Feb '07: "Science" Friday's Ira Flatow seems impressed by Al Gore

I saw Al Gore speak at Columbia University this evening. Of course he was talking about global warming, except now he prefers to call it a global crisis. He is couching the crisis in a non-political way, saying it is a "moral imperative" that we take steps to counter global climate change.

Gore still speaks in long sentences and takes awhile to make his point. But what used to sound tedious is now so very refreshing: a political leader who can speak in whole sentences and more to the point, one who really understands the science. Gore was at the podium lecturing on the nuances of atmospheric chemistry, the ozone hole and the melting of the Greenland glaciers which are cracking apart so rapidly that they register as earthquakes on monitoring instruments around the world.

Gore surrounds himself with researchers and scientists, who advise and teach him. They are everywhere in the audience.

Washington Times - Obama comment gets icy reception

"We´re going to have to try to apply some flinty Chicago toughness to this town," Mr. Obama said.

Of course, it took a 15-car motorcade to get the president and first lady Michelle Obama for an appointment at their daughter's school on Thursday, a moment not lost on journalists.

"The tough Chicagoans arrived back at the White House shortly before 10 a.m.," said the Christian Science Monitor.

BELLAMY/DUCHAMP: World is getting colder

Let's just hope we'll only have a few years of cooling, and that another warming period will follow. But it may be wishful thinking. In any case, there will be hardship during the cold cycle, whatever its length.

As President Obama takes office, and as the European Union is about to waste one trillion euros to de-carbonize the economy (in a bid to stop nonexistent man-made global warming) they would be well-advised to perform a reality check on what's currently happening to the climate. Talking to independent scientists about the positive properties of CO2 (plant food that enhances crops) would also be a good idea.

If they don't, we may be in for mass starvation. And let's not forget that the world population is increasing by about 78 million every year.