EDITORIAL – Al Gore’s endless energy

When it comes to raising awareness about global warming, former Vice President Al Gore is a… When it comes to raising awareness about global warming, former Vice President Al Gore is a powerhouse. His documentary film “An Inconvenient Truth” about the dangers of global warming won him critical acclaim, an Academy Award and a Nobel Peace Prize, but Gore just keeps going.

On Monday, the former vice president launched a three-year, multi-million dollar movement to call for the United States to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Associated Press, the Alliance for Climate Protection “will combine advertising, online organizing and partnerships with grassroots groups to educate the public about global warming and urge solutions from elected officials.”

Some of the advertisements will even include bipartisan pairs, such as Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with former Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich and the Rev. Al Sharpton with Pat Robertson. In this way, the movement is able to reach people regardless of their political positions. It overshadows such seemingly irrelevant differences by bringing the most important issue to the fore: global warming.

A campaign of this significance will undoubtedly make major changes in improving the environment. According to a Time magazine/ABC News/Stanford University poll, the majority of Americans – 85 percent, to be exact – believe global warming is a threat. Yet, at the same time, we have yet to see a serious government solution to the problem.

This is, in large part, because our current president doesn’t seem to consider global warming a major issue. Contrary to Al Gore’s efforts in tackling the climate crisis, President Bush has practically disregarded the issue.

In 2005, Bush defended his decision to reject U.S. participation in the Kyoto Protocol, an international effort that commits industrial nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Bush said, according to the Associated Press, that the Kyoto Protocol would have “wrecked” the economy.

But, at the same time, Bush failed to offer an alternative solution to the protocol and, with only a few months left in office, continues to ignore the problem.

So it’s refreshing to see that Al Gore is doing all he can to help the environment, when our very own president doesn’t do so. The time to address the climate crisis is long overdue. And since the Bush administration has clearly failed, it is up to the people now.

Hopefully, Gore’s movement will make global warming a significant issue in the current presidential campaign. By educating people and raising awareness about the state of the environment, the power lies with the people to influence their elected officials to reach a solution.

Gore told the Associated Press, “When politicians hear the American people calling loud and clear for change, they’ll listen.”