Earth's habitability at increasing risk, Gore tells summit

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5635446,00.html

Earth's habitability at increasing risk, Gore tells summit
Daniel Bayer © Special to the Rocky

By Sarah Gilman, Special to the Rocky
July 19, 2007

ASPEN - Former Vice President Al Gore said Wednesday that climate change is a "planetary emergency" and that many scientists believe there may be less than 10 years to moderate warming's destructive effects.

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"What we're facing worldwide really is a planetary emergency," Gore said. "I'm optimistic, but we're losing this battle badly."

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Gore has been touring with his slide show on global climate change, which became the Oscar winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

He is also on a campaign to teach 1,400 people worldwide how to deliver the global warming message in different languages. Next week, the campaign will be China, then India.

"It's a different kind of campaign," Gore said, one that he said surpasses what he might be able to accomplish in a presidential bid.

"Dealing with this climate crisis is not only what we have to do, it's our chance to get our act together," he said.

"These are not political problems," he said. "They are moral imperatives."
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We are losing the battle badly because we are losing our focus, and that focus is about going out ourselves and telling people this truth and telling them that we are now on a collision course with the future sustainability of this planet if WE continue on the current road we are on. It is time to do what we must do outside of the political framework to help in building that grassroots momentum to make this crisis what tips the scales of political will REGARDLESS of candidate or party. So where are all the Clinton, Obama, Edwards, and supporters of other "candidates" in making this an issue they MUST TALK ABOUT? How will they do that if YOU don't tell them it is what they must now do?

That is what I believe Mr. Gore is trying to accomplish. That is what must be done. Even on the Republican side and we already know there are Republicans who care, so those that do also need to step up to the plate. We can't even begin to mitigate the effects of this crisis successfully unless we open up the dialogue with people regardless of political affiliation because this goes BEYOND that... and that is where I also lose hope, because I see so much partisan hatred on all sides in this country it is a wonder we will accomplish ANYTHING in this country before it all goes down.

I like Al Gore cry when I talk about the state of this world when I see the SOS on the whole even after Live Earth. I have known for a long time that Mr. Gore is NOT doing this for any political purpose for himself. He is doing this because it MUST BE DONE because our planet is in dire need of our help to sustain it so we can sustain ourselves and future generations. That isn't a sound bite, it is reality.

So instead of writing posts here about romantic letter writing campaigns to once again push Al Gore to please please please run and save you, how about a letter writing campaign from those same people urging EVERY candidate in this race to make this crisis a cornerstone of their campaign whether you like them or not? If you really care about this planet and think the presidency is so damned important regarding this crisis why wouldn't you do that? I sure as hell intend to do that besides continuing to support Mr. Gore's campaign for this planet that does indeed surpass anything that could be done stuck in the same political grind without true grassroots support and education.

And the fact that he is taking his training to China and India is an immeasurable gift to this world. That is how it is done!

President of the US and "leader of the free world" (as they used to say), I think he is MORE effective in his current position. NO one can muzzle him. No one can drown him with questions about his son's personal life or whatever BS they can come up with. HE and only he controls the message when he speaks.

Planet Earth's well-being seems to be his life's work and a true calling for him - let him run with it, since no one else seems to want to bother.

BTW - if ANYONE ever deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, this man does.

And he is unshackled by the political strangleholds that would bottle up this issue being truly brought to the people as he can do so now. I truly do believe this is his calling as well. He needs to run with this and I hope he knows that others are with him regardless of those who can obsess about nothing else but the political. And I think he is more of a threat to the oil companies and other interests this way because of the freedom he has to tune this message HIS way. We do have a long way to go, but he has done more out here than any president could do and certainly more than any has done, and I for one respect his decisions and support him in this 1000%.