Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Gore urges action on economy, global warming


WASHINGTON (AP) January 28 2009 — Former Vice President Al Gore presented lawmakers on Wednesday with a new inconvenient truth: Action on global warming cannot wait until the economy recovers.

In three hours of testimony that at times looked like a sequel to the Oscar-winning documentary based on his book "An Inconvenient Truth," Gore pressed Congress to pass President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan as a first step to bringing greenhouse gases under control.
He also pushed for decisive action on a bill this year to limit emissions of heat-trapping gases, saying the legislation is needed for the U.S. to take a leading role in negotiations on a new international climate treaty later this year.
To underscore his point, Gore flipped through more than four dozen new slides showing melting ice caps, western wildfires, deforestation and oxygen-depleted seas in a hearing room where the lights were dimmed. More >>>