WS Chronicle

By Howard Pearre

Spread the word! Shout it from the rooftops! The sky actually is falling!

Several Sundays ago, former Vice President Al Gore, who in 2000 came within a hair of becoming President Al Gore, had some astounding things to say to Chuck Todd and the Meet The Press audience about our climate change crisis. 

With a an eerie blue photograph from the space station as a backdrop to show how thin the earth’s protective atmosphere is, he told Todd, “If you could drive to the top of that blue line, drive straight up in the air at interstate highway speed, you’d get to the top of that line in about five minutes, and below would be all the greenhouse gas pollution.

“We’re using that as an open sewer, dumping 162 million tons into it every day, and the accumulated amount now traps as much heat in it as would be released by 600,000 Hiroshima class atomic bombs exploding on the earth every day.

“And we have the solutions! Renewable energy from wind and solar is now cheaper in almost the entire world than electricity from fossil fuel. Those utilities here in the U.S. that have doubled down on gas are seeing their rates go up, while those who are picking solar and wind (are seeing) their rates (go) down!”

Flip A Switch

Earlier in the interview, he had made an amazing assertion.

“If we got to true net-zero, the temperatures on earth would stop going up with a lag time as little as three to five years, almost as if we flipped a switch. And if we stayed at true net zero, then half of the human-caused CO2 emissions would fall out of the atmosphere in as little as 25 to 30 years. And we have the solutions available! We need to deploy them quickly.”

Gore identified the necessary action steps:

“Public sentiment is changing very dramatically, but we need more grassroots action on the part of Americans, not only in the upcoming congressional races and the presidential race in 2024, but in the local races and in the state elections as well.

“We the people have to solve this and we have to instruct those who are in positions of leadership to start doing the right thing. Our survival as a species may depend upon it!”

We The People

This clarion call touched all the civics bases in an 11-minute interview: “we the people,” “grassroots action,” “congressional, presidential, local, and state races,”  “instruct those who are in positions of leadership to start doing the right thing.” 

Finally, he said, “The one thing that Sen. (Joe) Manchin said that I really agree with is that if we want more pro-climate policies, we need to elect more pro-climate senators and representatives in both parties.”

Americans who have grandchildren, Americans who have children, Americans who wish to enjoy life unthreatened by one climate-related disaster after another, need to pay attention to Al Gore’s words.

In that short interview, the former vice president clarified what is at stake and the solution. And he made clear that the next step is up to us: elect pro-climate public officials at all levels.

The Power of the Ballot Box

There is no time to wait. There is no more depending on others. There is only one way: use the power of the ballot box.

Go to the NC State Board of Elections website (https://www.ncsbe.gov/) or the Forsyth County Board of Elections (https://forsyth.cc/ELECTIONS/) to assure your registration is current, to learn how to register or update your registration with a paper form or online, how to vote absentee, the dates and locations of early voting in Forsyth County, and how to become a poll worker.

To see the Meet The Press interview on YouTube, search for AL GORE ON MEET THE PRESS.

Howard Pearre retired after a career as a counselor and manager with N.C. Vocational Rehabilitation and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. He has led training workshops on voter registration and is a board member with Winston-Salem Writers.