Al Gore's New Campaign

Tells 60 Minutes That Doubting Global Warming Is Man-Made Is Akin To Believing Earth Is Flat

(CBS)  When Al Gore ran for president in 2000, he was often ridiculed as inauthentic and wooden. Today he is passionate and animated, a man transformed. His documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," won an Oscar, and last year he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Now he's a certified celebrity, the popular prophet of global warming, and has helped change the way the country thinks about the issue.

And yet while 70 percent of Americans believe global warming is a big problem, they still rank it near the very bottom of their list of top 25 concerns.

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Photos: Al Gore "Green" Media Star

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And so Al Gore is about to wage a new campaign to emphasize the urgency of what he says is the greatest challenge facing our time. But as correspondent Lesley Stahl found out while spending time with him and his wife Tipper, for the moment at least, there's another campaign Americans care about most.

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"We were with you in the San Jose Airport. And a man came over to you and he says 'Who are you supporting, Obama or Hillary? Who are you supporting? Who are you supporting?'" Stahl asked.

Gore's response to the man? "Uh ha."

"So, let me ask you. Who are you supporting?" Stahl asked.

"I'm tryin' to stay out of it," Gore replied.

Getting Al Gore to talk about politics these days is hard work. But as a party leader and uncommitted superdelegate, his staying "out of it" isn't easy.

"Are they calling you every minute?" Stahl asked.

"Not every minute," Gore said.

"No? Lotta pressure though, I'll bet," Stahl remarked.

"We unplugged the phones for this interview, so I can't say with authority. But no, everyone -- they both call. And I appreciate that fact," Gore replied.

"And what about the idea of the honest broker who goes to the two candidates and helps push one or the other of them off to the side?" Stahl asked.

"Yeah, kind of a modern Boss Tweed," Gore remarked.

"Except his name would be Al Gore," Stahl said.

"Well, I'm not applying for the job of broker," Gore replied, laughing.

He's not ruling it out, but he says he already has a job, as he puts it, "P.R." agent for the planet.

"You have said, and I'm going to quote you, 'If I do my job right, all the candidates will be talking about the climate crisis,'" Stahl said. "I can't think of a time I've heard the candidates talk about it."

"Right. Well, I'm not finished yet," Gore said.

The Gore campaign on global warming went into high gear when his documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" was an unexpected hit. What he's been doing is holding seminars, where he trains other people to give his famous slideshow about the effects of greenhouse gases.

So far in all, he's coached about 2,000 people, teaching one little workshop at a time.

His slideshows are tailored to his audiences. For example, when he talks to evangelical Christians, he includes passages from the Bible.

Gore is trying to redefine this as a moral and spiritual issue. "We all share the exact same interest in doing the right thing on this. Who are we as human beings? Are we destined to destroy this place that we call home, planet earth? I can't believe that that's our destiny. It is not our destiny. But we have to awaken to the moral duty that we have to do the right thing and get out of this silly political game-playing about it. This is about survival," he said.

[ghendric]

Ok, let's say cap and trade tax passes and becomes law. Instead of Al Gore and the creators of the bill getting rich off it like they are intending, why not take all that new tax money and give it to the poor?? They want to spread the wealth right? Then spread it! Throw some my way. I'm poor..

[natb1]

Catastrophic Man Caused Global Warming is a theory of many scientists. It was politically hijacked to become undisputable fact. As for scientific motivations, warmers stand to gain more with this "fact". Atmospheric scientists are largely payed by grants and universities. If there is no impending catasrophy, they are less important to us. To the degree they are paid by private industry (weather people), they still need the crisis to talk about. The whole topic dominates television and advertising revenue now; Nat. Geo., Discovery, Hist. ChH, Weather Channel, MTV, Nightly News, Cable News, etc...
All manner of Industies are now trying to attract the "green" dollars, and create an eco-friendly image.

Anyone notice how HUGE this issue became after G.W.B. was sworn in?

We are NOT having an honest discussion on this topic at all. Noboby is honestly considering the merit of others arguments. Further evidence of complete politization of science.

[natb1]

1. Leslie shows once again what a political hack she is. CBS, get a "counter hack" for balance please. "*** Cheyne is the most credible denier"?

2. The Hundreds and Thousands of qualified Scientists (The most authoritative and experienced in the field) are never mentioned. Especially when 60 Minutes goal is to prop up its political "Luke Skywalkers".

3. You young people who think you know it all. History didnt start when you were born.

4. The most extreme weather on this planet is in its past. Tropical fossils in Arctic Regions and Mountain tops. Ice covering America down to Texas.

5. The sun, water vapor, and valcanic activity are THE MAJOR factors of the Earths Climate. Did you catch the documentary on Nat. Geo. teaching vulcanic activity in the "Ring of Fire" (thats the ring of vulcanic activity surrounding the Pacific Ocean) has increased 200% in the last 100 years? Whas that a Lie?

6. We "may" be warming, as the planet has done many times, and we may NEED IT! We are going to need MORE cultivatable land in the future. Corn likes CO2!

[natb1]

1. Leslie shows once again what a political hack she is. CBS, get a "counter hack" for balance please. "*** Cheyne is the most credible denier"?

2. The Hundreds and Thousands of qualified Scientists (The most authoritative and experienced in the field) are never mentioned. Especially when 60 Minutes goal is to prop up its political "Luke Skywalkers".

3. You young people who think you know it all. History didnt start when you were born.

4. The most extreme weather on this planet is in its past. Tropical fossils in Arctic Regions and Mountain tops. Ice covering America down to Texas.

5. The sun, water vapor, and valcanic activity are THE MAJOR factors of the Earths Climate. Did you catch the documentary on Nat. Geo. teaching vulcanic activity in the "Ring of Fire" (thats the ring of vulcanic activity surrounding the Pacific Ocean) has increased 200% in the last 100 years? Whas that a Lie?

6. We "may" be warming, as the planet has done many times, and we may NEED IT! We are going to need MORE cultivatable land in the future. Corn likes CO2!

[forge98]

I have two questions. Will someone at 60 Minutes define the word "prophet?" I can only speak for myself. Al Gore and prophet don''t often show up together in my mind. Demagogue, now that is a word that seems to describe him. Anyone who dares to defy his OPINION is trivialized by him. What credential does he have that our VP doesn''t on global warming?

[csb1021]

I''''m only 29 but in my lifetime we have witnessed more than just a few eco-systems collapse.

ok what collapses. Name some. I need to know. Prove your point.

[mrkuren]

People who doubt global warming, and encourage this rampant expansion of industry have a pretty weak argument. You don''t need to be a scientist to see the effects we are having on our PLANET (not just the climate). I''m only 29 but in my lifetime we have witnessed more than just a few eco-systems collapse. All these systems are connected and we depend on them just as much as any other creature. We are seeing changing weather patterns which effect the areas we plant crops on, live in etc. The food is about to become far less abundant than weapons. People who think otherwise are generally the same people who don''t want to look more than 5 feet in front of their face, and then act surprised when they walk into a telephone pole. Aliens would laugh at us and shake their heads the same way we do for lemmings.

[actornaught]

scientists, "fanning the hysteria" ??

what do you call a 7-time loser drug addict, making a radio career jerking your chain?

pretty odd choice of sources...

[ggreeves]

Only a fool would go to a politician for scientific truth. Neither the present nor the former Vice President is competent on the science of human CO2 releases. The embarrassing errors in Gore''s movie prove his gullibility on the issue.

A competent news organization would notice that nearly all the "scientists" who say that human CO2 is an impending disaster are being paid to say so. Their careers and research grants depend on fanning the hysteria. On the other hand there is a large group of scientists who are not being paid on the issue who point out that the data does not support the hysteria.

CBS should return to seeking truth even if it gets lower ratings than hysteria. Perhaps 60 Minutes could do a story on fake paid "science". Paid "scientific" opinions which distort the facts are widely used by trial lawyers, fund raisers, and politicians.

[ggreeves]

Only a fool would go to a politician for scientific truth. Neither the present nor the former Vice President is competent on the science of human CO2 releases. The embarrassing errors in Gore''s movie prove his gullibility on the issue.

A competent news organization would notice that nearly all the "scientists" who say that human CO2 is an impending disaster are being paid to say so. Their careers and research grants depend on fanning the hysteria. On the other hand there is a large group of scientists who are not being paid on the issue who point out that the data does not support the hysteria.

CBS should return to seeking truth even if it gets lower ratings than hysteria. Perhaps 60 Minutes could do a story on fake paid "science". Paid "scientific" opinions which distort the facts are widely used by trial lawyers, fund raisers, and politicians.

[notoobrite]

Could anybody please tell me why, if the world is covered by 70% water, global warming science conveniently forgets to add this fact into its equation.

[ewsteffen]

I''m a republican. I believe in Global Warming. Hey enviro-alarmists, I have a question for you:

How did the glaciers melt, forming the Appalachian Mountains, the Great Lakes, and Hudson Bay?

[actornaught]

Posted by donlincd at 08:34 AM : Apr 02, 2008

I think you''ll find practically all the lunkheads that deny global warming exists (not even w is in that club!) are rushfans sucked in by his anti-humor.

For an example of their IQ''s, see the tactics of the previous poster, RSDumbass.

[donlincd]

Just like Gore said, some of the previous posts belong to the samll sliver of people who believe the earth is flat. What is wrong with you people, are you all nuts when it comes to global warming... It is happening, and those of you who do not believe it must be die hard Republicans supporting a President who is an absolute empty suit....

[leftyintexas]

Too bad Gore isn''t in the White House now, then we could ALL breathe a lot easier, not only here but around the entire world. Instead, we end up with Doofus.

[pepperwood2]

THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH!

Gore''s group The Alliance for Climate Protection is currently launching a new $300 million ad campaign that demands reforms in environmental law to help reduce the supposed "climate crisis." But Monckton points out that in the U.K., Gore is not allowed to speak in public about his "green investment company" because to do so would violate racketeering laws by "peddling a false prospectus." He says that fact came about after a British high court found Gore''s movie, An Inconvenient Truth, riddled with errors.

Monckton challenged Gore to an internationally televised debate on climate change last year.

My My but Al seems to be doing quite well profitting from peddling a false prospectus. I know it makes Bill & Hillary so proud. Who said honesty is the best policy?? Not AL - Not Bill - Not Hillary - CACKLE CACKLE CACKLE

[coyotie13]

Oh here we go again, 60 minutes promoting the Gorical''s planet fever rant. As if they didn''t have anything better to cover like why Antarctica gained in ice mass, and why temps have been colder then the past recent years, or even the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change held in NYC this past month? No they can''t give fair coverage to the so called ''minority, flat earth skeptics''. Give me a break.

I''m tired of hearing about Al Gore''s hyped up ranting about ''glowbull warming'', he and his inconvincing movie can go jump in the Hollywood tarpits along with all the politico''s and tinsel heads that are promoting his ''fever rants''. He''s a pariah that would cost the world economy trillions if politico''s adopted his carbon reduction measures. If you follow the monies you will also find business interests trying to turn CO2 into gold though the magic of scare mongering and media hysteria.

But on the other hand I''m glad to see that so many on there posts have seen through this facade of AGW mongering and hysteria. It''s gives me hope for America.

[ameling1]

As advised by a previous poster I went to the website ICECAP.us and read the presentation "Solar Cycle 24; Implications for the United States" by David Archibald. I finally found a source of information that makes sense. I recommend this site to anyone who is interested in scientific facts instead of the political scapegoating of CO2 by Al Gore.

[donlincd]

posted by donlincd 4 1 08

One of the most important GREEN issues facing this Country as well as Mexico.

Subject: INDUSTRIAL HEMP, A BIO-FUEL MASS ALTERNATIVE TO CORN. Barney Frank, will file legislation de-criminalizing posession of small quantities of marijuana. It will eliminate the profit motive for pot. Congress has not even mentioned anything regarding the subject above. I have just learned that there is clear cutting of cypress trees in LA for "wood chips".This clear cutting is supported by a myriad of interests who are supposed to be representing LA. Hemp, There is no relationship to pot. The Hemp vs. pot position as an issue, goes away, profit motive for pot is removed. This Legis. Wll open the door for Hemp farming as a GREEN product. NO INTERRUPTION of the food supply.

It can be used for; ethanol, clothing, lubricants, and paper. Why are trees used for paper and wood chips?

Why is the DEA and National Drug Control Director dictating US/Mexican GREEN Policies? Why are they dictating ANY Ag. policy?

Are we willing to oppose the oil, Paper, Timber, Drug, Liquor, and Chemical companies & begin a National debate on the sub. above, using the legislation, as a vehicle for that debate.

Hemp a renewable annual source. A GREEN industry is waiting to happen, with 100K jobs being created. US and Mexico could be the paper producing capitols, the violence on the U.S. Mexican border would come to a relative end.

[toho28-2009]

It appears to me that CBS is posturing itself for a nice share of that 300 million in ad revenues that Gore will be spreading about over the next 2 years. How transparent.