Al Gore Invented Global Warming
ByAt least that’s what one may have concluded after watching last weekend’s Academy Awards show – and that it was a good thing that he did
Now, don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against Al Gore. I think what he has done to help bring environmental issues to the public consciousnesses, especially global warming and climate change, is a very good thing.
After all the self-congratulatory back-patting and weepy reverence toward Gore’s “inspiration”, I admit I felt a little sick to my stomach. And I’m a staunch San Francisco liberal, so I can only imagine how it made conservative right-wingers feel. To Gore’s credit, I think he looked a little embarrassed by the whole thing. I wonder how many people so inspired by Gore have even read his book Earth in the Balance written over a decade ago?
We’ve all heard the phrase “limousine liberal” and I can’t help but say that, for me, Sunday’s event had what I hope was the unintended effect of personifying that for me. Yes, I know that Leo DiCaprio arrived in a Toyota Prius, but his declaration that the Oscars had “gone green” was a bit over the top, and very misleading:
Show up in a hybrid, use recycled paper for the envelopes and such, buy carbon credits for the enormous amount of energy it takes to produce and broadcast such an affair and viola! you’re suddenly green.
It’s all things they should be doing, of course, and should have been doing long before Al Gore made a movie. I applaud the effort. My problem is with the self-congratulatory tone and the reality that the Oscars is hardly a “green” event.
The assembled multitude at the Oscars probably consumes more energy every year than some small nations. All the dresses, tuxedos, materials needed for the show – not to mention all the materials and processes used to manufacture all the equipment used in the production – the transportation (Toyota hybrids notwithstanding), the convergence of camera crews from around the world; the fact that Hollywood is a town that exists by sucking the Colorado River dry. Need I go on?
I’m all for people doing what they can. I certainly am not proposing that the Oscars no longer broadcast their glitz and glamour. I do think it does a disservice to the cause they claim to support when it is made to appear that such an event can ever be made truly “green”.
There are simple things we can and should all be doing to lessen our footprint on this earth. But to claim that these first few baby steps we take are the final solution to the problem of global warming and environmental degradation is either naive or disingenuous.
Have a nice day.
global warming climate change al gore oscars academy awards
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I think that u all r sucky Al gore Rocks
Wow anoimis. That was a really well articulated and well thought out statement. NOT. Don’t say anything if you have nothing to say but elementary school name-calling and poor grammer. I think that if even the author of this article, a self-proclaimed liberal, thinks that Hollywood and the acting business in general is hypocritical with all their ‘green’ talk, then it sure as heck is. I personally don’t think we have such a huge impact on ‘global warming.’ It’s a natural cycle.
al gore is a little sissy panzy ass bitch
Hmmm… Guess it takes one to know one.
That makes three of you, then. Oh, wait. Now it’s four of us? Damn.
I too have begun to wonder about this global warming controversy. Now dont get me wrong, I am all for going green, but it seems to me that we put too much emphasis on global warmign and not enough on doing what makes sense. Recently, my wife and I replaced the roof on our home with a new light colored tin roof. This cut our electric bill significantly. We also went through an insulated a number of areas in the house that were without insulation. Shaved another few dollars off the electric bill. these are just a few examples. I guess what I am saying is that regardless of global warming, we should be taking care of what we have because not to take care of it means we are being wasteful. When you look at someone like Al Gore, who is the biggest proponnent of global warming, and examine his life style, its almost hypocrytical. He flies around in a private jet liner when he could purchase tickets and ride with everyone else. Doesnt that waste jet fuel? He owns several homes none of which is energy efficient. Now I am not a Bush fan, but evil King George’s home in Texas is just as big as Gore’s, yet uses only a fraction of the energy because he designed his home with efficiency in mind. Can anyone say irony? This is an excellent article.