On July 17, 2008 Al Gore issued A Generational Challenge to Repower America: “Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years.” This challenge, by far the most aggressive environmental call to action in history, is in his words, “achievable, affordable and transformative.”
Gore has been working vigorously to confront the threat of global warming for over 30 years. I credit my personal eco-awakening to Al Gore and the day that I saw An Inconvenient Truth, the documentary about global warming, based on a powerpoint presentation that he has been giving across the globe for many years. After seeing the film, I felt shell-shocked, afraid and disheartened: my early “post-Truth” period. But the overall theme that stayed with me in the weeks that followed was that we can change the course that we are on and that we already possess the technology that is required. It is just a matter of convincing the world that it is necessary to change the way we all live. And Al Gore is leading the charge.
I believe that our nation is up to his challenge. Renewable energy sources and the technology to harness the energy produced exist today in surplus. By producing electricity with solar, wind and geothermal power, we can begin to curb our dangerous global warming emissions and free ourselves from our dependence on unsustainable fossil fuels. And Americans, while sometimes slow to embrace change, have decided that it is indeed time for major change.
I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Gore speak in person at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco in April 2007. As I waited anxiously in my seat, the audience was directed to write out any questions for him and turn them in within the first half hour of the presentation, and that he would answer as many as time allowed. I decided at the last minute to ask something that had been on my mind. I scrambled to write out my question in the darkness of the auditorium and passed it down the row to the usher. And then, at the end of the evening, my question, the third of three, was posed to the former Vice President:
“What are your views on carbon offsets purchased directly by consumers?”
A carbon offset is a monetary contribution to an organization that helps fund carbon-reducing projects such as renewable energy and reforestation, therefore offsetting another measurable amount of carbon emissions. I had recently purchased a Road TerraPass to offset my own vehicle’s emissions, and while I believed that I was doing the right thing, I had read about protests that had been staged at carbon offset organizations worldwide; that purchasing offsets was ‘nothing more than relief of the guilt associated with living a polluting lifestyle.’ I had even passed a few picketers on the way into the Masonic, shouting the same viewpoint. I knew this wasn’t the case for me. I had just recently traded in my gas guzzling pickup truck for a Ford Escape Hybrid and had wanted to do even more. I longed for validation that my decision to offset was sound.
Gore’s answer, simplified, was that carbon offsets are important in the short term. While not a long-term solution, they would begin to flow investment dollars into renewable energy projects, to show that renewable energy production was viable and would eventually help to lead the major energy players in the market in the same direction. His answer led to a disruptive outburst from some protesters in the audience, for which I felt a twinge of guilt. But Gore handled it with dignity and class.
So how can we each contribute to the success of this monumental challenge? As consumers, we can purchase carbon offsets and donate to organizations that promote renewable energy production while at the same time curbing our individual energy consumption. As U.S. citizens, we can communicate with our elected officials and let them know where we stand on increasingly important environmental issues. And as human beings, we can share what we know and learn with our families and friends.
Al Gore’s challenge may seem daunting now, but when we stand together, we can accomplish anything.