I just came back from hearing Al Gore speak about global warming - an incredibly stirring presentation. The images just rolled on and on - emaciated polar bears, huge cliffs of ice plunging off glaciers into the sea, flooded streets in China, cracking riverbeds in India, perhaps most effective for me Keeling's graph of carbon dioxide emissions with its relentless climb. As I listened, I wavered between wanting to just cry - because so much is at stake, truly no less than the future of life on earth, and as a nation our political will to do something about it is so weak - and wanting to hope that we can avert the crisis.
According to him the technology we need is within reach. If we adopted stricter pollution controls, made cars more efficient, and used renewable energy instead of fossil fuels, we could return to pre-1970 emission levels. It's possible, but the public has to be behind it. Right now it's so far off the radar screen of the average American, no wonder other countries are exasperated with us.
His closing comments stuck with me: "These next few decades are a critical turning point in human history. And this is your moment." (He was speaking to an audience of environmentalists.) "You are here in the right place, at the right time, with the opportunity and the means to make a difference. This is your time."
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