On Environment:Humans can impact earths ecology; especially the atmosphereMany people today assume mistakenly that the Earth is so big that we humans cannot possibly have any major impact on the way our planets ecological system operates. That may have been true at one time, but it is not the case any more. We have grown so numerous and our technologies have become so powerful that we are now capable of having a significant influence on many parts of the Earths environment. The must vulnerable part of the Earths ecological system is the atmosphere. It is vulnerable because it is so thin. Indeed, the Earths atmosphere is so think that we have the capacity to dramatically alter the concentration of some o fit basic molecular components. In particular, we have vastly increased the amount of carbon dioxide--the most important of the so-called greenhouse gases.Source: An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore, p. 22-25 May 26, 2006On Energy & Oil:Skeptics point to historical warming--but today is hotterThe correlation between temperate and CO2 concentrations over the last 1,000 years--as measured in the ice core record by Thompsons team--is striking.Nevertheless, the so-called global warming skeptics often say that global warming is really an illusion reflecting natures cyclical fluctuations. To support their view, they frequently refer to the Medieval Warm Period. But as [the historical] thermometer shows, the vaunted Medieval Warm Period was tiny compared to the enormous increases in temperature of the last half-century.In any given year, it might seem as if the average global temperature is going down, but the overall trend is very clear. And in recent years, the rate of increase has been accelerating. In fact, if you look at the 21 hottest years measured, 20 of the last 21 occurred within the last 25 years. The hottest year on record during this entire period was 2005.Source: An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore, p. 64&72-73 May 26, 2006On Environment:To let earth continue warming would be deeply immoralIn Antarctica, measurements of CO2 concentrations and temperatures go back 650,000 years. At no point in the last 650,000 years before the pre-industrial era did the CO2 concentration go above 300 parts per million (ppm). Where CO2 is now--350 ppm--is way above anything measured in the prior 650,000-year record.There is not a single part of this 650,000-year record--no fact, date, or number--that is controversial in any way or in dispute by anybody. To the extent that there is a controversy at all, it is that a few people in some of the less responsible coal, oil, and utility companies say, So what? Thats not going to cause any problem.[Does temperature follow CO2 levels?] Its a complicated relationship, but when there is more CO2 in the atmosphere, the temperature increases because more heat from the Sun is trapped.But if we allow this to happen, it would be deeply and unforgivably immoral. it would condemn coming generations to a catastrophically diminished future.Source: An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore, p. 67 May 26, 2006On Principles & Values:Sons serious accident spurred interest in environmentMy son had suffered a concussion, a broken collarbone, broken ribs, a compound fracture of the thigh bone, and massive internal injuries as well as a bruised lung & pancreas & a fractured kidney.I tell this story because it was a turning point that changed me in ways I could not have imagined. I asked myself how did I really want to spend my time on Earth? The environment had for years been at the forefront of my policy concerns, but it had been competing for attention with a lot of issues. Now, in this comprehensive and soul-searching rethinking of how I would spend my time, the global environment trumped other concerns. I realized that this was the crisis that should occupy the bulk of my efforts.I believe I was handed not just a 2nd chance, but an obligation to do whatever I can at this moment of danger to try and make sure that what is most precious about Gods beautiful Earth--its livability for us, our children, future generations--does not slip out of our hands.Source: An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore, p. 69-71 May 26, 2006On Energy & Oil:Ocean warming causes stronger hurricanes, like KatrinaScientists have been using evermore accurate computer models that long ago predicted a much higher range of ocean temperatures as a result of man-made global warming. The actual ocean temperatures are completely consistent with what has been predicted, and theyre way above the range of natural variability.As the oceans get warmer, storms get stronger. In 2004, Florida was hit by 4 unusually powerful hurricanes. That same year, Japan set an all-time record for typhoons. The previous record was 7. In 2004, 10 typhoons hit Japan.The emerging consensus links global warming to increasingly destructive power of hurricanes, increasing the strength of the average hurricane a full half-step on the well-known 5-step scale. As water temperatures go up, wind velocity goes up. One major study came out less than a month before Hurricane Katrina hit.When Katrina first hit, it was only a category 1 storm. Then, it passed over the unusually warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico [and became category 5].Source: An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore, p. 78-94 May 26, 2006On Energy & Oil:Global warming causes more floods & also more droughtsThere has been record flooding in China, which, as one of the planets oldest civilizations, keeps the best flood records of any nation in the world.Recently, for example, there were huge floods in Sichuan and Shandong provinces. Paradoxically, however, global warming also causes not only more flooding, but also more drought. The nearby Anhui province was continuing to suffer a severe drought at the same time the neighboring areas were flooding.One of the reasons for this paradox has to do with the fact that global warming not only increases precipitation worldwide but at the same time causes some of it to relocate.A second reason for the paradoxical effect of global warming is that while it produces more evaporation from the oceans to fill the warmer atmosphere with increased moisture, it also sucks more moisture out of the soil. Partly as a consequence, desertification has been increasing in the world decade by decade.Source: An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore, p.112&118 May 26, 2006On Foreign Policy:Drought from global warming set stage for Darfur genocideUnbelievable tragedies have been unfolding in the part of Africa near Lake Chad, where genocidal murders have become commonplace in the region of Darfur. The region-wide drought has contributed to the famine conditions that put millions at risk. A little discussed contributing factor to the famine and genocide is the disappearance of Lake Chad.Just 40 years ago Lake Chad was as large as Lake Erie--formerly the 6th largest lake in the world. But now due to declining rainfall and ever-intensifying human use, it has shrunk to 1/20th of its original size. The lakes dissipation has led to collapsing fisheries and crops.While Lake Chad withered, intense drought set the stage for the violence that erupted in neighboring Darfur, a war-torn region of Sudan.The more we understand about climate change, the more it looks as if we may be the real culprit--the US emits 1/4 of the worlds greenhouse gases. We helped manufacture the suffering in Africa, and we have a moral obligation to try to fix it.Source: An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore, p.116-7 May 26, 2006On Energy & Oil:Supported ethanol in 1970s & cellulosic ethanol nowWhen I was in Congress we used to wrangle about the value of making ethanol from corn. Despite the moonshine jokes, I supported ethanol. Even though some of its environmental consequences made me uncomfortable, I thought it was important for us to work on alternatives to fossil fuels to begin to break our dependence on foreign oil. Since then, newer innovations have [come along]: one company has figured out a way to make a new kind of ethanol out of plant fiber--cheaper & cleaner than regular ethanol.Source: An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore, p.137 May 26, 2006On Energy & Oil:Arctic ice is melting & may disrupt global weather patternsSince the 1970s, the extent & thickness of the Artic ice cap has diminished precipitously. There are now studies showing that if we continue with business as usual, the Artic ice cap will completely disappear each year during summertime. At present, it plays a crucial role in cooling the Earth. Preventing its disappearance must be one of our priorities.The melting of the ice cap represents bad news for creatures like polar bears. A new study shows that for the first time, polar bears have been drowning in significant numbers.What does it mean to look at a vast expanse of water that used to be ice? We ought to care about this because it has serious planetary effects. An increase of 5 degrees actually means an increase of only 1 or 2 degrees at the Equator, but more than 12 degrees at the North Pole. And so all those wind and ocean patterns that formed during the last ice age, are now up in the air.Our civilization has never experienced any environmental shift remotely similar to this.Source: An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore, p.143-149 May 26, 2006On Corporations:Commerce wounds nature that can no longer heal itselfOur over-scheduled, over-populated, hyper-stimulated existence is designed to monopolize our attention, to sell us things, to speed us from one place to another.Nature, by contrast, is slow-moving, undemanding, maybe underwhelming for many people. But if you never put yourself in the midst of nature--to understand that its essence is our essence--then youre inclined to treat it as trivial. You become willing to abuse and destroy it through carelessness, not recognizing that to do so is wrong.Weve come to accept that if nature can yield something of value to the lucrative engines of commerce, then we should grab it and rip it out, never thinking twice about the wounds left behind. According to this way of thinking, if exploitation results in injury to the environment, so be it: nature will always heal itself. But the magnitude of environmental destruction is now on a scale few ever foresaw; the wounds no longer simply heal themselves. We have to act affirmatively to stop the harm.Source: An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore, p.161 May 26, 2006On Homeland Security:Real danger to WTC is not terrorism, but rising sea levelsIn Manhattan, the World Trade Center Memorial is intended to be, among other things, an expression of the determination of the United States never to allow such harm to befall our country again.But if sea levels rose 20 feet worldwide, the site of the World Trade Center Memorial would be underwater.Is it possible that we should prepare for other serious threats in addition to terrorism? Maybe it is time to focus on other dangers as well.Source: An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore, p.208-209 May 26, 2006