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Al Gore calls for civil disobedience
Posted by Glenn Hurowitz at 12:44 PM on 16 Aug 2007
Read more about: Al Gore | climate | climate change mitigation | politics | grassroots activism
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From The New York Times's Nicholas Kristof ($ub req'd):

I ran into Al Gore at a climate/energy conference this month, and he vibrates with passion about this issue -- recognizing that we should confront mortal threats even when they don't emanate from Al Qaeda.

"We are now treating the Earth's atmosphere as an open sewer," he said, and (perhaps because my teenage son was beside me) he encouraged young people to engage in peaceful protests to block major new carbon sources.

"I can't understand why there aren't rings of young people blocking bulldozers," Mr. Gore said, "and preventing them from constructing coal-fired power plants."
Say it, Al! But it's not just young people who need to do it -- everyone needs to join in, starting with you. Shutting down coal plants, blockading palm-oil importers like Imperium Renewables and other rainforest destroyers, and stopping work at oil refineries could move the climate debate beyond just personal action and put the spotlight squarely on the big polluters who are the real culprits behind the problem.

This could be Al Gore's Gandhi moment (especially appropriate for a Nobel Peace Prize nominee). It would be great if you (in conjunction with say, Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network, and other civil disobedience-oriented environmental groups) announced a day of civil disobedience to confront polluters -- and were the first one to get arrested. You'll find thousands of people, myself included, to back you up.

If you're interested in being one of those people, click here to send Al Gore a fax letting him know you're ready to participate in civil disobedience on behalf of the planet.

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Yes, say it, Al... but your question as to why young people aren't forming rings around bulldozers is exactly what you wrote about in The Assault On Reason... the politics of fear. People feel cowed in this country and with the Patriot Act and Military Commissions Act still in place that this Congress has still done nothing to repeal I really cannot say I totally blame them. However, I think it goes beyond that as many people still aren't aware of the true urgency of this crisis yet because of the lies of the media and the lobby you even eluded to that is spending millions of dollars in a campaign to discredit the science and cause doubt in peoples' minds about its existence and the causes of it.

And believe it or not, not all Americans have even seen your movie yet, or read the book, or know the science around global warming. They are not going to protest something they do not understand and something they do not see as an imminent threat to their own lifestyles. Comfort and convenience hold huge sway in this country regarding peoples' decisions.

And realistically, they will question just how we should go about doing this in a country where it is more and more difficult to stand up for what you believe in. And they will question why they even need to do so if there is a Congress that is supposed to be doing the right thing in making sure these coal fired plants are not now built unless they have sequestration mechanisms attached to them, as voting in this country is supposed to be how our voices are heard.

Of course, I also believe a big reason why is because people and many of them young people are too distracted and yes, spoiled to care about this planet. Technology and the Internet are wonderful things, but they can also be distractions with video games and other ways of keeping them entertained without giving them the knowledge they need to even begin to care about this catastrophe, and it even goes to the lack of civics education in our schools where children are not taught about this Constitution, past sacrifices made to preserve it, and what Democracy entails if it is to thrive. This is not the country of Thomas Jefferson any longer, unfortunately, and that is a reality we must deal with.

And then of course, we have the groups that have done nothing on the Internet but stear people into thinking they need not do anything because you are going to fly down in your superman cape and save us all, so why should they feel compelled to do anything if they believe you or someone else is going to save them? That is why I believe that mindset and that kind of rhetoric is not any more helpful to this cause now than those actively working against you on the other side to discredit your words, because it has politicized it and caused a partisan rift that also impedes success.

You stated in an interview just recently that people are becoming more environmentally aware but that we aren't close yet to where we need to be...Well, to me these are just some of the reasons why.

I can only hope that the three year blitz planned through The Alliance For Climate Protection will move those who are too complacent, lazy, distracted, afraid, ignorant of this topic, or just tying this into a partsan political agenda. But as you stated it will take more work on the part of those of us who are awake to awaken others, and that is where I believe you come in as the link to that grassroots effort unlike any other.

Frankly, I think boycotts and hitting them in their wallets is a great form of civil disobedience that can also be very effective and if successful can lead to other forms of standing up ... however, to boycott gas is not now even feasible as for many of us there is no other option. So perhaps when the people out here who are poor and who cannot afford other options that are either not available to them now or out of their reach financially get the feeling that business and govenment is behind them on this, perhaps then they will demand change. I think it works both ways.

I would gladly join you on a picket line, Mr. Gore to stop a bulldozer from laying foundation to a carbon spewing coal plant if I thought it would actually stop it from being built, but unfortunately, I don't think it would stop it based on the above, and therein lies the biggest part of this problem that is the biggest obstacle for the poorer masses to fight: MONEY RULES.

As the Times article excerpt (which was all I could read since I don't subscribe to Times Select) stated, this could well be your Gandhi moment, but I believe it could also be as well for many of us. However, that fear not only of speaking out but of change is a powerful force, Mr. Gore, and as you also stated in your book is the enemy of reason.

We then need to ovecome that fear first, and in my view that cannot be done unless more people in this country are armed with truth. Your movie should then be available to anyone to download anywhere in the world. People need to set up groups that coordinate boycotts against these companies that last for more than one day.

And to me the crux of all of this is teaching our children about civics and citizenship. You cannot expect protest in any form without a good foundation being laid first. So while I believe many people are not doing all they could be doing now, I also believe that they cannot be entirely held to blame when the system that brought this on us is continually allowed to hold sway over our lives by those who do have the power to change it. Just my two cents. But once again, thank you for your leadership on this crucial crisis and for giving people hope that the fear that paralyzes our reason can be overcome.

I will stand at the barricades with you anytime.