In Conversation with Al Gore

Well …he wasn’t talking only with me. Along with hundreds of people, I got the chance to hear Barbara Kingsolver speak with Al Gore at Herbst Theater in San Francisco on Tuesday night. I really went to hear Barbara Kingsolver, as I had just finished reading her latest book, Flight Behavior. (As I listened to her speak the butterflies from her book kept fluttering through my mind.) Perhaps Al and Barbara had “butterflies” but I think not—they were both so poised, balanced and professional from the start of their exchanges.

Outside the theater there were protestors upset that Gore is not being “green enough” but we went on through to claim our seats. There were murals on the walls and perhaps butterflies in the air, as there was a buzz for sure. Al Gore was contemplating “The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change”.

They started poised and respectful of each other’s contributions to the topic and their work to date. Barbara’s questions were insightful and calm. Al Gore started quietly but in the end he nearly jumped from his seat as he wound up and delivered on the six drivers of global change.

From his perspective, those are:

• the increasing economic globalization that has created Earth Inc.,
• global communications that can reach billions of people at a time,
• the shift of global economic and political power without perhaps the USA at the center,
• a deeply flawed economic compass leading us to unsustainable use of all resources,
• biotechnology, neuroscience and life science revolutions with power in only a few people’s hands, and
• a radical disruption of ecosystems and human consumption that impact energy systems worldwide

What he shared was depressing and definitely overwhelming, and yet here was another inconvenient truth from Al Gore. The silver lining of his message was to take a small piece of an issue — community based or national — do something different and bring others with you. One small step by each one of us could be one giant step for all of us. He views it as “a contest between the Global Mind and Earth Inc.” How this battle plays out depends on us, and, particularly, on the revitalization of democratic institutions in the United States. Let’s discuss and act!