Actions, Not Words

In his quest to become the guiding light of the US, and maybe even the world, Al Gore has been Mother Nature's attorney in the fight with the Greenhouse effect. Like any good lawyer, Gore makes sure his tongue is quick on its proverbial feet, and when the audience was cast as judge, jury and executioner in Gore's now epic documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," he proved just how slick he could be when given the numbers to back him up. All he did was lay the facts out there and let us lap them up. That was undeniably a very effective tactic in promoting global knowledge of the environmental crises we face. But guess what. The gospel is out. Now, I do not doubt Gore's brains - I don't know anyone who would, but his resolve seems a little shaky.
Granted, "An Inconvenient Truth" was a powerful piece of cinematography, but at the same time, hypocrisy was more rampant than the Plague was in the Middle Ages. Other than in the auditorium, a lot of scenes were shot in airplanes or cars. What kind of message does that send out? I know I'm being a cynic, but if Jesus was an Infidel, his words and actions would have carried a lot less clout. I congratulate Gore for drawing together a posse determined on negating the Greenhouse Effect, but now is the time for action, so we need a role model who can show us the next step. Preferably not one who accumulates more airmiles in a year than most will in a lifetime. Sure, integrity and charisma are different things but it would be nice if in Gore's case there was some correlation.
Still, I understand his messiah-like status. In the years following the release of “An Inconvenient Truth,” global understanding and appreciation of the problems that could wreak havoc on mankind has increased tenfold. The Toyota Prius is one of the hottest-selling cars there is, thanks in no small part to celebrity endorsements from stars such as Leonardo Di Caprio and NHL defenseman, Scott Niedermayer. Likewise, hydrogen cars are now a reality. Recycling schemes are sprouting up everywhere. Gore has got the message through. Now time for direct action and deliverance of the gospel.
Point is, Al Gore said during a recent C-SPAN press conference that 100% of America’s energy needs could be derived from solar installations. I wasn’t listening very closely, but I didn’t hear any supplementary, hard fact. That amount of solar paneling would set the Treasury back quite some distance, probably well into the billions and so whilst there is potential, there are other important considerations to be made. More over, why such reluctance to adopt nuclear power? No current power source is as efficient, so if we are in the dire straits illustrated by Gore, urgent action is required. What should we do? Go Nuclear. No greenhouse emissions is all we need to know. Sure, nuclear waste is hazardous, but it’s not like a little vitrification can’t sort things out.
Modern humanity relies on power to live and simply couldn’t go cold turkey. Pollution of some form is a given, and we can control things, but at the same time, its about time we stopped hypothesizing and actually did something about this "impending disaster".