Inconvenient Youth: Al Gore’s New Earth Day Initiative

April 22nd, 2010 - Barbara Feiner

Today is Earth Day, and teens who want to make a difference in the fight against climate change now have a place to share their pledges, actions and ideas.

Inconvenient Youth, the Alliance for Climate Protection’s new teen education initiative, launches today. The program will also enable five teens to participate in upcoming in-person training with Nobel Laureate and former Vice President Al Gore.

“Inconvenient Youth is built on the belief that teens can help lead efforts to solve the climate crisis,” Gore says. “It will give this generation—which has a unique stake in this issue—a chance to organize and exchange ideas with other young people who want to do their part to address the climate crisis. Perhaps most importantly, this initiative was inspired by youth and shaped by youth, with their unique viewpoint guiding it forward.”

“It’s not a website; it’s a community,” explains program manager Sam Davidson. “We are building a community—a place where people engage, encourage and empower one another to take action. We’re not broadcasting ‘green tips’ from on high; we’re creating a space where teens can share their ideas and their solutions.”

Interested teens can visit the organization’s website from now until May 15 and apply for the opportunity to attend a Gore-led training session in June.

Students will go through a committee review process. Those selected will become official presenters who can deliver a new slide show to their local communities based on Gore’s latest book, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis.

“The ultimate goal of Inconvenient Youth, at least for me, is to provide ideas and to consciously act on those ideas, while pursuing efforts that make obstacles entirely irrelevant,” says Shilpi Misra, a member of the teen advisory board.

Tags: activism, al gore, climate change, Earth Day, environment, teens
Posted in Parenting, The Environment | 1 Comment »

Climate Change and the Big Picture

February 21st, 2010 - Barbara Feiner

I have relatives in Virginia who have been hoping their roof doesn’t collapse from the extraordinary weight of recent snowfalls.

A short ride away, some Washington politicians, including science-challenged Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), have been using Snowmageddon to ridicule those who seek action on climate change. DeMint tweeted: “It’s going to keep snowing in DC until Al Gore cries ‘uncle.’”

The brain freeze appears to be contagious. Sen. James Inhofe’s (R-OK) family constructed an igloo near the Capitol, with a sign reading: “Al Gore’s New Home.”

Time magazine’s Bryan Walsh correctly dismissed such juvenile antics, explaining what’s clear to most people: “Weather is what will happen next weekend; climate is what will happen over the next decades and centuries.”

If Al Gore made any mistake, it was one of nomenclature. In a recent interview with MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, Newsweek Senior Washington Correspondent Howard Fineman said conservative skeptics would have less to mock if the former vice president had used the term “climate change” instead of “global warming.”

“I do think that labels matter,” Fineman said. “And in retrospect, simply focusing on warming was a mistake, just in terms of the politics and the salesmanship of what is undoubtedly a really, really big problem.”

Nonbelievers should heed the interests of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who will inherit a sickly Earth. Padding their pockets with hefty contributions from Big Oil is what will happen next weekend. The ability to survive is what will happen over the next decades and centuries.

For Your Organic Bookshelf: The Thirteen American Arguments: Enduring Debates That Define and Inspire Our Country, by Howard Fineman

Tags: al gore, climate change, environment, Political Action
Posted in Political Action, The Environment | 4 Comments »

Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis

October 15th, 2009 - Barbara Feiner

Former Vice President Al Gore’s follow-up to An Inconvenient Truth will be released on Nov. 3.

Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis is available for preorder at Amazon, which is offering a 34% discount (retail price: $26.99; Amazon price: $17.81). An abridged audiobook (CDs) is also available (retail price: $29.99; Amazon price: $19.79).

The book is printed on locally produced and sourced 100% recycled paper, with low-VOC inks.

“An Inconvenient Truth reached millions of people with the message that the climate crisis is threatening the future of human civilization and that it must and can be solved,” says Gore, co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his environmental work. “Now that the need for urgent action is even clearer with the alarming new findings of the last three years, it is time for a comprehensive global plan that actually solves the climate crisis.”

As with An Inconvenient Truth, Gore will donate 100% of the new book’s proceeds to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group dedicated to spreading awareness of the climate crisis.

From Our Organic Blog

Tags: al gore, climate change, environment, global warming
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Students Learn “An Inconvenient Truth”

March 1st, 2007 - Barbara Feiner

A big organic shout out to former Vice President Al Gore, Oscar winner! And kudos to two of England’s leaders, Environment Secretary David Miliband and Education Secretary Alan Johnson, who are sending copies of Best Documentary An Inconvenient Truth to every secondary school in the country. (Not likely to happen in the United States…)

“The debate over the science of climate change is well and truly over, as demonstrated by the publication of [the ] report by the IPCC,” Miliband says. “Our energies should now be channeled into how we respond in an innovative and positive way in moving to a low-carbon future. I was struck by the visual evidence the film provides, making clear that the changing climate is already having an impact on our world today, from Mount Kilimanjaro to the Himalayan mountains. As the film shows, there’s no reason to feel helpless in the face of this challenge. Everyone can play a part, along with government and business, in making a positive contribution in helping to prevent climate change.”

“With rising sea temperatures, melting ice caps and frequent reminders about our own ‘carbon footprints,’ we should all be thinking about what we can do to preserve the planet for future generations,” Johnson adds. “Children are the key to changing society’s long-term attitudes toward the environment. Not only are they passionate about saving the planet, but children also have a big influence over their own families’ lifestyles and behavior. Al Gore’s film is a powerful message about the fragility of our planet, and I’m delighted that we are able to make sure every secondary school in the country has a copy to stimulate children into discussing climate change and global warming in school classes.”

The DVD will go to 3,385 secondary schools in England, part of a Sustainable Schools year of action to make them models of sustainable best practices.

Book Pick of the Day: An Inconvenient Truth

Tags: al gore, an inconvinient truth, climate change, global warming
Posted in The Environment | 2 Comments »

“An Inconvenient Truth” for Kids

January 17th, 2007 - Barbara Feiner

As a parent dedicated to organic living and environmental awareness, you’ll be pleased to hear that former Vice President Al Gore’s best-selling book, An Inconvenient Truth, will be adapted for young readers.

An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis Of Global Warming will be available in April. The 208-page book, created for children 11 and older, will be published by Viking Children’s Books/ Rodale Books.

“There is no doubt that young people today are more aware of environmental problems than my generation ever was,” says Gore, who will donate all of his profits to the campaign to fight global warming. “As this new generation comes of age, it faces the enormous challenge of solving global warming. That’s why I felt it was so important to adapt An Inconvenient Truth for them. In order to fix this crisis, everyone needs to be involved. I have faith that young people have both the ability and the enthusiasm to put a stop to global warming.”

Doug Whiteman, president of Penguin Young Readers Group, is excited about bringing Gore’s message to a younger audience.

“As I sat in a theater watching Vice President Gore deliver his message on film,” he says, “it struck me that if we are to make an impact on the problem of global warming in the near future, we must find a way to bring the message to a younger audience—to the generation that has the opportunity to effect real change.”

Tags: al gore, an inconvinient truth, environmental awareness, global warming
Posted in The Environment | 2 Comments »

Warming Up to Al Gore

July 20th, 2006 - Barbara Feiner

Kudos to Entertainment Weekly for putting Al Gore on this week’s cover.

In the lead story, writer Benjamin Svetkey reveals the former vice president’s film, “An Inconvenient Truth,” has grossed $15 million in the United States and “is projected to earn another $10–15 million with its release overseas next month (along with nobody-knows-how-many-more-million when the DVD arrives this fall).”

Ironically, a film that started off as a carousel-projector slide show that Gore delivered around the country has surpassed ticket sales for hit documentaries like Hoop Dreams, Super Size Me and Madonna—Truth or Dare, making “Truth” the fourth-highest-grossing non-IMAX, non-concert documentary of all time, according to Svetkey, who speculates that Gore “may even have a shot at snatching third place from Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine.”

Gore admits he was skeptical when first approached about turning his presentation into a film, but he’s thrilled that close to 2 million Americans have seen the “chilling” documentary (and he’s donating every cent he makes to The Alliance for Climate Protection). But the accolades he’s received have had a broader impact: Former critics of Gore the politician have turned into fans who now accept the premise that global warming is an incontrovertible scientific phenomenon, much to the chagrin of the petrochemical industry and the Bush administration. (The president has no plans to see the film, according to numerous newspaper reports.)

But as Gore tells Svetkey, “’This isn’t a political film. Global warming isn’t a political issue. It’s about the survival of the planet. Nobody is going to care who won or lost any election when the earth is uninhabitable.”

Click here to read the entire story, and click here to subscribe to Entertainment Weekly.
If you haven’t seen “Truth” and are dedicated to organic living, click here to order tickets online.

10 Things to Do

June 12th, 2006 - Barbara Feiner

I’m pleased to report that Al Gore’s documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, has made the Top 5 on the Moviefone ticket reservation service, and his book of the same name is No. 9 in sales on Amazon.com. (You go, Al!) Amazon is selling Truth for $13.17—a 40% discount over the list price of $21.95, and it’s hard to find a better deal.

Climatecrisis.org, the film’s official website, provides great information for Organic Authority readers who are concerned about global warming (and their skeptic friends), including a section that explains the fundamental science.

You can also download a well-designed handout called 10 Things to Do (PDF file) to help stop global warming. I encourage you to save it to your computer, print out copies and distribute them to friends, family and coworkers. The steps are surprisingly simple, mirroring fundamental concepts of organic living—from replacing regular light bulbs with fluorescents to regularly checking tire inflation, which improves gas mileage.

If you’ve already seen the film, please let us know what you think by posting a comment below.

An Inconvenient Truth

May 31st, 2006 - Barbara Feiner

I’m looking forward to seeing An Inconvenient Truth, the new film on global warming starring former Vice President Al Gore. It’s must-see cinema for environmentally conscious readers who are dedicated to organic living. The documentary weaves the science of global warming with Gore’s personal history and longtime commitment to communicating the need to reverse the effects of global climate change.

Reviews (at least the ones that count) have been glowing. New York Times reviewer A.O. Scott called it “surprisingly engaging,” “intellectually exhilarating” and “a necessary film.” Entertainment Weekly reviewer Owen Gleiberman gave the film an A-, noting that Gore is both funny and eloquent in his appeal to global-warming skeptics. Hats off to Paramount Classics, which will donate 5% of its domestic theatrical gross (with a minimum guarantee of $500,000) to The Alliance for Climate Protection, a new bipartisan advocacy group.

“I hope that An Inconvenient Truth will be an action movie in the truest sense of the phrase—that the film will motivate people to take action to address the climate crisis,” Gore says. “In addition, the more tickets that are sold, the more funds will be raised, giving the Alliance the opportunity to educate and galvanize millions more around this issue and inspire them to be a part of the solution.”

Alliance leaders are encouraging Americans to put pressure on the feds to make global warming a political imperative that fosters international cooperation to achieve emission reduction targets.

Click here to find a local theater showing An Inconvenient Truth. Click here to read an enlightening interview with Gore on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. Click here to view the film’s trailer and related video clips.