Save and Conserve

disclaimer: i like al gore. i'm a big fan. sure, he occasionally lets fly outrageous comments like "i invented the internet" that make you cringe. but overall, you have to like this man's dedication, smarts and general righteousness. served in the armed forces. served in the senate. championed pro-environment positions. served 8 years as clinton's vice. ran for president twice. you think any of that is easy? please! this is someone who has lots of people on his side helping him out. he's got influence. he's got respect. this is a major american figure ... someone to look up to.

gore might get on people's nerves, but you have to hand it to the guy. he gets it. he wrote earth in the balance way back in 1992. he gets that communication underlies movements and focuses change. that's why after the 2000 debacle he eventually turned to interactive media. he started current tv, a rather unique tv channel. he began giving his slide show presentation (which doesn't do it justice, really) about the precarious state of the earth's climate around the world.

now, of course, he's gone out and made a documentary about global warming. i saw this movie last friday and i thought it was well done. i'm totally on board with the message of the movie, so i was happy to see that the scientific world rubber-stamped the science and figures gore speaks to in the movie.

i won't get into an extended review or commentary on an inconvenient truth, other than to say it is a very important lesson everyone needs to sit through. i'm convinced we're in a climate crisis and the movie substantiates that view with tons of evidence and fact. enough said.

what really inspires me about gore is how he is reaching out, using a variety of media driven channels to spread his message. the guy gets it. i just hope people in america get his message!

Posted by tom c. at 8:53 PM | Permalink

i just read a cynical post on a blog devoted to peak oil that stated something along these lines:

assume american leaders are peak oil aware and believe the peak is happening now or will happen very soon (within 1 year). assume that global oil supply can no longer grow. assume that china, india and emerging economies will continue to grow fast if left unchecked. that implies america would be privy to a smaller slice of the oil pie.

doesn't it stand to reason that it would be in america's interest to raise interest rates in order to trigger a global economic slowdown? slowing down economic growth should equate to slowing down demand for energy, especially liquid fuels. slowing down china & india would allow america to maintain the same slice of the oil pie for a longer period of time. a slow down would, of course, bring hardship and suffering to a lot of americans (think unemployment + $8 gas). but the situation would probably look more like a slow squeeze than a full blown depression.

choking oil supply is the only thing that is going to get lots of people conserving energy. choking implies pain. it implies shortage. choking americans is something american leaders want to prevent. however, choking the rest of the world may not be a bad move if the peak looks sharp and the downslope steep.

interesting to ponder ...

Posted by tom c. at 4:13 PM | Permalink