II – Chapter 05

0100 [00:30:09] "You know, anybody who decides to be a part of helping to solve the climate crisis has a constant struggle between hope and despair. And so when you see these slides about all the damage that's being done, hang on because is coming. Don't sink too low. You know despair can be paralyzing. But we are building up speed and we are seeing a tremendous amount of positive change that gives me the optimism that I feel about this." (Al Gore)

0200 [00:30:46] "Let me give you some exciting examples. Look at wind. One day this month, Scotland got 100% of its electricity from wind. In Portugal, they had four days straight last May on renewable energy alone. And on a global basis, wind alone can supply 40 times the entire global demand for energy. " (Al Gore)

0300 [00:31:08] "But let's look at solar. This to me is the most exciting new development. Fourteen years ago, the best projections available were that we would be able to install worldwide one gigawatt of solar electricity per year. Well, when 2010 arrived, we beat that goal by 17 times over. Last year, we beat that goal 58 times over. This year, we are on track to beat that goal 73 times over." (Al Gore)

0400 [00:31:36] "This is an exponential curve, and it is astonishing, and it continues to go up at a steeper rate because the cost of silicon solar cells continues to go down. " (Al Gore)

0500 [00:31:47] "I wish that every state would encourage solar. Including Florida. You know, Florida's called the Sunshine State? The head of the second biggest fossil fuel utility there was actually quoted as saying, "Yes, we are the Sunshine State, but remember we are also the partly cloudy state." " (Al Gore)

0600 [00:32:06] "And they have lobbied the state legislature to basically make it illegal to lease a solar panel for your rooftop from anybody but the fossil fuel burning utility. And they are trying to use their legacy political power to bend the politicians to their will. What the public wants doesn't to seem matter. It's pathetic." (Al Gore)

0700 [00:32:38] "In campaign 2016 segment tonight, an Interview with Donald Trump." (man 12)

0800 [00:32:42] "Not a believer in global warming. Obama thinks it's the number one problem of the world today, and I think it's very low on the list. " (Donald Trump)

0900 [00:32:50] "If you were President, would you invest a lot of money in alternative energy to get away from fossil fuels? " (man 12)

1000 [00:32:58] "Now solar always sounds better than it is. You know, you think you would get your money back in 36 years. The problem is the panels destroy themselves after ten years. So...." (Donald Trump)

1100 [00:33:07] "...is it...you know, one of the top...top professors at MIT...." (Donald Trump)

1200 [00:33:11] "Hey. " (Al Gore)

1300 [00:33:13] "Mr. Vice President, thank you so much for coming. " (Eric Schneiderman)

1400 [00:33:15] "Thank you." (Al Gore)

1500 [00:33:16] "So, we are relatively in early stages of investigation, but some of these companies and some other denial organizations and groups like the American Petroleum Institute have been actively seeking to destroy the market to suppress investment in renewables through this relatively new line of propaganda, which is, "Even if everything, you know, Al Gore has been saying since the '80s is true, it's going to cost so much money, it's going to cripple the economy." " (Eric Schneiderman)

1600 [00:33:41] "This...it's an insidious theme that we've seen before, but it's coming back with a new force. And I think...I think that this is something we are focusing on very intently. We want to know who the groups are, who are doing this, what is their analysis, what's the science, and what are the government actions that are being taken." (Eric Schneiderman)

1700 [00:33:57] "Assuming for the moment that the facts prove that's what they did, that's the violation of the law, isn't it?" (Al Gore)

1800 [00:34:03] "That's consumer and securities fraud. But it's clear that what they have done is essentially tried to cripple our ability, mankind's ability to respond to this existential threat. " (Eric Schneiderman)

1900 [00:34:27] "A few days ago, the Attorney General of the State of New York launched an investigation of Exxom Mobil for fraud and funneling money to this new form of denial where people are out there minimizing solar, saying, "It's not going anywhere. Why are you wasting your time on this?" Et. cetera, et cetera. " (Al Gore)

2000 [00:34:48] "Utility monopolies really really fear disruption, and have woken up and said, "Wow, this solar thing, I need to crush it before it kills me." The last two weeks, we had 55,000 people sign up in Nevada to say, you know, "I want choice, I want energy freedom."" (Marco Krapels)

2100 [00:35:05] "What happened in Nevada, now, it will send a massive message to the rest of the country. " (man 13)

2200 [00:35:08] "Yeah. I think so. " (Al Gore)

2300 [00:35:09] "Yeah." (Marco Krapels)

2400 [00:35:14] "Thank you. Will there be bumps in the road? You bet there will be. But, at the end of the day, you really are on the front lines. On the rooftops, if you will. And we are seeing this play out in every part of the world. " (Al Gore)

2500 [00:35:38] "We've had 150 years of burning fossil fuels with the many blessings, poverty's gone down, living standards have increased. So naturally, there still are some people that say, "Well, we just have to keep relying on oil and gas and even coal." " (Al Gore)

2600 [00:35:55] "But it is worth pointing out that in northern China life expectancy has done down five and a half years because of air pollution. And in Beijing, the mayor said, "My city is not livable." " (Al Gore)

2700 [00:36:08] "But in many parts of China, it is already cheaper to get electricity from solar and wind. So this is the time when your presentations can provide support for your government's determination to do even better with renewable energy. " (Al Gore)

2800 [00:36:32] "Fine. How are you?" (Al Gore)

2900 [00:36:34] "There are so many commitments that governments are thinking about making right now for hundreds of new coal plants. Even as the revolutionary drop in cost from...from renewables is picking up speed. " (Al Gore)

3000 [00:36:52] "China is one of those countries. And there are number of others. India, others. Unfortunately, they've looked at the price of coal. They see the price low and they feel they are compelled therefore to try to provide for their people. So if India proceeds to build the number of plants it is currently planning, and they are coal fired, it can erase everything everybody else is trying to do in terms of reductions. " (John Kerry)

3100 [00:37:19] "We got to figure out a way to crack that nut. " (Al Gore)

3200 [00:37:21] "Absolutely. " (John Kerry)

3300 [00:37:28] "Now, climate change is high on world leaders' agendas and that's because the crucial U.N. talks in Paris start in less than two month, when the world gets together to try to agree on a global deal. One of the sticking points remains financing. " (woman 5)