There are skeptics who do not come to their view because they have a source of income from carbon polluters.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the conflict of interest that can arise when financial incentives affect people's beliefs and opinions.
Al Gore emphasizes the idea that some individuals maintain a skeptical view on climate change not solely based on their understanding or evidence, but rather due to external influences, particularly financial ones from entities that profit from carbon emissions. This suggests that one's stance on important issues can be shaped by monetary interests, calling into question the integrity and authenticity of their beliefs.
In practice
In a debate about climate policies, this quote can illustrate how economic motivations may shape public opinions.
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.
After the Manchu government had carried on wars with foreign nations and had been defeated, China was forced to sign many unequal treaties. Foreign nations are still using these treaties to bind China, and as a result, China fails at whatever she attempts.
And no, it wasn't shame I now felt, or guilt, but something rarer in my life and stronger than both: remorse. A feeling which is more complicated, curdled, and primeval. Whose chief characteristic is that nothing can be done about it: too much time has passed, too much damage has been done, for amends to be made.
Understand that we are all co-creators of our respective destinies.
To be popular one must be a mediocrity.
Sin is hell, grace is heaven; what madness it is to look more at hell than heaven.
You lose your individuality a huge amount when you have no money, and I certainly had that experience.
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