (aka the Orange Roughy) fishery?

Folks, AGW is pure POLITICAL science, NOT hard science. Don’t fall for the hysteria. Don’t drink the green post-modern kool-aid.

I say lets add one more to the plan “Hydrogen” instead of Natural gas! Hydrogen can easy be produced though Solar, Wind or catalyst methods like generating Hydrogen from aluminum alloy (alloy of aluminum and gallium). All of these methods can be and need to be done today!

Let’s say hello to the new Hydrogen economy now.

Please see link.
http://www.physorg.com/news98556080.html

And it we don’t do it within ten years it may not make a difference whether we ever do it.

I was going to post a comment here, but it looks like ‘David Jantz’ (up near the top of this thread) said it all.

And I agree that Gore should be running too!!

I agree with Gore. The necessity is there. It requires very strong political leadership. I do not think we have a choice to do otherwise. We all know this is a necessary step for energy, security and environment. This is crucial for the future of the US economy and status as a world power. What happened to our conventional manufacturing industry? I think it has been siphoned out past the point of no return with respect to competitive advantage. The energy industry and technology still hold much promise, and this is an area where strategic emphasis has be placed. We need to do much more on renewable energy than what the French did to the nuclear power industry in the 70s to become an unchallenged leader in the field now.

The only way we can defeat Islamic radicalism is to cut off their income by developing alternative energy sources. That reason alone should drive us as a nation to unite and develop a “we can do it” attitude. I’m just grateful that Pickens and Gore are articulating a vision that seems to be so far ahead of our current president and both presidential canidates.

Gore has it correct but needs support! Also we must stress, lest others forget, the residuals of nuclear waste disposal that have not been solved. Clean renewal carbon free energy with no radioactive wastes is the aim. Remember future generations will hold us responsible!!!

VP Gore should talk to T Boone Pickens.
see :http://www.pickensplan.com/

What happened to the comments from this morning? They seem to be gone.

Gore is a genius, and for our children, this absolutely should be pursued.

the transportation can work like the business man from Israel is planning.
You do not have plug in station instead the stations just have batteries ready to go and
you just swap the charged battery and leave the empty one

TO MEET ALL OF OUR FUTURE ENERGY NEEDS WE WILL NEED TO USE ALL FORMS OF ENERGY GENERATION TO CONTAIN ENERGY COSTS. IT IS NOT REALISTIC TO THINK THAT SOLAR, WIND AND CONSERVATION CAN MEET OUR ENERGY NEEDS; THE MATH DOES JUST NOT ADD UP TO WHAT OUR CITIES AND INDUSTRIES NEED TO MAINTAIN, LET ALONE, IMPROVE OUR STANDARD OF LIVING.

No, don’t believe him. We’ll just keep using non-renewable resources until they’re gone. Civilization will collapse and the end of humanity will be certain.

Really? Why wouldn’t anyone believe him? If we wait 20 more years before we start, we won’t even be able to afford the energy to convert to renewables.

“Let’s say hello to the new Hydrogen economy now.”

Hold on there a minute Ace….

Hydrogen is one of the costliest and dirtiest elements to produce. The simple concept of “let’s split molecules by electrolysis” and power it with solar simply sounds good on paper, but it quickly doesn’t add up. When you sit down and figure out the energy produced per kilowatt of energy expended and look at the cost of production, you end up with a negative return. Simply saying “let’s use Aluminum with Gallium as a catalyst” sounds nice, but you have to produce the aluminum which is one of the highest energy demanding processes in modern metallurgy. So where do you get the power to produce Aluminum from? Coal-fired plants ? Yes, but extremely dirty. Nuclear - yes, but decades off. Solar? Not on your life. Hydrogen is a pipe dream right now. Conversion efficiencies are atrocious.

That’s why natural gas is used.

@JimV, apparently someone found them offensive or inappropriate, and they got “redacted” or moderated out. And I thought my oil addiction joke was pretty funny.

Not only is Al Gore relevant but he may hold the motivational force, the wisdom and the key to providing a just, equitable and sustainable future for the American people. I love roaring around in a Range Rover and Porsche but the old adage “just because we can doesn’t mean we should” more aptly applies now than ever before. I think throwing down the gauntlet to completely be off carbon based energy production/emission within 10 years just simply due to the nature of Washington and Big Oil interests is a bit short-sighted however I think that every American needs to do their bit in reducing their waste. We have gone unchecked for many, many years in waste production. Everything from using 4 paper-towels in your kitchen to clean up something one, or a half could have to heavy-footing an SUV about town. Waste is the real key to our problem and an over-abundance of the attitude of “Hey, I’m an American and I have the right to do as I please.” When we can reel ourselves in and change the way we live, policy and the energy trade will change with us because they’re based on our spending and consumption.

I’m find myself in agreement with almost all of the impressive insights offered in the comments above, but I want to re-emphasize two points: we CAN do this, and we MUST do this now! CAN and MUST. Going to the moon and gearing-up for WW2 are two excellent examples of what Americans can do in the face of necessity: an optimistic, creative people working together in a concerted fashion with a single-minded focus on an important and lofty goal. However, I do believe that to accomplish this we very much need strong leadership to inspire, motivate, and bring us to consensus as well as to organize the workforce for the tasks ahead. We need a leader to help us understand and have the courage to accept the sacrifice that will be required. I believe Barack Obama has shown throughout his career the kind of leadership we need now to tackle the huge and complex problems that face us in the years ahead.

God Bless Gore. Imagine what the world be like if he were elected (as he clearly and fairly won)…I wonder if you can.

Once upon a time, the United States had presidents who cared about things like this — leaders who knew a little about science and technology. In fact this was true of about half of all the presidents before Reagan, and it used to be true of a reasonable fraction of the American people.

… Today, though, we are firmly in the touchy-feely era when it’s fashionable to despise math and to despise science. Most Americans today grew up being taught by Barney the Dinosaur to feel, not to think.

IMHO, this is a pretty good reason to favor the oldest presidential candidate we can find, this year — but that isn’t the point I’m trying to make.

Ok. Let’s get Mr. Gore and T.Boone Pickens together. Enough talking let’s put words into action. They have the right idea.

Hygrogen for cars: viable ONLY IF the energy splitting the water moledules comes from renewable sources. What is mcu more exciting is hydrogen as an energy source - via COLD FUSION!!! If successful, we will have virtually limitless clean energy.

Scientists operating Korea’s next-generation nuclear fusion reactor recently reported their first generation of plasma, saying it marked progress in futuristic experiments to create limitless energy for human use.

The device, called KSTAR, an abbreviation for Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Reactor, generated plasma inside its inner chamber for the first time on June 13. The reactor is the second of its kind in the world to generate plasma using superconducting material. China was the first with its EAST reactor in 2006, according to Kwon Myeon, a director at the National Fusion Research Institute.

Gore needs to borrow an old Schwarzenegger line to express his point in terms that get the average person’s attention:

“Come with me if you want to live.”

The idea that the fossil fuels era is ending is just too big for most people to wrap their minds around. The consequences are too big, so it’s easiest to imagine it’s just not so, or that it doesn’t affect actual reality.

If you want to lead people through a major life-changing experience, you must first persuade them that you’re offering them their best option. You have to get their attention, and you have to convince them their other options are scarier than yours.

Change is scary; the status quo is, therefore, a sacred cow. Then there are the people who ruthlessly defend the status quo because, for them, it still pays big.

The status quo is a guarantee of failure, deprivation, and the end of civilization as we have known it. Again expropriating a movie line:

“Help me Obi-wan, you’re my only hope.”

No, the real solution to the problem is allowing gte free market to set prices of resources. When the market establishes prices for oil and other forms of energy at a level where people are not able to afford to use as much as they were accustomed, demand will fall and prices will recede to the point where it again becomes affordable for most people. In other words, if I want to drive my Porsche around and I can afford to fill up the gas tank, then there is no reason why I shouldn’t. If I want to use 10 paper towels cleaning up my kitchen, then as long as I can afford to do so it is my decision.

Be glad “big oil” is out there. They have invested billions to allow you to enjoy the lifestyle you currently do and they should make a profit doing so. If you don’t like the fact that they are in business to make money, then quit buying and using their products..

It’s not “I’m and American and I have a right to do as I please,” Instead it’s “I’m an educated American and through my own sweat and hard work I make plenty of money, thus I can afford to buy the resources and products to do as I please.”

Al Gore is a demagogue.

I LOVE AL GORE!!!! He is amazing and hes the only person that is actually trying to SAVE us. Not only our country but our WORLD! We should listen to him 100%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gee, you’d think environmental issues of this sort were a new thing or something! Seems to me I remember people virtually screaming as far back as the sixties that we are ruining our planet and need to change the way we look at how we are treating our environment. Do you suppose perhaps greed and the incorrect notion that ‘going green’ would somehow be bad for business might have something to do with this?! Where the heck has America’s willingness to lead the way in matters of new discoveries and ingenuity gone? Why can’t we get our act together right now to fight global warming? Why can’t we find a way to make going green profitable and reasonable?! Action is required immediately or we will pay the consequences, like it or not and believe it or not! Being dependent on foreign oil is a security risk of the highest magnitude and yet our oil buddy president keeps racing down the same old tired road asking us to ruin even more of our natural gifts for the sake of profit because he knows better than anyone that dredging up more oil is no answer to the long term problem and would do very little to assist us even in the short term. We, and now more and more of the rest of the industrialized world, simply go through the stuff too fast causing catostrophic harm to the ozone along the way. Typical money hungry greed could be this country’s downfall on many levels but especially concerning the very lands we occupy and the increasingly polluted air we breath. Go ahead and deny it for the sake of money and personal comfort…acting blind to the reality of it all won’t make the problem go away even if it does get you re-elected by likewise misguided constituents! It would have been much less painful to begin conserving oil and exploring alternatives forty years ago but it’s too late for that now. We simply cannot afford to stay stuck in the political quagmire of bussiness versus environment any longer. Soon we won’t have either!!! Go, Al, Go!!!

Oh, AMEN! If Tokamak was up and running, the Middle East would go back to being a simple sand pit with no relevance to anyone and we would experience the greatest period of economic expansion know to mankind! However, Tokamak continues to burn up their magnets and hasn’t had an instance of sustained fusion yet. Hopefully someone can get it running, but don’t hold your breath.

Hey Daniel - I’d like to encourage you to fast for 100 days instead of just 28 days. That would be making more of a statement. Why do tree huggers think anybody cares if they fast, picket or have candle light vigils?

Is he relevant?-of course he is. since “an inconvenient truth” energy conservation and renable energy have become accepted as necessary. Even the Bush administration now agrees global warming is real. But the best proof of his relevance is that you reported on this speach and mine is the 106th coment. Is a goal of 100% of our energy being from renewable sources in 10 years possible?-We reached the moon in 10 years because we had total commitment from the government. What if 6 years ago we spent 1 trillion dollars on these forms of energy instead of on the oil of Iraq? We would have met this goal already. All it is is a decision. If we make it our government will follow.

I love these comments where name calling is a right of passage. To call our President names is so foolish and yet he and our servicemen are protecting your right to do so. As far as the oil, I have not seen a plane yet fly on solar panels. I would be a little worried when a storm dame up and I was in the air.

I totally agree that we should use the free or the more popular “green” word resources such as the wind and solar. But are we trying to rid the world of their resources of oil so we have all that is left is within our borders. What the heck is wrong with getting what is under our ground. Because we might hurt an insect or rare fowl. Let us use our resources responsibly and use our sense to care for the environment as well. The great thing about Americans, if we put our mind to it we can get it done.

As far as the politicians, I know it is clicheish, but if you don’t like who is there and not doing what should be done, vote them out. From top to bottom.

Anyone wonder why Gore didn’t do any of this when he was in office? It’s easy to criticize from the sidelines. He had the best opportunity of the 20th century to raise fuel standards, tax energy and invest a record surplus into alternative energy. Of course he blew it, didn’t do a damn thing and now he gets a Nobel prize by taking credit for all the work of thousands of scientists.

kirk - I can imagine a totally different America if Gore had been elected with 9/11 and his response. That is scary to me. By the way does he have that bomb or nuclear shelter in that mansion of his? All the energy he burns just to keep a place like that. Is all that room in a house really that necessary for someone who seems to be the self proclaimed speaker for the environment. He seems to be reaping great benefits from passion of global warmth.

I am all for work hard for what you have, but he wants to conserve he is no example. Put his lifestyle where his mouth is. Talk is cheap, unless you are Al Gore who charges a bundle.

When I hear that Gore has reduced his electrical usage to below $2500 a month, I will start to listen to him again.

Gore’s statements are misleading in the extreme. The energy used in the form of electricity is small compared to that used in the transportation sector and the last time I looked there weren’t too many electric cars on the road. Very little of our electricity is generated from fossil fuels from offshore. Switching from fossil fuels to renewables for electricity will not make us less dependent on foreign sources of transportation fuels. Gore needs to tell the whole truth, not just part of it. If we want to switch to renewables or more practically, non-fossil fuel sources of energy to meet our entire needs we have to increase generating capacity by 10x! To try to get that many projects worth $100s of billions through the endless public hearings and lawsuits, NIMBY attitudes, and just plain obstructionism, plus doing all the construction within 10 years is impossible. Getting to the moon in the 1960’s was trivial in comparison.

Gore needs to get real and realize that everything can be solved with three little words: nu-ke-lear.

Mr. Gore has good intensions and would have a good President. However, since losing the 2000 Presidential contest he has now become not only out of touch but just plain delusional.

Get a grip Al, you are not the Messiah, the 2000 elections are history.
Get over it!

Everyone needs to stop saying that we didn’t see this coming and we dont have the technology.

In the early 20th century Tesla wrote “the use of fossil fuels is barbaric”. He proposed ideas about geothermal, and even assumed we would create something to harness the Sun’s energy.
Also alt. energy has been around for a while.

At the turn of the 20th century 1/3 of the cars on the road were electric. Be it there werent a lot of cars, we’ve had the technology for 100 years. Also GM made a modern electric car to meet the needs of the modern citizen in 1996. I suggest you watch “who killed the electric car” if you don’t believe me.

Lastly, in a documentary called “too hot not to handle” experts say that a 50×50mile solar panel array in one of the deserts out in Cali would completely solve our oil dependence. Although I think the solution lies in a combination of alt. energy sources, its just an example that we can do this. We have the technology.

Also I hope everyone does their part to reduce their emissions. Even if you can’t afford solar panels or what not, doesn’t mean you can’t emit less CO2. The dept of energy has tips on its website.
Everyone needs to stop doing NOTHING and start doing SOMETHING…ANYTHING!

Sorry but I choose to believe Gore+climatologists+IPCC over big oil anyday. I dont buy their talk that they are seriously investing in alt. energy like on all their commercials.

Remember people you are entitled to your own opinions, just not your own facts. And there are very few if any FACTS to draw to support expanded drilling.

Signed,

a concerned environmentalist

To everyone who had ANYTHING negative to say about Gore’s challenge to the United States:

Congradulations. It’s people like you who are forging ahead with the destruction of the planet.

For those who say society cannot handle such a change:

Congradulations. It’s people like you who are preventing it. You’re reading CNN right? Change is happening all around.

NOTHING but GOOD can come from even a halfhearted ATTEMPT to meet his proposed goals. Personal attacks are not relevant. Saving the planet is.

The man’s getting rich off this fairy tail. Enough said…

Gore+climatologists+IPCC = 52 Scientists + 1 Ex Vice President

Global Warming Petition Project debunking “Anthropogenic Glolbal Warming” : 31,072 Scientist and Engineers Including
9,021 PhD;
6,61 MS; 2,240 MD and DVM;
and 12,850 BS or equivalent academic degrees.

See: http://tinyurl.com/4qk5xt

Yeah, there’s no debate, alright.

Its a nice dream to think like that but it won’t happen like that. Not nearly that fast. I would like to put in there are days the wind doesn’t blow and sun doesn’t shine. What will we use then? Candles? If you can shut down 2 of every 4 fire driven turbines you have done a great deal indeed. Just like with corn grain fuel, did you see the floods off the Mississippi? How much fuel got drowned?

Though I don’t particulary have much respect for Al Gore’’s sell your soul type of politics or listen much to him..I have to give him some credit for his reading the CNN blogs, listening to us, and jumping on borad..so for that he can parrott my thoughts freely in his national talks….

Jim is right about infrastructure..it’ll take time, money, planning, and change of attitude…but my feelings are it has to start somewhere…some community has to have to the guts to start the process…I’d love for it to be mine…or yours…

I disagree that lifetime power reigns with the Oil Companys…they only hold that power because it’s alllowed. The stagnation in Congress and the Senate is a result of voter apathy…but this past year has awaken the voice of the joe citizen….apathy is wanning…and a new found voice is emerging….What is unique is the change of demading issues …to be focused instead of swaying through local or national smear and gossip…and people have begun to ‘think’ about where they stand on issues not just parrott another.

People are mad…..mad they have themselves in this posiitoin of dependency..and with that anger new ideas emerge…hence….lets get the windmills rolling..lets get the solar panels on top of homes as part of the requirements for building new housing or updating old…all revolves around your votes (who is in office)…..

Assuming the new thinkers don’t revert back into apathy..I think these changes are viable and possible in a graduated process….National news blased that just in the last month alone…less gas was purchsed …the oil companys know it. and will feel the pinch eventually..

The power for change lies in the motivation of the person wanting the change……I know from previous blogs that there are many many that want that change, and want the process tos start now.