Gore's New Book and Why the Choice for Clean Energy Is Ours to Make

I love the title of Al Gore new book, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis. Not only does it broadcast the fact that global warming can be solved, but it also reminds us that the decision to do so is ours to make.

In my view, it is common sense to embrace clean energy and watch the economy, national security, and jobs grow. We can choose the smart path. Or we can choose to ignore this looming calamity and pay the price in human lives, global unrest, and lost opportunity.  

After you read Gore’s book, you will see why the choice must be made right now.

There is no greater champion of the climate imperative than Al Gore.

In his film, Inconvenient Truth, he powerfully illustrated just how devastating climate change would be if left unchecked. With this book, he lays out the clean energy technologies that will stave off the crisis. And as you read about one clean energy innovation after another, you can’t help asking: If we have all these solutions on hand, why wait any longer to put them in place?

The book is based on 30 of Gore’s “Solutions Summit,” gatherings he hosted with top energy scientists, engineers, policymakers, economists, and other experts. Gore augmented that input by doing his own independent research; he is nothing if not comprehensive.

But Gore distills his mastery of the topic into clean, readable prose, and he illustrates it with gorgeous glossy photos and accessible -- and eye-opening -- charts. Through it all, his enthusiasm about the technologies and his innate optimism shine through (you get a sense of both in this Newsweek feature as well).

For many years, Gore was the lone voice calling for climate action. I am relieved to say that is no longer the case. He remains one of our most powerful communicators, but he is not alone now.

He has a huge following, from those in his Alliance for Climate Protection to those across the clean tech sector, the science world, and the environmental community, all around the world. We all need to put pen to paper, to man the ramparts, to call for action.

I have put pen to paper, and next week I will release my own contribution to the climate debate, Clean Energy Common Sense.  

I was inspired by Thomas Paine who managed to frame the argument for independence in 1776 with his 47-page pamphlet Common Sense.

Paine’s boldly underscored the imperative for the United State to declare independence. He wrote, “The cause of America is in great measure the cause of all mankind.”

The same is true today. We must act in the face of global warming, and the entire world is counting on our leadership.

Gore’s book conveys a similar message. And while I do not profess to be on par with the Nobel Laureate and Former Vice President, I am proud to be a part of a growing chorus for climate action.

In this critical time, with this urgent choice before us, we need voices from every sector -- political, corporate, environmental, religious, public health -- to call for common sense solutions to climate change.

You can add your voice to the refrain by clicking here and telling your senator to pass clean energy and climate legislation now.

 

 This post originally appeared on NRDC's Switchboard blog.

 

Comments

[martinfrosa]

The choice is ours to make - nuclear and natural gas. Every wind farm and solar field must have a reliable backup for those times when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine.

[Perry Peck]

The future is Solar Energy our maternal Star!

The thermonuclear Sun is our maternal star. It is responsible for photosynthesis and life. All the food we eat is yesterday's sunshine! The universe is cold. If it weren't for solar energy, the earth would be a frozen, dark rock.

The hot Sun gives light and life. It is an inexhaustible supply of pollution-free power. The ancient Egyptian Pharaohs solar heated their palaces by capturing solar energy in black pools of water by day and draining the hot water into pipes in the floor of the palaces at night.

Affluent ancient Greeks designed their homes orientated to the sun to use winter sunlight for heating. Large south-facing windows were used to collect solar heat, which was stored in massive walls and floors for gradual release throughout the night. The overhangs would heat the homes in the winter and shade out the sun in summer.

In 1874, August Mouchot, a French engineer, concentrated solar energy onto a boiler and used the steam produced to operate a 1/2 horsepower engine used for pumping water in Algeria. In 1887, a parabolic solar collector was used to concentrate the sun's energy to run a steam engine that ran a printing press.

Solar is not new.

Now with Obama is the time for the solar revolution. Solar energy is clean energy!

[smacc1]

Does Gore advocate for natural gas? We've got enough in the US to leave coal way behind, but Obama and crew aren't in the building.