His latest 7500 words on climate change—No mention of leading cause.
Al Gore, as he appeared in the Rolling Stone article. Still heavy, but probably 100 pounds lighter since he reportedly became vegan about a year ago.
And I read every single word of his new Rolling Stone article (link below), losing all hope after the first 1,000 that he was EVER going to mention the leading cause.
Some may argue that our food choices are NOT the #1 cause. That’s debatable, but without a doubt, it’s the ONLY primary driver that can be changed quickly?
Why did I think that he might mention food choices? After all, we’re talking about the same bureaucrat who won the Nobel Prize for his 2006 movie about global warming. He didn’t mention the #1 cause then, why would he mention it now?
Call me naive, but I was just thinking that since he announced that he had become a vegan, that he must’ve been exposed to ALL of the plethora of benefits that nature bestows upon us when we start eating the natural diet for our species. I was hoping that he had finally learned the truth and that he was about to become that powerful leader (with integrity, courage and audacity) that we so desperately need. I was wrong.
Al Gore has let us down again. And guess what? I’m thinking that he actually does know the truth, but doesn’t think that the public can handle the truth. Reminds me of this scene from “A Few Good Men.”
This is a perfect example of why I chose Ted Turner as the global leader that I would pick if I only had one choice. That’s because Ted, unlike Gore and most politicians, has a healthy combination of ALL of the following attributes. Mr. Gore is missing at least three of the five. Can you figure out what they are?
- Courage
- Integrity (driven to do “what’s right,” despite the consequences)
- Influence
- Recognition
- Audacity (means extraordinary boldness, courage or chutzpah. Wikipedia)
Don’t waste your time reading his Rolling Stone article. I have provided a link to it below just in case you want to take a look for yourself. What you will find is an incredibly long list of activities, requiring global coordination, in the next ten years if we’re going to have a ghost of a chance of beginning the shift to renewable energy in a big way.
How could I expect anything different? A career politician can only think of political solutions to all problems. This time, it’s not going to work. It’s too late to tell people to start voting for people who talk about the reality of the climate crisis.
It’s time to attack the #1 cause with a vengeance. Instead, Gore attacks the #2 cause with politics. He writes:
Most importantly, now is the time to support candidates who accept the reality of the climate crisis and are genuinely working hard to solve it – and to bluntly tell candidates who are not on board how much this issue matters to you. If you are willing to summon the resolve to communicate that blunt message forcefully – with dignity and absolute sincerity – you will be amazed at the political power an individual can still wield in America’s diminished democracy.
How much does this issue matter to you Mr. Gore? So much so that you write a 7500-word article in Rolling Stone and never mention the #1 cause of our climate crisis. My friend in Singapore, who referred me to this article, reviewed your work succinctly:
By the way…. Al Gore’s latest long article in Rolling Stone is a BORE. It’s really a shame.
The Bottom Line. Al Gore probably thinks we’re all too stupid to be able to handle the truth. He leads off by telling us that everything’s going to be okay.
Without telling us how quickly all humans could eliminate the #1 cause of global warming by simply changing our food choices—he writes 7,500 words telling us how millions of leaders and politicians in 200 countries are going to work together quickly on thousands of problems in order to start reducing the #2 cause of global warming—the burning of fossil fuels.
He writes this “message of hope” as the general population of the world continues sleepwalking off of a cliff…because of “leaders” who won’t tell them the truth about the cliff.
The forward journey for human civilization will be difficult and dangerous, but it is now clear that we will ultimately prevail. The only question is how quickly we can accelerate and complete the transition to a low-carbon civilization. —Al Gore
One of my readers asked me recently why I hadn’t reached out to Al Gore—and appealed to him for the critical leadership needed? The short answer is that I have yet to observe any leadership qualities in Mr. Gore.
What does “leadership” mean to you? What’s the difference between leaders and managers? Think about the difference between Ted Turner and Al Gore as you read over this list that I compiled to help show what leadership means to me:
- Managers concentrate on strategy — Leaders nurture culture
- Managers wield authority — Leaders apply influence
- Managers consider dangers — Leaders seek opportunity
- Managers seek markets — Leaders serve people
- Managers control people – Leaders empower people
- Managers employ consistency — Leaders elicit creativity
- Managers see complexity — Leaders see simplicity
- Managers refine — Leaders revolutionize
- Managers are skeptical — Leaders are optimistic
- Managers perform duties — Leaders pursue dreams
- Source article, July 2014. The Turning Point: New Hope for the Climate, Al Gore in Rolling Stone.
- You want leadership? See yesterday’s post. If I could pick just one leader, it would be Ted Turner.
- Food Choices. The primary cause of global warming? Dedicated to the memory of the great climate specialist Dr. Robert Goodland. 2-4-14.
- Livestock & Climate Change, the 2009 document by World Bank Researchers Goodland and Anhang. Published on the Worldwatch Institute website.
- World Bank. Global Action to Reverse Climate Change on World Environment Day
- Truth about climate change. New (June 2014 article in the journal, Global Change Biology (provided by the late Dr. Robert Goodland’s co-researcher, Jeff Anhang.)
The following five books and one DVD can be purchased on Amazon for a grand total of less than $60—and will enable you to understand the overwhelming challenges we face—along with the single most-powerful solution of all.
Six-Pack from Hicks—for health, hope & harmony on planet Earth
- Healthy Eating, Healthy World, The “big picture” about food (our book)
- A life changer for millions, including James Cameron. Forks Over Knives DVD
- An essential scientific resource: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell; the primary book that influenced Bill Clinton to adopt a whole food, plant-based diet.
- What have we done to our planet? Full Planet, Empty Plates by Lester Brown
- A horrifying wake-up call for leaders. TEN BILLION by Dr. Stephen Emmott
- Food choices are the primary cause of our environmental problems, yet our world leaders, scientists & experts are Comfortably Unaware, by Richard Oppenlander.
Why should we be eating mostly plants? The “big picture” in 4 minutes.
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J. Morris Hicks, engineer. writer. big picture guy. 
It seems odd that you support Ted Turner, who believes meat is nutritious. How about finding the rich and smart person who also supports a plant based diet?
Hi Mike, You’re right, on the surface, it does seem odd. But, when you consider that there are ZERO fully-enligtened, powerful leaders or billionaires who are passionate about the world-saving power of plant-based eating—where do we start? I chose to start looking for just one powerful leader—-someone who already has integrity, global name recognition and a history of caring for the environment. When you think about it, that’s a pretty short list. If you read my blogs about him, you will know more about why I chose Ted.
Of course, I am aware that everyone seems to have a few things they don’t like about Ted Turner, but most of them have probably have not read his biography. Yes, Ted has a chain of restaurants that serve bison and many other meat-based entrees. And, yes, he thinks they’re nutritious meals and is unaware of the horrible environmental damage they inflict.
That’s because he, like all of us, have been mis-informed by the healthcare community and the environmental community. And when he realizes that he’s been duped all these years about the most important things in life—-he’s going to be one mad cowboy. And that’s exactly what we need.
Once Ted Turner really “gets it,” he’ll be able to quickly line up all the other leaders and billionaires that will be able to influence a rapid, global dietary shift in the direction of plant-based foods.
Be well, Jim Hicks
You may enjoy my new song called Food Revolution. Thanks for all you do to support the plant-based movement. I totally agree with you about Al Gore, et. al.
Jon Epstein
We have created a petition to ask Al Gore to start talking about this issue openly. It can be found at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/al-gore-animal-agriculture-and-climate-change/
RE: GHGs from animal ag: Walk into any grocery store; refrigeration, which is the largest electricity consumer in a store, is largely needed to slow down the rotting of animal products. In food preparation in delis in the store, the largest amount of energy is again used for animal products to ensure killing the bacteria that would otherwise harm us. This, of course, doesn’t include any of the GHG BEFORE the animal products get into the store.
The documentary, Cowspiracy, which premiered in San Francisco last night, takes Al Gore and other Big Green environmental organizations to task on this issue. Here’s a review…
http://climatehealers.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cowspiracy-bending-the-arc-of-the-moral-universe
Ouch. A scathing review, but well earned by Mr. Gore. Thanks for not being afraid to be unpopular, Jim! I sure think you are awesome!