Former Vice President Al Gore has a plan to end climate change, and over 1,000 Marinites got a chance to hear about that plan in person, when he appeared at Dominican University on Monday evening.
Gore, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his climate change awareness efforts, is currently on a nationwide book tour to promote Our Choice: A Plan To Solve The Climate Crisis, his manifesto for changing our current policies and practices that result in a warming planet.
Frequently punctuating his talk with humor, insight and passion, Gore looked totally at ease while addressing Marin, in what could only be described as preaching to the choir.
"I love Marin County. It's more or less a cross-section of America," said Gore after getting a large round of applause to one of his points, then adding, "I wish...I would've just completed my second term as President!"
If it wasn't a cross-section of America, it was at least a cross-section of Marin as old, young, families and singles packed Angelico Hall for his sold-out appearance. Sitting in the front row were the Von Gleisen family of San Francisco. Holly Carver, who along with her husband worked with Gore in Washington and are longtime friends of the Gores, said she wanted her kids Cole and Ellie, to hear what he had to say.
"It's a great opportunity to have the kids come out here and hear first hand about climate change and what they can do to make a difference. We bought the book, the children's version which is really great."
Eleven year-old Cole, added, "I think it's good because he's very important and he's talking about the environment."
Our Choice is a sort of follow-up to An Inconvenient Truth, his book that originally touted "planetary emergency" and later became the iconic movie in which which he managed to make climate change a household phrase. Our Choice sprang from what the Vice President referred to as "solution
summits", more than 30 gatherings over a three-year period in which he
invited, and met, with hundreds of scientists and experts to gauge their
insights and solutions to ending the climate crisis.
Citing a perfect storm of melting ice caps, higher temperatures, deeper droughts, more humidity and stronger storms that result from excess CO2, Gore said "it is a challenge very different in magnitude and scope from any other crisis that we have ever faced."
In addition, Gore pinned blame on fossil fuels for our current economic and national security crisis, saying both were a result of our "our ridiculous over-dependence on carbon-based fuel."
Gore's solution to all this crisis?
An energy 'supergrid' which would combine renewable sources of solar, wind, geo-thermal and biomass.
Gore dismissed so-called "clean coal" technology touted by President Obama, saying it would be overly expensive and energy-inefficient. He was also skeptical of relying too much on energy produced by nuclear power and another hot topic--carbon capture and
sequestration--a method in which excess CO2 is captured, liquefied and buried, saying both are too time-consuming.
Gore laid heavy blame on a political process that is rife with pernicious special interests (in both political parties) for not addressing the climate change crisis, and he took advantage of the University setting to call on young America to answer the call, and also to ask everyone to do more.
"This crisis gives us an unparalleled opportunity, as we rise to solve this crisis, to successfully address many other challenges that have been allowed to linger for far too long."
After his address, audience members, including the Van Gleisen family above, got a chance to have their own book copies personally signed by the Vice-President.
Shunya, from San Anselmo had waited a long time for the opportunity to see Gore in person.
"I've always been a fan of Al Gore, and here I am happy to actually see him for the first time in person. I bought the book and now here I am."
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Our Choice: A Plan To Solve The Climate Crisis is available at Book Passage, who were one of the sponsors of the event.
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