Lunch with Al Gore
Last week I went to Sydney and lunch with Al Gore. Intimate really with only another 600 or so people there! Never-the-less, I found him to be an inspiring man. What I loved was his passion.
Hi talk was tailored to Australia and although he is not a scientist he has put the work in and he knows his stuff. The depth of knowledge shown in question time was impressive. He knows the science and he is up to date.
On Sunday I lunched with some of my oldest friends – the group I studied science at University with – we won’t mention how long ago! One of these old friends is now a leading international climate change expert based in the USA who comes beck to Australia to provide advice to government on this issue. He was saying that Al Gore meets with the leading scientists so he really does have the latest facts. He has breakfasted with my friend on some of his fact finding sessions.
I was glad I went. I found it a valuable day. We need so much more of this passion to face up to the changes that must be made if we are to be able to look our children and grandchildren in the eye in 20 years time!
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October 9th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
Hi Jean,
I went to Melbourne the other weekend, to assist Al Gore in the training of another 170 Australian “Climate Change Messengers”. There were 84 of us trained in the first round, but Al Gore is really ramping up the action here in Australia.
Al Gore’s view is that if Australia “tips” on climate change, then the USA will have no choice but to “tip” as well. Climate Change Messengers give lots of presentations at the grassroots level - to community groups, to businesses, to Councils, to Government departments etc. I think it’s making a difference. You can read more about it here: http://www.acfonline.org.au/default.asp?section_id=193
Cheerio,
Andrew
October 9th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
This is a fantastic effort. Al Gore has been very interested in environmental policy for many years - dating back to his time in Congress in the 1970s.
Gore was one of the first politicians to grasp the seriousness of climate change and to call for a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouses gases. He held the first congressional hearings on the subject in the late 1970s. During his tenure in Congress, Gore co-sponsored hearings on toxic waste in 1978–79, and hearings on global warming in the 1980s.
This is about the same length of time as my own environmental involvement which began around 1970 when they proposed a pulp mill for Cairns and wanted to start clear felling trees on the Atherton Tablelands. Much of the rain forrest involved is now world heritage listed