A night with Al Gore

Anne and I went to see Al Gore speak last night as part of a speaker series at Radio City Music Hall. It was sort of spur of the moment - I got an e-mail from Audience Extras (a surplus theater tickets organization, which we're members of and highly recommend) at around 3pm stating there were still seats for an 8pm show. Called Anne and $4 later, we had two great seats to hear and see the former future president of the United States.

The talk was billed as on America's position in the world and outlook on foreign policy. He was great. His routine was almost that of a stand-up comedian. It was very practiced and sounded so. His message was not so much the U.S. foreign policy, but rather reiterating his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. He talked of the polar ice caps, points of no return, etc. However, he did talk about our failure to lead the surge toward environmental change and most of the world's disgust and intolerance of our message of not-in-my-backyard.

The host tried at least 4 or 5 times, during the question and answer period, to get Gore's position on the current political race between Obama, McCain, and Clinton. He was less than willing to claim support for either of the democrats and refused to acknowledge whether or not he had any intention on reentering politics. He did say that he wouldn't rule out the possibility, but made it clear that he thought the democratic primary season will shortly come up with a candidate. And before the convention.

One of the more salient points he made, something I've heard him make before, came at the end when he posed 1 of 2 questions will be asked by future generations regarding the climate crisis: 1) What in the heck were they thinking? and; 2) Where did they come up with the courage to act? This drives home a sense of moral obligation and immediacy our situation necessitates. But what am I to do? I'm not a scientist. I'm not in politics. I can't change the course of business and consumption.

We did just purchase a compost bin for the kitchen. We'll be bringing the compost to the Ring garden down the street - is that all we can do? We have slowly been changing our light bulbs, try to re-use things as much as possible, use public transportation, recycle. But as I look out of our window, I see other building's oil furnaces burning off black soot. It's all just very depressing.

Gore mentioned a few statistics that drove home the notion that we actually have the capability to be oil free with existing technology. If, he said, we were to build on a 90 mile x 90 mile tract of land in the Southwest a field of solar panels, we would have enough electricity to power the entire United States. So, why don't we build it? What is stopping us?

Well, he gave one possible answer - the oil companies. Apparently, according to Gore, the oil companies drive up prices reducing supply and then depress them in a telling pattern. As soon as the political will swells to a light boil, the companies reduce prices/increase supply. And we, really the pols that be, fall for it all the time and the political will it is vanquished.

He blamed this on the culture of short-sightedness, quarterly returns, over-night polling numbers and the like. We don't plan for the future. We don't understand longevity. And thus, without a change in perspective, we're pretty much screwed.