The Climate for Change

From the New York Times...

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
The Climate for Change

By AL GORE
Published: November 9, 2008

THE inspiring and transformative choice by the American people to elect Barack Obama as our 44th president lays the foundation for another fateful choice that he — and we — must make this January to begin an emergency rescue of human civilization from the imminent and rapidly growing threat posed by the climate crisis.

The electrifying redemption of America’s revolutionary declaration that all human beings are born equal sets the stage for the renewal of United States leadership in a world that desperately needs to protect its primary endowment: the integrity and livability of the planet.

The world authority on the climate crisis, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, after 20 years of detailed study and four unanimous reports, now says that the evidence is “unequivocal.” To those who are still tempted to dismiss the increasingly urgent alarms from scientists around the world, ignore the melting of the north polar ice cap and all of the other apocalyptic warnings from the planet itself, and who roll their eyes at the very mention of this existential threat to the future of the human species, please wake up. Our children and grandchildren need you to hear and recognize the truth of our situation, before it is too late.

Here is the good news: the bold steps that are needed to solve the climate crisis are exactly the same steps that ought to be taken in order to solve the economic crisis and the energy security crisis.

Economists across the spectrum — including Martin Feldstein and Lawrence Summers — agree that large and rapid investments in a jobs-intensive infrastructure initiative is the best way to revive our economy in a quick and sustainable way. Many also agree that our economy will fall behind if we continue spending hundreds of billions of dollars on foreign oil every year. Moreover, national security experts in both parties agree that we face a dangerous strategic vulnerability if the world suddenly loses access to Middle Eastern oil.

As Abraham Lincoln said during America’s darkest hour, “The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew.” In our present case, thinking anew requires discarding an outdated and fatally flawed definition of the problem we face.

Thirty-five years ago this past week, President Richard Nixon created Project Independence, which set a national goal that, within seven years, the United States would develop “the potential to meet our own energy needs without depending on any foreign energy sources.” His statement came three weeks after the Arab oil embargo had sent prices skyrocketing and woke America to the dangers of dependence on foreign oil. And — not coincidentally — it came only three years after United States domestic oil production had peaked.

At the time, the United States imported less than a third of its oil from foreign countries. Yet today, after all six of the presidents succeeding Nixon repeated some version of his goal, our dependence has doubled from one-third to nearly two-thirds — and many feel that global oil production is at or near its peak.

Some still see this as a problem of domestic production. If we could only increase oil and coal production at home, they argue, then we wouldn’t have to rely on imports from the Middle East. Some have come up with even dirtier and more expensive new ways to extract the same old fuels, like coal liquids, oil shale, tar sands and “clean coal” technology.

But in every case, the resources in question are much too expensive or polluting, or, in the case of “clean coal,” too imaginary to make a difference in protecting either our national security or the global climate. Indeed, those who spend hundreds of millions promoting “clean coal” technology consistently omit the fact that there is little investment and not a single large-scale demonstration project in the United States for capturing and safely burying all of this pollution. If the coal industry can make good on this promise, then I’m all for it. But until that day comes, we simply cannot any longer base the strategy for human survival on a cynical and self-interested illusion.

Here’s what we can do — now: we can make an immediate and large strategic investment to put people to work replacing 19th-century energy technologies that depend on dangerous and expensive carbon-based fuels with 21st-century technologies that use fuel that is free forever: the sun, the wind and the natural heat of the earth.

What follows is a five-part plan to repower America with a commitment to producing 100 percent of our electricity from carbon-free sources within 10 years. It is a plan that would simultaneously move us toward solutions to the climate crisis and the economic crisis — and create millions of new jobs that cannot be outsourced.

First, the new president and the new Congress should offer large-scale investment in incentives for the construction of concentrated solar thermal plants in the Southwestern deserts, wind farms in the corridor stretching from Texas to the Dakotas and advanced plants in geothermal hot spots that could produce large amounts of electricity.

Second, we should begin the planning and construction of a unified national smart grid for the transport of renewable electricity from the rural places where it is mostly generated to the cities where it is mostly used. New high-voltage, low-loss underground lines can be designed with “smart” features that provide consumers with sophisticated information and easy-to-use tools for conserving electricity, eliminating inefficiency and reducing their energy bills. The cost of this modern grid — $400 billion over 10 years — pales in comparison with the annual loss to American business of $120 billion due to the cascading failures that are endemic to our current balkanized and antiquated electricity lines.

Third, we should help America’s automobile industry (not only the Big Three but the innovative new startup companies as well) to convert quickly to plug-in hybrids that can run on the renewable electricity that will be available as the rest of this plan matures. In combination with the unified grid, a nationwide fleet of plug-in hybrids would also help to solve the problem of electricity storage. Think about it: with this sort of grid, cars could be charged during off-peak energy-use hours; during peak hours, when fewer cars are on the road, they could contribute their electricity back into the national grid.

Fourth, we should embark on a nationwide effort to retrofit buildings with better insulation and energy-efficient windows and lighting. Approximately 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States come from buildings — and stopping that pollution saves money for homeowners and businesses. This initiative should be coupled with the proposal in Congress to help Americans who are burdened by mortgages that exceed the value of their homes.

Fifth, the United States should lead the way by putting a price on carbon here at home, and by leading the world’s efforts to replace the Kyoto treaty next year in Copenhagen with a more effective treaty that caps global carbon dioxide emissions and encourages nations to invest together in efficient ways to reduce global warming pollution quickly, including by sharply reducing deforestation.

Of course, the best way — indeed the only way — to secure a global agreement to safeguard our future is by re-establishing the United States as the country with the moral and political authority to lead the world toward a solution.

Looking ahead, I have great hope that we will have the courage to embrace the changes necessary to save our economy, our planet and ultimately ourselves.

In an earlier transformative era in American history, President John F. Kennedy challenged our nation to land a man on the moon within 10 years. Eight years and two months later, Neil Armstrong set foot on the lunar surface. The average age of the systems engineers cheering on Apollo 11 from the Houston control room that day was 26, which means that their average age when President Kennedy announced the challenge was 18.

This year similarly saw the rise of young Americans, whose enthusiasm electrified Barack Obama’s campaign. There is little doubt that this same group of energized youth will play an essential role in this project to secure our national future, once again turning seemingly impossible goals into inspiring success.

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Al Gore, the vice president from 1993 to 2001, was the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. He founded the Alliance for Climate Protection and, as a businessman, invests in alternative energy companies.

Sea Venture Podcast

Here's the sea venture podcast that we made at work, what I think is our best effort thus far. Enjoy!



If you want to see more of our videos, like our other podcast or passionality videos, click on this to see the video (also available in higher quality) on YouTube and check out the Foundation's channel. This will also soon be available for download as a podcast on iTunes!

Awesome Video!!!

So this was made by middle school students, and after seeing it on CNN, it blew my mind.

Please enjoy!



Also, this video's page on YouTube includes the lyrics (over on the right-hand side with the "more" link), and the following video has a great interview with the students!

Starting the School Year in Appalachia

My first trip of the season was with Jeff to Lee County, the farthest west of all the counties in Virginia, nestled between Kentucky and Tennessee. We left on a Sunday to drive the seven or eight hours to Pennington Gap, home of the Convenient Inn (our hotel, the nicest one in the area of our teaching), which had just gotten wireless internet service though still required us to bring our own alarm clocks.

We taught Monday morning and afternoon (including the farthest school in Virginia) and had the afternoon to explore the area around Cumberland Gap before finding dinner at a small (and strangely unmarked though delicious) pub near the state line. We hiked up to the “Saddle of the Gap” (the actual gap part of Cumberland Gap) and the tri-state peak where the three states came together. The next day after teaching, we were back exploring the town of Cumberland Gap and on Wednesday visited Martin’s Station, a living history fort at a state park. Martin’s Station was the last stop before settlers on the Wilderness Road crossed Cumberland Gap and included interpreters that seemed more than delighted to see visitors that also could talk history and interpretation with them (they followed us around like puppies). After a day of exploring and history, we also ended up at a karaoke joint with the karaoke DJ, his wife, another family (obviously regulars), and later their daughter’s friend and mom. While obviously from out of town, they did greet us very warmly, but with the comment “It’s mostly country music, I hope you don’t mind.” We definitely had fun and Jeff especially became buddies with the DJ. Thursday after teaching, we took a day off from exploring so that we could rest before heading to the fire station square dance that we’d visited that spring when we taught in Wise County. Friday after teaching, we were off on our journey home after a long week and both very excited to be home.

(photos: The view from one of the schools in the western end of Lee County of the white cliffs on Cumberland Mountain (the sign to the settlers on the Wilderness Road that the Gap was only about a day away); BBQ sauce and Rebel Roy; Cumberland Gap; view West over Cumberland Gap to the mountains of Kentucky, with the Tri-State Peak in the foreground; and me with mountains.)





(photos: The view from another one of our schools, with mountains on the other side of the valley; building in Cumberland Gap; potentially the second-oldest magnolia tree in Tennessee; a PBR ad from a WWII-era Life magazine; and a house that was used to house workers from the Manhattan Project, moved to Cumberland Gap.)





(photos: Me with a Daniel Boone marker along the Wilderness Road trail, made from iron from the USS Maine; Jeff in an old iron furnace gaining his super powers from a bottle of Cumberland Gap spring water; the sign from in front of one of our schools; a horse at Martin's Station; and a view of part of Martin's Station.)





(photos: The interpreter and Jeff talking shop at Martin's Station; the gunsmith showing us the gun he's making (he makes everything but the lock and the barrel!); a buffalo at Martin's Station, though he was far from the only one in Lee County; one of the many tobacco barns in the county; and Jeff's new favorite karaoke joint.)





The following week, after a weekend that didn’t seem long enough, it was back on the road with Dirk to Scott County, the county right next to Lee County. On the way out, Dirk mentioned the existence of a place called “Foamhenge,” some guy’s reproduction of Stonehenge out near Natural Bridge. Our hotel was equally awesome, being a Comfort Inn completely decked out in a hunting theme. The kids were just as fabulous as the kids in Lee County, though teaching was a bit more challenging this week due to my cold I was fending off. However, it was also spirit week in Scott County, including Sports Teams/Favorite Fictional Character/Nerd Day and Pajama/Camouflage/Superhero Day. After teaching, we explored some parks and trails, found the grave of the last living Confederate soldier, a rather dilapidated and closed farm museum, and the Carter Family Fold (the school we taught at down the street had autographed photos of June Carter and Johnny Cash!). Thursday night we found an awesome bluegrass jam session at the Lay’s Hardware building in Coeburn. After teaching on Friday, it was again a long drive back to Williamsburg, not getting back until after 9.

(photos: A statue of Merlin at Foamhenge (read the sign about his face for something pretty weird...); Dirk at Foamhenge; a view of the mountains in Scott County; a monument near the grave of the last living Confederate soldier, who died in 1956; and the view through a former swedish-built train tunnel.)





(photos: Mountains in the morning from a school; some of the closed farm museum that we explored; a creek in the woods in the mountains; the old Carter family store at the Carter Family Fold; and the bluegrass jam session at the Lays Hardware building.)





The week after, I didn’t travel overnight, though taught some in Richmond and will be starting the portion of the month of me heading to Loudoun County (Northern Virginia) for a couple of weeks in a row…

I should also mention that I lost my little plastic soldier named Rebel Roy that I'd been photographing on my outreach travels a la Flat Stanley. There have been a couple of photos of him, including the one in this post with the BBQ sauce. I think I lost him after one of the hikes we took or at breakfast one morning in the hotel, and I was crushed. Mark made a tribute computer wallpaper that I'll try to post soon on here. I also chose another plastic soldier to replace him, though also decorated him with a black "armband" (Sharpie band on his arm) in memorium. Rebel Roy, I will miss you.

Approaching Fall and its Fun

August finished in a frenzy. Besides gearing up for the travel season in September, we were trying to finish our podcasts so that they could start the review process before we would be gone for weeks on end. In all of the goings on, I was very excited to go camping for my birthday over Labor Day weekend. Mark and I were heading towards the Mt. Rogers area in southwest Virginia (where we’d hiked in the spring), one of my favorite parts of the state. After a hectic drive to the campsite, we pitched my new tent amidst a see of campers and pop-up trailers. The next day we went exploring the area, including Damascus (the only town the Appalachian trail runs through); Shady Valley, TN and the House of the Snake; Boone, NC; Bristol; and ending back at The Tavern in Abingdon, VA for my birthday dinner. Though we didn’t hike much on Saturday, we tried to find a trail on Sunday, though couldn’t so much find the proper trailhead. There were other fun trails nearby, though the hiking was interrupted by rain and we instead drove into Damascus to find dinner before attending a bluegrass concert at the park that night. Monday, it was back to Williamsburg as we fought the traffic back across the state. Overall, the weekend was a much-needed break and a great place and way to spend my birthday weekend.

(photos: Touchdown Yosef at Appalachian State University in Boone; an add for he coming musical "Batboy," apparently based on the Weekly World News' tabloid Batboy; a nice red barn near Mt. Rogers; a rocky stream in Grayson Highlands State Park; and Mark at the Listening Rock Overlook with the mountains of southern Virginia and Tennessee.)






Upon returning to Williamsburg, it was back to work and preparing for the involved travel. On the weekends, I tried to balance the necessary errands and chores with taking it easy around town, including going to Hallowscream at Busch Gardens and trying to find ways to stomach the Michigan Football season (though there indeed have been some amazing moments, just a lot of the opposite as well). I did have a trip to the emergency room when I sliced my finger on a stationary can lid while washing dishes (it was nothing serious, I just got to get the clear glue stuff on my slice and was able to watch my finger close!). Also this September, there’s been a bit of tropical weather, including my first tropical storm. We had to storm-proof the office, like covering our computers in trash bags in case of water damage and moving vehicles away from possible falling tree limbs. Some friends and I had a hurricane party even, but the storm ended up being pretty tame. We did have a beer-brewing and ice cream-making gathering one evening that was more delicious, at least. Not much else has been happening around home, but I have been keeping busy doing something as I feel like my list of intended accomplishments never gets much shorter. More about work to come…

What I did on my summer vacation...

At the end of June and beginning of July, I was able to get about a week of vacation, during which I was able to head home and to the Island, with a few other stops along the way. Mark and myself left Williamsburg in my car for DC on a Saturday morning, staying with his friends in the city. We took the afternoon (and braved the intense and disgusting heat) to explore the Folklife Festival before making our way to a Nationals baseball game with his family. The game was fun, and became even more eventful when a giant storm rolled in, causing the game to be put on hold and us, quite drenched, to leave and head back to his friends' apartment for more matches of Mario Kart (on Wii and a super huge HD tv!). The next morning, we were up and on the way to his grandparent's house northeast of Pittsburgh, and then on the next morning to Ann Arbor.

photos: The National Mall with the 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival (the same festival that I worked at last summer), this year featuring Texas, Bhutan, and NASA; the inside of the Bhutanese buddhist temple on the Mall with a Bhutanese monk; the new Nationals stadium; the view from above the first base line (by a couple of tiers) of the stadium, complete with a view of the Capitol in the background (our seats were under the big scoreboard in center field); and a staple of a Washington Nationals game -- giant-headed presidents that run around.




Once back in A2, we met with Mark's friend Craig (with whom we were staying), gave Mark a tour around town and campus, before meeting up with Cadi and Brian for some time at Dominick's (ah, the sangria), trivia night at Connor's, and a couple of stops at Ann Arbor Brewing Company and Ashley's before turning in for the night. The next day, we met Lee May for breakfast before heading to Frankenmuth to meet my mom, dad, and sister for lunch at the Bavarian Inn and some shopping around town. Then, at last, I was back in Lansing, feeling a bit exhausted. The next day (Wednesday) we both slept in, swam a bit in the g-units' pool, found some fresh ice cream and cheese curds at the MSU dairy store, met the family at dinner at the pub, and chilled with the family for a final evening, before both we left for the North and my dad left for his new home and job in New Mexico. Thursday morning had us up, packed, breakfasted at Flap Jack, and on the road north.

photos: Mark's friend Craig's Optimus Prime transformer poses with the Colonel (Mark's version of Rebel Roy), handing over his matrix of power (I think that's what it's called); the g-units and me in Lansing; Joe and his girlfriend, Sam; and Mom, Leslie, and Josh.




Before heading to the Island, we stopped at Leg's Inn for a good polish meal after driving the tunnel of trees. It was fun to see all the island folks, even though I'd seen some of them just weeks before at Beth's wedding. We hiked, ate, blacksmithed, wandered, and relaxed. The 4th of July at the fort was just as good as always, though odd for me since it was the first that I'd attended that I didn't have to work. We also got to hang out with the Pub Runners, which was and is always fun. We were up early the next day to head off the island and downstate, having to drive all the way to Bruce's new home in Ohio. We made it (after stops for lunch and Meijer shopping), albeit late. Sunday we were definitely exhausted and had a difficult time leaving the delicious and local breakfast and relaxed atmosphere of chilling on his farm. However, we did leave and made it back to Williamsburg that night, with me ready for work the next day.

photos: Wildflowers on the back patio of Leg's Inn in Cross Village, MI; Ben Bever showing what he thinks of non-Deere tractors; Katie and Maria find a carnival ride in the woods; the Colonel's horse finds a companion at the Pink Pony; and Mark up at Fort Holmes.





photos: The view of the Fort from the Rifle Range; the guys sing a bit on the 4th; the girl scouts raising the flag on the 4th;
the Michigan volley during the 38-gun salute; and the crafties during the salutes.





photos: Me, Mark, and the Pub Runner's #1 fan (I promise, there are indeed photos of us not making these faces -- it's not a permanent thing); Bever worried that he might have lost his "boob inspector" badge -- classy, Bev...; Bever just like we remembered him; a stop at Bruce's house wouldn't be complete without frolicking dogs; and Bruce's family farmstead.





All in all, it was a great trip and a lot of fun. Thanks so much to all of you that helped us and hung out with us along the way!