Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

As anyone who has followed my efforts regarding climate change knows, I have been writing to the UN to request that the post of UN Global Environmental Ambassador be instituted especially in light of the acceleration of the effects of climate change and the need for a true global environmental leader to bring all nations together to address this properly.

Well, Mr. Gore made another presentation at the UN this past Monday, September 24 as he did last September, so I have faxed a new letter to the new Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, entreating him to think about this position and the affect it could have on bringing about a cohesive global movement regarding this crisis to the forefront of the UN agenda with Mr. Gore as its leader. I faxed this to Mr. Gore's office along with my own letter to him regarding it.

Also in light of this story printed just this past April, I remain optimistic about this effort:

UN's Ban, Gore Discuss Climate Change

My letter:

Dear Secretary General Ki-moon;

Firstly, allow me to express my gratitude to you for making the climate crisis a primary concern of the UN. For me this crisis and how we react to it now will define us as a species. I am then writing to you as a citizen of the world who is very concerned regarding how this crisis will affect all of us, but chiefly the world's poor who on the whole do not have the education, information, tools, and opportunities they need to be able to face this crisis in a way that will lead them out of poverty and into a more sustainable future. No one in this world should die because they lack clean potable water or other necessary life sustaining resources, and they surely do not deserve to have to face a future of environmental devastation at the hands of those nations that pollute the most but shirk their moral duty and responsibility in being accountable for what has transpired in our world because of it.

My concern is also with us missing the opportunity on a global scale to join together in this moment for this common purpose with an environmental leader of sincerity and passion who can bring the world together and bring clarity to this most urgent moral challenge. Out of that concern I sent two letters to then Secretary General Kofi Annan regarding the possible introduction of a new UN post, Global Environmental Ambassador, and I requested that should such a post ever be considered that the Honorable Al Gore be appointed as the first Ambassador.

I did receive a response to my request from the Executive Office of the Secretary General dated October 18, 2006 which explained that the belief was that Mr. Gore's role at that time could not be enhanced further by appointment to such a post. While I do agree that his work has led to an increased and necessary awareness of this crisis in the past few years, I however do believe such a post would most certainly be a force regarding negotiations with world leaders regarding solutions considering that countries will be gathering to forge a new "Kyoto" style treaty hopefully by 2009.

I see Mr. Gore as an integral part of that process as a leading advocate for our global concerns, but more importantly as a voice of reason who has shown he has the ability to bring people together of all political, social, and economic backgrounds. Mr. Secretary General, as you well know our world is now heading on a collision course between growing populations (many in urban areas and living in poverty) and the continued un abated wasteful use of resources with climate change working faster than predicted against us to tip the scales.

Just from last October to this year, ice melt in the Arctic has been accelerating at a rate three times faster than scientists' predictions. Targets then must be set within this next year if we are to truly begin to see any sort of mitigation of the greenhouse gases that are responsible for the devastating droughts, desertification, and glacial melt we see taking place in Africa, Asia, Australia, and even now in the Southeastern and Southwestern United States.

I truly do believe our vision must begin with evasive action now, and that means having leaders that can inspire, motivate, negotiate, and who have a background in the moral, ethical, political, technological, and social issues that all come into play in any global treaty or global initiative that must move people to action. And we also need leaders who understand the plight of the poor in our world and who will not forget them, for they are the most important part of our future.

I then entreat you to once again consider my request, as I do believe this post would work in the favor of uniting many nations under a common purpose to begin the work we should have begun many years ago. I have attached the letter I sent to your office last year to then Secretary General Annan, and I thank you for your time in reading this letter.

Sincerely,
XXXXXXX

And that's my "two cents" because I am looking longterm beyond the status quo. Mr. Gore's dedication to solving this crisis means he should have the position and time necessary to devote to this. He is now an Ambassador to the world, and to me that far surpasses anything a president in the military industrial complex can do to motivate a global response to this crisis now. I have always believed that those who serve their conscience serve well. Mr. Gore is now living proof of that showing us all that we can and must do it too.

More regarding Mr. Gore's appearance and my response:

Joint attack on climate change and poverty needed, Al Gore tells audience at UN

24 September 2007
A new Marshall Plan is needed to simultaneously tackle global warming and poverty, the environmental activist and former United States Vice-President Al Gore told an audience at United Nations Headquarters in New York today. “We now face a global crisis that makes it abundantly clear that increased carbon dioxide emissions anywhere are a threat to the integrity of this planet’s climate everywhere,” Mr. Gore told a luncheon event called “Global Voices on Climate Change.” The event, hosted by Denmark, Indonesia, Kenya and Poland, was held on the sidelines of the largest-ever gathering of world leaders on climate change.

Increased emissions are responsible for rising temperatures and rising sea levels, which combine to elevate both food and water insecurity worldwide, Mr. Gore said.“The old divide between North and South, between developed and developing, is now obsolete,” he told the event’s participants, who included 40 heads of State or government, nine deputy prime ministers and vice presidents and 70 cabinet ministers from all over the world.“We must link poverty reduction with the sharp reduction of carbon dioxide emissions,” he noted, calling for a plan of attack like that of the Marshall Plan, the post-World War II European reconstruction initiative of the US – to tie the struggles against climate change and poverty.

end of excerpt

This is the reason why his work now is being rewarded, because he can now state what he could not state as a "candidate" in this system that rewards nothing but kowtowing to the corporate masters. Though, Mr. Gore, I hope when you made that statement you realized that it is the World Bank through their strings attached loan schemes that have bankrupted many countries with the promise of aid, especially regarding their bribery of countries in order to have their water systems privatized.

Privitization is not taking people out of poverty either, it is exacerbating it on the whole. We need to see micro loans and other types of opportunities made available to the poor along with the tools necessary, especially education and information to teach them how to meet this challenge without relying on organizatioins like the World Bank, the IMF, and other new world order type organizations seeking to keep the poor down in order to make themselves richer.

We have to recognize that water is a human right and hold corporations and governments accountable for using it as a weapon and exploiting its scarcity for their own gain like I believe John Howard of Australia has done.

We also have to bring small communities around the world into the alternate energy market to keep it local and to keep it out of the hands of conglomerates such as Archer Midland Daniels that are taking advantage of this water and food insecurity for their own benefit. Ethanol is not the answer. Bringing parity to the market, rewarding those companies that understand their moral and ethical responsibilities now, and introducing more to that process will spark innovations, jobs, and hope.

Keeping it in the hands of the same groups will do nothing but continue the viscious cycle we are in now. I know you understand that, and that is why through your Climate Project I hope to see the seeds of hope planted globally.

You are doing a great thing here, and I for one thank you for these words. I sincerely hope those you spoke them too understand this as well and begin to act on them now. We cannot save ourselves without ourselves.

And though I do not know if Mr. Gore will be going to Bali this December, he is scheduled to be in India:

Al Gore to make Indians aware of climate change

Seema Guha
Monday, September 24, 2007 05:22 IST
NEW DELHI: Ex-US vice-president Al Gore will be in India in the first week of December to conduct a two-day training programme on climate change.

His aim: To educate young Indians on environment and the dangers of global warming. Al Gore hopes these youngsters will sensitise people about the dangers of climate change.

He wants the youth to carry his message to dusty towns and villages of India and make corporates aware of their responsibilities. Al Gore Foundation has tied up with The Energy Research Institute (Teri) for the programme.

Teri executive director RK Pachauri is in New York to tie up the details. “The dates have not been finalised, though it will be in the first week of December,” he said.

This is wonderful news because the people of India especially in those dusty towns need this information badly to feel empowered. It is precisely in the areas of the world feeling the brunt of the climate changes without contributing the most to them that the people who are mostly poor not only have little to no information about what climate change even is and what it does, they are powerless to address it.

So thank you, Mr. Gore through your organization The Climate Project for putting this together. This is the kind of work that to me goes far beyond just being a "president." This goes to the heart of the matter.