Gore warns Congress of impending 'planetary emergency'

[DeepModem Mom]

Source: Associated Press


Al Gore warned Congress Wednesday of "a crisis that threatens the survival of our civilization and the habitability of the Earth."

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Al Gore, a Democratic favorite for the presidency despite pronouncements that he's not running, spoke out on his signature issue Wednesday, warning of a "true planetary emergency" if Congress fails to act on global warming.

In a return he described as emotional, Gore testified before House panels that it is not too late to deal with climate change "and we have everything we need to get started." He urged the Democratic-controlled Congress to adopt an immediate freeze on greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

Gore's return to Congress marked the first time he had been in the Capitol since January 2001 when he was the defeated Democratic nominee still presiding over the Senate in his role as vice president.

The former vice president, who 20 years ago held the first hearings in Congress on global warming, appeared before a joint hearing by two House committees. Later in the day, he was to testify before a Senate committee that included the current Democratic front-runner for the nomination -- Hillary Rodham Clinton....

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/21/gore.ap/index.html

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. the publicans won't do anything

Which is why we need more Dems in Congress-and a Dem in the WH in 2008. Just hope it isn't too late.

Who wants to bet Rush and O'Lielly will poo-poo Al's warning?

[Deep13]

2. "Just hope it isn't too late."

To some degree it is too late. The question now is the extent of the damage. Eight years of Bush were 8 years we could not afford.

[mike_c]

3. agreed-- it is already too late....

The question now is which bad trajectory will we ride for the next few hundred years or more?

[rodeodance]

4. Hey Al. good going.

[donkeyotay]

5. Too bad a "true planetary emergency" doesn't merit being carried live

on a C-Span channel most of us actually get. :(

[Doremus]

8. The CNN link in the OP has a video clip.

It's heartbreaking watching the intelligence and fire of this man ... and realizing all that we were denied in 2000. :(

[The Count]

6. Adding this NYT page - just for the karmic perpective:

[DeepModem Mom]

7. Wonderful -- thanks, Count! nt

[Viva_La_Revolution]

11. and I'll add the USA Today page...

The original headline was "Al Gore Says World Faces "True Planetary Emergency"

they've changed it. :eyes:

Gore urges Congress to act on climate change
Updated 2h 11m ago | Comments 143 | Recommend 9 E-mail | Save | Print | Reprints & Permissions |


Enlarge By Kevin Lamarque, Reuters

Former Vice President Al Gore urged members of Congress today to work on a "smart grid" that allows easier sale of alternate energy sources, and other methods to reduce global warming.



WARMING WORLD





MORE ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Understanding climate change science



Resources: Climate change science



Kyoto Protocol Web site



Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Web site



Making sense of global warming: Alaska is the 'poster state' for climate concerns





By Traci Watson, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Al Gore returned today to the Congress where he once served, touting new ideas for attacking global warming and taking questions from some of his biggest supporters — and most persistent critics.
Fresh from winning an Academy Award for An Inconvenient Truth, his documentary on global warming, Gore implored members of Congress to take action on the problem and proposed an immediate freeze on the emissions of the gases responsible for the Earth's rising temperature.

"What we're facing now is a crisis that's by far the most serious we've ever faced," Gore told a meeting of the House committees on energy and science. "We do not have time to play around with this. We do not have the luxury of playing political football."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-03-21-gore-global-warming_N.htm?csp=34

[xchrom]

9. gotta recommend for the guy who shoulda been my prez.

[The2ndWheel]

10. Well, almost correct

"a crisis that threatens the survival of our civilization and the habitability of the Earth."

The survival of our civilization threatens the habitability of the Earth. The climate problem is just the consequence of our civilization. We're only getting one out of this. It's either going to be a civilization or a habitat. For the civilization to survive, that will require further insulation from the habitat. More control of our habitat, that's what we do. We've bascially picked the one we want. At this point, it is global human civilization vs. nature. The rise and fall of every empire has led to American/Global empire, and we're finally ready to take on the planet. We're in the majors now. We're professionals. Round 1.

[Moloch]

12. My god.

He's aged horribly.

[WindRavenX]

13. really? He doesn't look that bad to me.

Looks like every middle aged man on the planet, really.

I wonder if he p0wned that Inafoe (sp?) punk.