Gore: Bad Economy Is Time For "Decisive Action" On Global Warming

WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Al Gore presented lawmakers on Wednesday with a new inconvenient truth: Action on global warming cannot wait until the economy recovers.

In three hours of testimony that at times looked like a sequel to the Oscar-winning documentary based on his book "An Inconvenient Truth," Gore pressed Congress to pass President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan as a first step to bringing greenhouse gases under control.

He also pushed for decisive action on a bill this year to limit emissions of heat-trapping gases, saying the legislation is needed for the U.S. to take a leading role in negotiations on a new international climate treaty later this year.

To underscore his point, Gore flipped through more than four dozen new slides showing melting ice caps, western wildfires, deforestation and oxygen-depleted seas in a hearing room where the lights were dimmed.

"We must face up to this urgent and unprecedented threat to the existence of our civilization at a time when our country must simultaneously solve two other worsening crises," Gore told the panel.

It was Gore's first appearance before Congress since March 2007. Six months ago, he called for the U.S. to produce all of its electricity from carbon-free sources within the next 10 years.

Since then, the recession has deepened and the government _ which is fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan _ has spent hundreds of billions to save financial institutions and keep automakers from bankruptcy.

Gore, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to combat global warming, said the recession and wars should not delay passage of climate change legislation or U.S. participation in a new climate treaty.

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The Bush administration pulled out of the last treaty, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, citing a lack of participation by developing countries and harm to the economy. In the late 1990s, during the Clinton administration, the U.S. Senate balked at ratifying the agreement. Negotiations on a new pact are scheduled for December in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Senators in both parties express optimism that a bill requiring mandatory reductions in greenhouse gases could pass before the Copenhagen meeting.

But Republicans, particularly Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, pressed Gore on the role of nuclear power.

"If you accept every dire circumstance of climate change and you take a clean, reliable source of energy off the table. ... I don't think you can ever get to the solution you are seeking," Isakson said.

Gore said that he thought nuclear could play a small role, but would not be a "silver bullet." As for coal, he reiterated his position that no new coal-fired power plants should be built without the ability to capture and store carbon dioxide, the primary gas responsible for a warming climate.

Earlier this week, Obama signed orders that will boost the fuel efficiency of the nation's cars and trucks and could allow states to limit emissions of greenhouse gases from exhaust pipes.

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On the Net:

Senate Committee on Foreign Relations: http://foreign.senate.gov/

Comments

[Campo]

I am not a Warmist. But if I was, I wouldn't think that if human activity was warming the planet that human activity could somehow cool the planet. Gore makes money from offsets. He also has a pretty good book deal. To me, that explains a lot of what he is talking about.

[KenHartleyReed]

The last UN conference on global warming produced 650 of the top scientists who said MAN MADE global warming was a complete myth. Look it up all you whale-humping, tree hugging hippies... The ecology fluctuates naturally, and we are actually colder in many regards...

Ken Hartley Reed - "Helping to bring the fairness doctrine to the blogosphere, one reality check at a time..."

[hliberty7]

Amen Brother----They say the EArth is millions of years old and then jump out the window with Global Warming based on 100 years of weather data-----MORONS-----any common sense can see this is another ploy for stardom and to get in your pocketbooks

[OneVoiceInACrowd]

oh please....

they say the earth is 4.5 billion years old.

Another ploy for stardom and to get rich... So donating his book and movie sales, his cash prize for the Nobel were also ways to get rich right?

Guess what?, your 650 scientists are still in the minority- But in science they still listen to and debate with the minority opinion.

It is the middle of winter, and 65 degrees here in California, and has been just about the entire month. Does that mean there is global warming? No.

[maybewecan]

everyone please understand one thing, this is a new moralistic form of Capitalism! You know the stuff progessives despise unless it lines their own pockets, yet allowing them to appear that they care about our planet, economy, security, etc. Cap and trade will only be a new form of taxation and will hurt the existing manufacturing companies in the US to go elsewhere(outside US) to produce products. If you read about Mr. Gore, you will find very interesting carbon footprint lifestyle habits of his(although he claims he offsets those prints-ha-ha). Also, tried once to contact a company back east to request info on purchasing credits, guess what they couldn't help me. Bigger Ponzi scheme than Madoff could ever dream of! Another Exchange for the markets to line the pockets of those that have already bulging pockets. It may sound good, as I first thought, but when you get into the details it is not all that it appears to be

[plugger]

was he asked any questions by any who disagree with him ???? Has he ever addressed directly any discussion ? Any thought that the economy started its decent about the time Al and the globalphobia fearmongering started and the 2006 elections?

[RTIII]

Al has answered questions of those who disagree, yes, in direct discussion.

The economy started its decent at roughly the moment Ronald Reagan took office, it just took about 28 years for all the ideologically derived errors to catch up with the system.

And as for fear-mongering, none have been better than Bush and Cheney, and _that_ started about the time Bush took office.

With regard to global climate change, we aren't nearly concerned enough. We have VERY little time and all that's been done so far is _way_too_slow._ But, at least now that your guy is out of our way, the world can at least move in the right direction. What an embarrassment to humanity he was, much less America.
.

[Semaj51]

What is most interesting on his testimony on global warming was the delay due to an ice storm.

[RTIII]

Confused on weather vs climate, I see. -frown-
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