Political Will Is a Renewable Resource

Al Gore speaks at the Sierra Summit, Friday September 9, 2005. Photo by Tim Lesle

by John Byrne Barry Plenary Session Al Gore - The full transcript of the speech is available. Former Vice President Al Gore quoted Winston Churchill, Upton Sinclair, the Bible, and President George W. Bush, and the contrast was not pretty. Gore, who received multiple standing ovations from an audience of 2,000 at the opening morning of Sierra Summit 2005, made good use of quotes as well as references to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath to underscore his theme of moral responsibility in a time of crisis, specifically global warming. (He also got some well-deserved laughs along the way -- see "The Comedy of Al Gore.") Gore went to the Churchill well the most. "We are entering a period of consequence," said Churchill as the the storm was gathering over Europe before World War II. Gore drew a parallel to the current situation regarding global warming. Just as was the case with Europe in the 1930s, "the warnings about global warming," he said, "have been extremely clear for a long time." Churchill also acknowledged that many of his countrymen did not want to prepare for war. He understood their desire to deny reality, but said they should hear the truth, that it was a time to "recover our moral health." He pulled one quote from Upton Sinclair: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." His Bible reference: "When there is no vision, the people perish." And then President Bush: "Nobody could have predicted the levees would break."

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