My 3 Days With Al Gore’s Climate Reality
Last week, I was fortunate to attend a Climate Reality Leadership Corps training with Al Gore. A thousand people from around the world- 58 countries and 47 US states- made the pilgrimage to San Francisco to be part of this training. And, that alone was truly inspirational. Bette Midler was in the house. Grammy Award winner Kathy Mattea spoke about her story and journey with the Climate Project and the language of nonviolent communication
One very striking point, while the US is still wading through a stew of climate denialism, the rest of the world is actively looking for solutions.
In fact the first part of Mr. Gore’s latest slideshow presentation, focuses on connecting the dots through poignant photos of recent drought, floods, fires and extreme weather from around the world.
With 337 consecutive months of temperatures higher than the 20th century average, every night on the evening news is like a “nature hike through the Book of Revelations”, says Gore. The fact that the corporate news media doesn’t connect those glaring dots is huge journalistic lapse of integrity.
Gore compares the disinformation campaign to the effort by the tobacco companies to continue to as peddlers of doubt well after there was scientific evidence linking smoking to lung cancer. We must “dis-enthral” ourselves from the current meme which is an “illusory view of reality,” the former VP told the captivated audience.
This new presentation is packed full of emotional photos, sound science and myth-busting. And, each of the thousand trainees will weave their individual story into the larger collective story and share it in their communities.
Even though recent surveys show that Americans may be waking up to the reality of climate change, the science is much worse than the average person realizes. There is an African proverb that Gore frequently quotes, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
“We have to go far — quickly,” he adds. So while the task of raising awareness and moving that into actionable change may seem daunting, we, collectively, have no other choice. Because taking this issue head-on is now a moral imperative.
What Can You Do?
- Join Climate Reality online to learn about our I’m Too Hot campaign and to request a Reality presentation in your community.
- Connect with the Citizen’s Climate Lobby. Take part in their bi-monthly conference calls. Join a local group or create your own.
- Find out why 350 is the most important number on the planet at 350.org.
- Click on this link to tell your local meterologist to connect the climate dots.
It’s your choice, but whatever you choose, please put down the remote and get off the couch. We live in an all hands-on deck moment in time and your participation is urgent and necessary.
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