Posted by Colie Collen

trap of ever-rising

energy: I ask them to come

slowly at first and then with great speed

rise, clear-eyed and alert

bear witness to the people’s appetite for change

now lift our nation

looking straight up into the air

vulnerable to cascading failure

vested interest in perpetuating

conserve presently wasted

destabilizing nations

some of them are being stampeded

beyond empty rhetoric

strategic initiative

strategic challenge

melting pressure

kindling for mega-fires

good jobs in the fresh air and sunshine for any coal miner

willingness as a people

generational moment

See the video here, here (skip the first 1  1/2 minutes of thank-yous), or here (shortened version)    

And the crux of the argument, wrapped around cliche but still quite beautifully done:

“Yet when we look at all three of these seemingly intractable challenges at the same time, we can see the common thread running through them, deeply ironic in its simplicity: our dangerous over-reliance on carbon-based fuels is at the core of all three of these challenges - the economic, environmental and national security crises.

“But if we grab hold of that common thread and pull it hard, all of these complex problems begin to unravel and we will find that we’re holding the answer to all of them right in our hand.

“The answer is to end our reliance on carbon-based fuels.” 

Also in this speech, Gore uses the word sclerotic to describe our democracy.  Dictionary.com provides the following definition.

 sclerotic: 1. Hard; firm; indurated; — applied especially in anatomy to the firm outer coat of the eyeball, which is often cartilaginous and sometimes bony.  

So he made me cry, a little, at my desk and over my tea.  What will happen now? 

Bill McKibben brings up a good point:  ”I’m not sure what prize you get once you’ve won the Nobel.”   

Look for meetings the Obama campaign is holding nationwide to seek input on the Democratic Party’s issue positions.  Go here to find one locally.