Post by GSC Admin on Mar 12, 2004 12:00:28 GMT -5
www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/health/8168368.htm
Gore issues dire warning on warming
EX-VICE PRESIDENT ENTREATS STUDENTS TO ENLIST IN FIGHT FOR ENVIRONMENT
By Glennda Chui
Mercury News
Former Vice President Al Gore urged Stanford University business students Thursday to throw themselves into a fight against global warming -- not only because climate change poses a threat, but because the solution will create technology and jobs.
``We're at a turning point where deciding to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem is crucial,'' Gore said to a packed audience at Stanford's Kresge Auditorium.
``The proper reaction ought to be mass marches,'' he said, ``where people say, `This is nuts to allow all this global pollution to continue, in a way that threatens the sustainability of civilization as we know it.' ''
Gore blamed American companies for ignoring the potential for global warming, and with it the business opportunities.
He pointed to Wednesday's announcement that Ford Motors would license Toyota's technology for producing hybrid cars that run on both gasoline and electricity, saving gas and reducing pollution. Ford is also scheduled to bring out a hybrid version of its Escape SUV later this year.
Rather than hiring more engineers to improve vehicle mileage to meet tougher federal standards, Gore said, American auto companies ``hired more lawyers to fight against the requirement that they do the right thing. So now they're having to buy the technology from Japan in order to try to catch up. Unless they change, that story is going to happen over and over and over again.''
Gore, whose 1992 book ``Earth in the Balance'' addressed the threat of climate change caused by a buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, was invited to speak at Stanford by the graduate school of business and the Environmental Management Club. The student club is dedicated to exploring environmental opportunities in the business world.
The former vice president, who narrowly lost a race for president four years ago, appeared relaxed as he paced the stage, speaking largely without notes. His talk started as a technical primer on changing climate and escalated into an impassioned plea for action.
Many lines of evidence, from rising global temperatures to melting glaciers and a shrinking Arctic ice cap, point to climate that is warming on a scale not seen in the past 400,000 years, Gore said.
In contrast to another major speech on the subject in January, in which he criticized President Bush as a ``moral coward'' who would not stand up to political backers in the coal, oil and mining industries, Gore did not directly refer to the administration.
However, he did say he hopes to eventually see the Kyoto Protocol ratified. The international agreement, which Gore helped to negotiate, has never been ratified by the U.S.
Gore issues dire warning on warming
EX-VICE PRESIDENT ENTREATS STUDENTS TO ENLIST IN FIGHT FOR ENVIRONMENT
By Glennda Chui
Mercury News
Former Vice President Al Gore urged Stanford University business students Thursday to throw themselves into a fight against global warming -- not only because climate change poses a threat, but because the solution will create technology and jobs.
``We're at a turning point where deciding to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem is crucial,'' Gore said to a packed audience at Stanford's Kresge Auditorium.
``The proper reaction ought to be mass marches,'' he said, ``where people say, `This is nuts to allow all this global pollution to continue, in a way that threatens the sustainability of civilization as we know it.' ''
Gore blamed American companies for ignoring the potential for global warming, and with it the business opportunities.
He pointed to Wednesday's announcement that Ford Motors would license Toyota's technology for producing hybrid cars that run on both gasoline and electricity, saving gas and reducing pollution. Ford is also scheduled to bring out a hybrid version of its Escape SUV later this year.
Rather than hiring more engineers to improve vehicle mileage to meet tougher federal standards, Gore said, American auto companies ``hired more lawyers to fight against the requirement that they do the right thing. So now they're having to buy the technology from Japan in order to try to catch up. Unless they change, that story is going to happen over and over and over again.''
Gore, whose 1992 book ``Earth in the Balance'' addressed the threat of climate change caused by a buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, was invited to speak at Stanford by the graduate school of business and the Environmental Management Club. The student club is dedicated to exploring environmental opportunities in the business world.
The former vice president, who narrowly lost a race for president four years ago, appeared relaxed as he paced the stage, speaking largely without notes. His talk started as a technical primer on changing climate and escalated into an impassioned plea for action.
Many lines of evidence, from rising global temperatures to melting glaciers and a shrinking Arctic ice cap, point to climate that is warming on a scale not seen in the past 400,000 years, Gore said.
In contrast to another major speech on the subject in January, in which he criticized President Bush as a ``moral coward'' who would not stand up to political backers in the coal, oil and mining industries, Gore did not directly refer to the administration.
However, he did say he hopes to eventually see the Kyoto Protocol ratified. The international agreement, which Gore helped to negotiate, has never been ratified by the U.S.
I do not think kerry is worried about environment issues. Kerry is a blueblood born to supremecy, and like bush, he thinks the world climate wouldn't dare go against him.