Speaking in Manila yesterday during a Climate Reality training event, Al Gore said we only have two years left to save the planet and to convince people of global warming’s imminent threat. But in 2014, former VP-turned-green-activist Gore told Rolling Stones that we have reached a turning point, have seen “the worst effects of climate change and have saved civilization as we know it.” Al “sees the future and it is good,” wrote the Daily Kos in 2014.
“The forward journey for human civilization will be difficult and dangerous, but it is now clear that we will ultimately prevail,” Gore said in that 2014 interview. “The only question is how quickly we can accelerate and complete the transition to a low-carbon civilization…” Apparently not fast enough, especially with a presidential election in November.
Since 2006, when his movie ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ hit the film circuit, Al Gore has been making these end-is-nigh proclamations. He said the Arctic would be ice free by 2014. He got that wrong. He had so many scientific errors in his documentary, a UK judge forbade it from being shown in British schools without “guidance notes to prevent political indoctrination.”
That may be why in Manila he showed an “updated version” of his film. He also notes the Philippines (like the rest of the world) are “still dependent on fossil fuels,” what he believes is responsible for any changes in the climate.
The will to act is in itself a renewable energy – @algore #CRinPH pic.twitter.com/KjgEgRwlog
— Voltaire Tupaz (@VoltaireTupaz) March 14, 2016
Gore also said in the 2014 interview that the “truly catastrophic damages that have the potential for ending civilization as we know it can still ‚Äì almost certainly ‚Äì be avoided. Moreover, the pace of the changes already set in motion can still be moderated significantly.”
But in Manila, Gore said: “We’re in an unusual situation in our world. We have to make a very large change. And we have to do it in a ridiculously short period of time.” And that was only on the first day of his boot training camp for what he calls his ‘climate warriors.’
“I say ridiculously because we’re used to making changes [this] large over centuries. We don’t have centuries. We have years. And each day matters.” He said all this to the 600-plus participants, many of whom flew into the country on carbon-spewing jets to attend the three-day workshop. Gore also said their task ahead would be daunting.
But in the Rolling Stones’ interview, he said: “Is there enough time? Yes. Damage has been done, and the period of consequences will continue for some time to come, but there is still time to avoid the catastrophes that most threaten our future.” He also notes that the progress in solar has been stunning and that the energy sector is waking up to the cost savings of going green. What a difference a few years can make with an upcoming election looming ahead.
Since that 2014 interview, more and more solar companies have gone bankrupt, and wind power is on the decline due to complaints by residents living next to these giant noisemakers. In 2015, the UK slashed “subsidies to small-scale renewable energy technologies, with solar Feed-in Tariff being cut by a whopping 65 percent.” Same in Australia. Even Al Gore’s so-called sustainable Global Investment Portfolio shows only one renewable energy company, SolarCity, out of the 30 funds listed in its portfolio.
