The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk. And even more — if more should be required — the future of human civilization is at stake.
Interpretation
Al Gore emphasizes the urgency of addressing risks to both the U.S. and global civilization.
In this quote, Al Gore warns of the critical threats facing the United States and humanity as a whole, suggesting that these challenges require immediate attention and action. He implies that the survival of our democratic values and the continuity of civilization depend on our response to these risks, urging a proactive approach to safeguarding our future.
In practice
In a speech about climate change, one might reference this quote to highlight the importance of sustainable policies.
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.
That useful alterations will be suggested by experience, could not but be foreseen . . . . It moreover equally enables the general and state governments to originate the amendment of errors as they may be pointed out by the experience on one side or on the other.
If you like your healthcare plan, you'll be able to keep your healthcare plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.
We could get more action in the South because the Negroes had a feeling that they were being oppressed. But you take New York, for example: they'd give Negroes little five-cent jobs here and there - and they thought they had something. And the same in Chicago and any of the metropolitan areas.
If current technological processes continue without change, the environment will change, and we, the human species, will either have to mutate or even die, to disappear, as many species have disappeared.
Let us come together before we're annihilated.
Renew thyself completely each day.
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