Gore Defends Live Earth Concerts, Self
Says Participating Performers Aren't Hypocritical, And He's Not Using Event To Further Presidential Aspirations
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Gore Urges Earth Awareness
Former Vice President and environmental activist Al Gore speaks with Harry Smith about his thoughts on the climate crisis and the upcoming Live Earth concerts aimed at awareness.
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Al Gore on The Early Show Friday (CBS/The Early Show)
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Photo Essay
Live Earth Preps
Gearing up for climate change concerts being held around the world 7-7-07.
The former vice president says Live Earth is exactly what it's being billed as: a 24-hour, seven-continent succession of concerts Saturday to draw attention to the threat global warming poses to the planet.
Live Earth will indeed be "a global affair," CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer observed Friday on The Early Show, with performers such as Madonna, Bon Jovi, Shakira and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Gore, described by Palmer as the "driving force" behind Live Earth, personally lobbied some of its stars to take the stage, she said.
"Critics have accused Gore of using the event to grab attention for himself and a possible run at the White House, but he says, no, he's just passionately green," Palmer added.
"I'm involved in a different kind of campaign, not for myself, not as a candidate, but to change people's minds about the most dangerous crisis we've ever faced," Gore said on CNN's "Larry King Live."
Asked on The Early Show Friday by co-anchor Harry Smith if he has plans to be in early presidential battleground states New Hampshire or Iowa anytime soon, Gore responded, "No, I have no plans for that. I'm involved in this … campaign to try to change the way people think about this climate crisis.
"This is no joke, Harry. The North Pole is melting. A huge area of snow near the South Pole, an area the size of California, has been melting. The scientists are practically screaming from the rooftops on this, and the solutions are things we ought to be doing for other reasons, anyway.
To see photos of preparations for Live Earth, click here.
Gore defended Live Earth's performers against charges of hypocrisy. Critics point to their using such decidedly environmentally unfriendly items as private jets, big limos and SUVs, but Gore insisted to Smith that Live Earth will set "a new green standard" for the music industry.Photos: The Greening Of Hollywood
Photos: Al Gore "Green" Media Star
"A lot of these groups actually have been in the forefront in the vanguard of awareness of how to have a lighter impact on the environment," Gore continued. "Others are new to the cause, but the standards being set by these concerts will actually have a huge impact in and of itself, but this is all about changing the way people think, all around the world."
"We're gonna be delivering the same message worldwide to the largest audience ever for an entertainment event in the world, an estimated 2 billion people, and we're going to ask people to take a seven-point pledge to be a part of the solution to the climate crisis and, in their role as citizens in every nation, to put pressure on the leadership of their nation regardless of political party to make the changes necessary to solve the climate crisis."
Gore rejected the suggestion that Live Earth is simply preaching to the choir, appealing to those already fearful of the impact of global warming, while falling on deaf ears for others.
"You don't think Dick Cheney and George Bush will be watching this concert, do you?" Smith asked.
"Well, I hope they will. They do need to hear this message," Gore responded with a chuckle, "but, actually, studies show very clearly that, even though a majority of the people now do accept the fact that we are in the midst of this climate crisis, the sense of urgency that's appropriate for what is truly a planetary emergency is still not anywhere close to where it needs to be.
"We'll get there, but this Live Earth series of concerts is completely unprecedented."
Gore announced an additional Live Earth venue, the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian on the mall in Washington, D.C. He said he, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood will open that concert.
"There were some naysayers who tried to say, 'No, you cannot have a concert on the mall,' but the cavalry didn't ride to the rescue, the American Indians did," Gore told Smith.
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See all 154 CommentsNo good deed goes unpunished.
Sadly, only time will tell and even then propaganda will rule.
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Near Light Speed Travel
Did this get any advertising? I haven't heard a thing about it until this week on some faint article about a concert being cancelled in Australia.
Is our good ole unbiased MSM Filtering for America again? Seems we get all the Iraq/Iran propoganda but only scraps and bits of anything actually worthwhile.
Thank you corporate owned media for filtering my exposure to such terrible influences as going green.
BTW....California's current temperature probably has little, if anything to do with atmospheric CO2.
What the f??? The greenhouse effect has been well understood for 200 years and is NOT disputed. If it weren't for greenhouse gases like CO2 and H20 in the atmosphere California's temperature would be freezing. Too much of a good thing, though, is a bad thing. It really is that simple.
I have the feeling that some people don't like certain realities and want to swipe ideas under the rug so they don't have to deal with it. It's a reality that all of us are contributing to pollution and global warming. Deal with it and move on.
I try my best to be green myself. I'm not perfect at this. Neither are these celebrities. The current situation makes being totally green near impossible, unless you want to go completely native.
Stop vilifying people with good intentions.
Posted by pghlady3
Screw the scientists and their fancy smancy science. Real Americans will keep burning it up for Big Oil.
Posted by gunnerv1
However he did win the popular vote over your frat boy hero George "W" in 2000.
Posted by cornax at 12:36 PM : Jul 06, 2007
Have you not seen "Happy Feet?" :)
After that's done he could help other groups like:
*big tobacco
*halacuast denialist
*creationist
*phrenologist
You go get em' FARTKNOCKER2!
Yes.
Why is everything an exemplification to you people? Haven't you ever met somebody who wasn't impressed by ya? Huh? Is that why you think you know more than they do?
You could be richest man in the world, and nobody'd look up to you. Or care, the way you think they should care, about you.
You people think you're moviestars. And a moviestar is not a statesman. I'm sure of it.
If anything, Gores choice of house illustrates his belief, and mine, that we can battle Global Warming without making huge changes to our lifestyles: IF WE DO SO NOW!! Owning a home should depend on factors other than its carbon footprint, like its antiquity. Clearly, the Gore home has emotional importance to the guy we can all appreciate.
Nobody's talking about draconian lifestyle changes, YET. Unless you live in Southern Florida. If you live in Southern Florida, and this is my HONEST opinion, you're going to be underwater in 10 years no matter WHAT we do. That's because the Greenland and W Antarctic Ice Sheets respond NOT to atmospheric temps, but to OCEAN temps. The ocean's been slowly warming for 150 years and even if we take Global Warming seriously, NOTHINGS going to cool the ocean anytime soon; its gonna take another 150yrs to cool back down. Long before that, those ice sheets are going in the drink.
And secondly, they live in different worlds than we do. Like officers. Their perspective is as non-solutionable as the right wing lunatics. Their own niche of perspective, as distant, if not more so, than they are.
There's a difference between exemplification and representation. There's a difference between diversity and understanding. There's a difference.. between sincerity and lieing.
Illustrate that.
Yes, the role of atmospheric CO2 relating to planetary warming is well-documented. And yes, if our atmosphere was devoid of CO2 the Earth's temperature (including California) would be much cooler. It is easy to jump to conclusions regarding the effects of elevated CO2 levels (I did it myself initially) on curent temperatures. However, if you read the scientific papers on the subject, particularly those dealing with ice core data (which go back 900,000 years or so) you would conclude that the current warming trend and an occasional hot week are PROBABLY NOT attributable to man-made atmospheric CO2. That effect (if any) will PROBABLY come later. Anyway, I could be wrong but that's my take on the situation.
Al Gore is a Global Hemorrhoid, pokin his business places he doesn't belong. I don't remember electing him chief scare monger, do you? And scared of what? So the planets heating up, so are all the other planets. Are we heating up Mars and Saturn too? What a bunch of frickin morons. Reduce carbon, leave us in peace.
Posted by infidel_us at 01:15 PM : Jul 06, 2007
+ report abuse"
Heh heh. Nice one. "An Inconvenient Youth" would be Dubya's movie, I guess, considering the various shennanigans he supposedly got up to. And "An Inconvenient Coiffe" might be Edwards' film ...
And Giuliani could address his coke-dealing SC campaign chair issue with "An Inconvenient Toot".
Any other ideas?
Posted by jimibear at 01:49 PM : Jul 06, 2007
I like YOURS better than mine!!!! :) "An Inconvenient Youth"......that's freakin' genius!!!! :)
Yes, YOU need to be liquidated along with billions of other ordinary people to stop global warming. YOU need to sign up for elimination so that Al Gore and friends can enjoy a bright future. YOU are the problem Mr. Gore worries about.
Unfortunately, I am too selfish to volunteer to be impoverished and die for the cause. I am so selfish that I plan to live at all costs and oppose efforts to destroy me. I know I should get in the line for being made into fertilizer, but I have too much of an independent streak.
So please let the environmentalists destroy you because they need to reduce the population and I am just not cooperating. We will miss you, I promise, but it is all for the best.
You're clearly pretty stupid, so this will probably be hard to follow for you, but work with me here:
The reason there is more ice in the sperm whales' breeding grounds is that the ice (due to rising temps) has broken off large existing ice masses and drifted into the areas where the whales breed. Yes, those particular areas of water have ended up colder, but what you are doing is taking something caused by the melting of the ice caps and using it as an example that the melting is not happening.
That is idiotic reasoning. But then, everything about your post, from its content to its syntax and presentation, indicate that you are an idiot.
I would suggest that you help solve the problem of CO2 emissions by stopping breathing at once.
Perhaps. Ice core data can be construed a number of ways. I actually think the scientific bodies are conservatively expressing the problem and, particularly as regards sea level, may be doing the rest of us a diservice.
I TAME THE BULL! And show the world a real cowboy.. wearing schneakers.
You could be right. However, most labs soliciting govermental funding for their research would probably find it in their best interest to "overstate" rather than "understate".
Don't get me wrong; I do believe the cause is a worthy cause. I do believe the climate is warming and more people should walk or carpool to work, shopping, etc. I am just wondering if there is a better way of promoting environmental friendly.
I read in the Economist Mag that solar cells will be cost competitive with oil combustion in 5-10 years, that's how rapidly costs are dropping now that mass production techniques are finally being used seriously. When that finally happens, get ready for a revolution in power generation.
Solar Pannels www.mrsolar.com
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