The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

did you ask the hilary / monica question? tell me you didnt chicken out? you fucking wimp.

and gore is a fat bastard is he? you wouldnt think it so can you get me the name of where he buys his fat fucker clothes.

ps; tom you are a fucking scruffy bastard legend

While I didn’t have the honour of a private session with Mr Gore (I wouldn’t want to go, even if I had been invited) I agree his speech felt a bit anti-climatic. I think it was because it all seemed stage managed, right down to the bit at the end where he became a bit more animated and vocal. It was certainly interesting and he does seem to really care about the issue, but when you compare him to how Sir Bob or Richard Branson talk, he does come across as having the Singapore version of passion. 🙂
And you’re right, he is huge. I spent half the time looking at how big he was and did you see his cuban healed shoes?

Great question. Classic moral philosophy. I’m impressed. I like.

George..

Anti climatic/Singapore passion. Is that like a ‘I’m having an orgasm laa?’

^5 guys!

And would you mind telling me how you got to break bread with Mr Gore in the first place? I am assuming, or should I say hoping, it was the involvement of your influential friends, because the thought that Gore himself wished to speak to you is too much for little old me to bare.

It was a great post and I love your openness (as always) but here’s my question: Do people have to be charismatic to get things done?

I know that’s not what you were saying. I think you were hoping for more honesty. But what if he’s really bad at public speaking and meeting strangers and answering controversial questions (that he could easily answer wrong get spun in the media in a way that harms his chance to do more good.)

Clearly he is bad at it.

Look, that kind of wooden auto pilot bugs me too. But Bush got elected based on his charm and look where that got us.

I guess what I’m saying is that it feels like a small point to tear him down on. And each time we do that, it take away a tiny piece of his effectiveness to get more things done.

Maybe I’m saying this too, because I feel like we need strong symbols in this cause right now. And (until he runs for President) he still is that. Ironically, its probably his geek-ness that got him so deeply into this issue. I actually have a text book from uni that he co-wrote.

Anyway, my two cents. Have a great rest of your trip. -Em

has rob let you down too marcus. shame, fucking shame. now to break the habit of a lifetime and seriously comment about emily’s comment.
emily i know what youre saying, a man should not be judged by his charisma alone but most successful “movements” have a person at the top who is charismatic, passionate/angry, empathetic, engaging and a voice of the masses because this makes issues relevant and interesting to them and taps into the human need of wanting someone to “believe in and follow”.

sure, this “charisma approach” has led to certain terrible appointments (the appointments of Hitler, Thatcher, Bush to name a few) but without it, there is little hope of making any movement snowball unless the public see and feel the issues impacting their life on a massive negative daily basis.

in gore’s case i think there are a number of unfortunate things going for him. first is hes a politician and the general public generally have a massive mistrust of them. then his environmental crucade has been picked up by the hollywood elite which might be good for publicity but also pisses off millions because it comes across as an elitist issue which either makes them think it doesnt affect them or at its worst makes them feel patronized. then as rob said, he didnt take on this problem when he had the greatest influence and power as part of the us government , then theres his wifes history of being involved in a far right organisaztion (pmrc?) that continually proclaimed extremist values that it believed americans should be following (she was behind the attempt to censor music) plus he is a multi millionaire which automatically makes people feel it is much easier for him to live by the code than for them (people dont like to feel “told off”) and finally theres his blurry background in private life environmental actions, so when you put all this together with his lack of personality, you start to realise that as great as what he is trying to do, he could fail to get the traction he needs to make the world a heathier land. i hope i am wrong but history seems to prove otherwise which is why if i was him, id save my cash and not run for president, its only going to end in tears.

fuck, i managed to do it, how good am i? i am fucking good.

Yes. Yes he should.

Hi Andy. I didn’t realize that you are so rarely serious. I’m honoured. Just to be clear, I’m in no way holding Gore on a pedestal or suggesting he run for president (please God, no). But my question remains: What is the point of tearing him down right now? Now when he’s doing a hell of lot of good.

I dunno. Colin Powell would make a great US President.

If you’d replaced the US with China (which apparently is now the premier contributer to global warming) would his answer have been any different?

I’m actually stoked that you didn’t do the typical sucking up Gore’s ass reaction as most people probably do.

Yes, how dare China with its population of more than 4 times that of the US overtake it in pollution…

You are right Lauren, we live in a World of excuses and in a perfect World we’d all club together and fix the situation, but unfortunately the implications are that it will cost outrageous amounts of money and people tend to care more about their own situations when that occurs than that of the planet. I do think that the US has to bare the biggest burden because regardless of the population discrepency with India and China, they have been the biggest contributors to global warming for centuries and I’d argue that they still are, given so much of the population from Chinese and Indian industry comes from the manufacture of goods from US owners. There’s no easy situation and its not about passing blame, but that is why I loved Rob’s question because sadly the American people are very happy to have all the wealth but take no responsibility to how they achieved it.

it’s nice to see you on here again mrc c! i hope you got to have a lovely time with your son back home.

i can totally see the practicality of what you’re saying pete and rob, that rant was not a ‘you asked a stupid question’ kind of rant – far, far from it. i agree that the US needs to take an enormous amount of responsibility for the damage it has done, just not dependent on the amount that other countries are doing.

Great post, brilliant question Rob and some equally brilliant comments. Andy, you’re a very insightful man.

About the environment…..Selfishness and accountability aversion are global, human epidemics that are here to stay. Whilst laws and regulations can help tremendously (along with raising awareness of issues which Gore is doing a great job at), it takes active engagement and action from the demand-generators of our economies – us consumers – before we’ll really be able to come to tackle the global warming and other environmental issues. In developing countries such as India and China, ordinary people have far more pressing issues on the agenda, such as survival to name one. I think there are two components (or phases) to this problem. Both are direct results of our unwillingness to sacrifice convenience (and money – it’s expensive to be green!).

a) Some of us are unaware of the environmental impact of our own consumption and lifestyles, which is almost entirely due to ignorance; we would all know how to consume if we saw real, personal and immediate benefits. We don’t.

b) Even if we become aware, we’re not willing to make the changes necessary in our own consumption habits and lives to make a positive difference (Andy pointed to the blurry background of Gore’s private life green actions). It’s easier to criticise the manufacturing industry and politicians, for example, than to take the bus to work in stead of driving a V8 SUV. Saying no to those delicious, imported exotic fruits or cheeses is not an option either. And who would want to take a holiday in their home country when that exotic place on the other side of the globe seems so fascinating?

It’s long overdue that the US gets its act together on this issue and starts leading by example. But as consumers, we bloody suck at it too. I do, and I am absolutely sure most of you do too. Hypocritical isn’t it?

(As an aside, it would be interesting if someone had the time and energy to calculate/estimate Gore’s personal contribution to the CO gas problem given he basically lives on an airplane. Now I am not suggesting he should stop traveling, but it would be interesting to know nevertheless.)

Like the hollywood movie stars who drive their Toyota Prius to the airport then fly a private jet.

Whilst Al Gore may not be the most perfect example, he has probably done more to highlight environmental issues to the US than anyone else. If it takes a wooden US style ‘personality’ to start bringing the state of our world to the attention of the worst polluters around then so be it.

And I know it should have been ‘your’ before you start

He’s just a man.

Bloody hell, I come back and check out this thread and IT HASN’T GONE INTO SURREAL MADNESS!

Hell, even Andy is showing his normal side [he isn’t really the bad tempered shit he tries to come across as] and I am really interested in where people are going with this.

Emily and Lauren … I am absolutely pro-environment and my comments about Gore were not meant to undermine what he is doing, more to provide a viewpoint as regards how/why he is not getting as much traction as he could/should.

I do love Andy’s point that listening and doing are very separate things [just like awareness and sales eh!] and maybe if he acted more as a background political negotiator rather than the spokeperson/figure head, he may ultimately achieve even greater levels of success.

Who knows … but it has to happen and hopefully I’ll be able to do my bit with some news in the next few months [fingers crossed!]

Yes … it does Mr M, but its all dependent on a particular individual who ‘rainchecked’ me on Saturday, ha! News as soon as he stops being interviewed by big-wigs and calls me up, hahaha!

Great posts and great comments. I think Gore has done a great job to spread a VIP message far and wide. But I agree, if he was a visionary speaker, this message would have a much more powerful impact.

Sure, he isn’t the most perfect crusader, but who is? To begin, anything takes a few passionate likeminded people coming together with a common goal. Like Margaret Mead said “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”.

Mr M, your fantastic idea for a conference, or seminar (whatever you have decided to call it) reminds me of the above quote. I think with people like ‘you lot’ in the industry positive changes will continue to happen.

Thanks Jade. I hope it will all go to plan!

No, no we cant.