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As you have probably heard by now, Al Gore delivered his speech on "A Generational Challenge to Repower America," in Washington, D.C. today. Gore was noticeably trimmer and very presidential up amongst the American flags and backdrop of DAR Constitution Hall. Before he launched into his motivational talk, he gave a shout out to the VIP section -- a bipartisan array of senators and congressmen, musician Will.i.am, and Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr.
His vision wasn't just about tackling climate change, but instead a fundamental restructuring of our current energy plan, or lack thereof, for our own national and economic security. Gore received thunderous applause when he challenged our current operating procedure, such as how, "We're borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf," and calling on Americans to buck the status quo.
Gore's best received talking points were those that spoke to every American: the need for keeping jobs in the US while creating new ones, for keeping the country's resources at home (rather than fighting in "dangerous regions that just happen to have large oil supplies"), and ensuring new jobs for those displaced by the transition.
He also acknowledged the nation's collective ADD when explaining why he chose 10 years, and pointed out that after JFK promised to have a man on the moon in 10 years, it only took 8 years and 2 months.
Its hard to find fault with Gore's optimism and insinuation that if we follow his plan, not only will the economy rebound, but so will our international standing. But, while his speech may have been inspiring, Gore didn't talk about specifics -- what steps he was going to take to ensure his plan was implemented, how much is it going to cost, and how he plans on telling those invested in oil, gas and coal extraction that they no longer can access and sell their fossil fuels.
But such concerns were not shared by the rest of the audience, who gave Gore an extended standing ovation as he left the stage to U2's 'Beautiful Day'.
There was no Q&A period, so we had to go to the WeCanSolveIt.com website to get a response to Newt Gingrich's apparent conflict of interest. The Alliance for Climate Protections' Brian Hardwick wrote: "Clearly we have a fundamental disagreement on how to address our energy and climate challenges. We don't have plans to run the ad featuring Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich in the future."
We contacted American Solutions for Winning the Future for comment, but have not yet heard back. We'll let you know if that changes.
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