There is an air of unreality in debating these arcane points when the world is changing in such dramatic ways right in front of our eyes because of global warming.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of addressing crucial global issues like climate change rather than getting lost in trivial debates.
Al Gore highlights the urgency of confronting the realities of global warming and the significant changes it brings to the world. He suggests that focusing on obscure debates seems irrelevant when faced with the dramatic transformations occurring in our environment, underscoring the need for immediate action and awareness regarding climate change.
In practice
Using this quote in a speech about environmental policy can underscore the need for urgent action.
Global warming is real and human activity is the main cause. The consequences are mainly negative and headed toward catastrophic, unless we act. However, the good news is that we can meet this challenge. It is not too late, and we have everything we need to get started.
The climate crisis is not a political issue; it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level.
I think it's harder for people than it should be. But as more and more of us become carbon neutral and change the patterns in our lives to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem, we are now beginning to see the changes in policy that are needed.
We have a planetary emergency. We have to find a way to create, in the generation of those alive today, a sense of generational mission.
CO2 is the exhaling breath of our civilization, literally... Changing that pattern requires a scope, a scale, a speed of change that is beyond what we have done in the past.
Well-established theories collapse under the weight of new facts and observations which cannot be explained, and then accumulate to the point where the once useful theory is clearly obsolete.
Sometimes you got to hurt something to help something. Sometimes you have to plow under one thing in order for something else to grow.
You can't change the world; you can't fix the whole environment. But you can recycle. You can turn the water off when you're brushing your teeth. You can do small things.
We demand in the Reconstruction suffrage for all the citizens of the Republic. I would not talk of Negroes or women, but of citizens.
The world must become aware of the fantastic transformational power of social entrepreneurship and the Foundation will work as a catalyst in this effort.
When it comes to dealing with the world's climate and energy challenges, I have a simple rule: change America, change the world.
There will always be men struggling to change, and there will always be those who are controlled by the past.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.