Tag Archives: Al Gore

Nobel laureate, Al Gore, accused the United States of blocking progress at the UN climate conference. He urged delegates to take strong measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases which are a major source of greenhouse gases. He bluntly told the audience, “My own country, the United States, is principally responsible for obstructing progress here in Bali.” Kristen Hellmer, a member of the american delegation responded with “the U.S. is being open and working very constructively with other countries that are here. We are rolling our sleeves up and really working to come up with a global post-2012 framework.” The United States, Japan and several other nations are refusing to accept the language in a draft document that seeks a 25%-40% reduction in emissions by 2020. European nations are threatening to boycott a Bush climate meeting next month in Washington unless the United States compromises on its negative stand for compulsory and specific goals for reduction of emissions.

Al Gore said the right thing by urging nations to reach an agreement with or without the approval of the Bush government. He assured delegates that “over the next two years, the United States is going to be somewhere it is not now” in an apparent reference to his hope a new Democratic president would be more receptive to action on global warming. The United States is the world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gases and the world is growing weary of Bush obstruction of the movement towards controlling global warming. Undoubtedly, Rush Limbaugh and other right wing commentators will blast Al Gore for “insulting America” and taking the side of “foreigners.” There are no foreigners when it comes to global warming, we are all inhabitants of the same planet and what is done by one nation impacts all. This is something the ignorant people in the Bush administration fail to grasp even as they censor scientific reports which contradict official policies that all is well in the world. Al Gore spoke not merely as an American patriot, but as a human patriot.