Davos: Gore calls Obama "greenest person in the room," urges fast climate pact despite crisis

[Turborama]

Source: AP

Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore has urged U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders to seal a quick deal to fight global warming despite the financial crisis.

Gore says Obama is "the greenest person in the room" for making environmental funding a big chunk of the $819 billion economic stimulus bill passed by U.S. legislators this week.

Gore says world leaders should "appreciate the magnitude of the change in U.S. leadership." He was speaking Friday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Gore and U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer have urged nations to agree at a meeting in Copenhagen later this year on a plan for reducing carbon emissions blamed for global warming.

Read more: http://news.uk.msn.com/uk/article.aspx?cp-documentid=13479618

---

"Rising to the Challenge of Copenhagen", the meeting in which Gore discussed this, can be seen here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x266819

[Radical Activist]

1. DU members should

"appreciate the magnitude of the change in U.S. leadership."

Obama has already done more to stop global warming in two weeks than Bill Clinton did in eight years.

[Jackpine Radical]

6. I agree. I have no doubt that Obama intends to displace all contenders

for the title of Greatest American President.

The surest way to do this is to transform us into a humane, green, peaceful nation. He is already proving that he understands this.

Since I also use the word "radical" in my handle, I would like to remind everyone that the word comes from the Latin radix, meaning "root," and refers to fundamental change, change from the root.

[Orsino]

8. More to slow the acceleration of global warming, certainly.

I don't mean to diminish Obama's actions so far, but it should be noted that he's done nothing that will stop global warming--that would require more than just Obama's getting off his ass.

[Radical Activist]

9. Sure.

There's a lot more to do. We're off to a good start.

[Life Long Dem]

2. Self delete

wrong thread.

[heliarc]

3. Unfortunate choice of words Mr. Gore...

Might mean "most environmental," but it also means "least experienced"... After almost a year of people pounding Obama for being inexperienced, its a little bit of a faux pais for Gore to say that.

[Turborama]

10. This really needs to be heard/read in context. Here's exactly what he said...

From http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x266819">"Rising to the Challenge of Copenhagen"

6 minutes 4 seconds:

"I think it's important for the world leaders in business and government here to fully appreciate the magnitude of the change in US leadership. The United States is now prepared, under President Obama's leadership, to re-engage the world community in an urgent response to the climate crisis and to make the solutions to the economic crisis the same as the solutions to the climate crisis."

12 minutes 30 seconds:

Friedman asks Gore to summarize how Obama differs from Bush with regards to the Issue of climate change...

"My friends in the new administration say to a person, that when the new adminstration gathers to discuss these options, the greenest person in the room is Obama. He is pushing hard for a bold and dramatic move in the right direction."

[heliarc]

11. In any business...

the "greenest person in the room" is the temp getting coffee for the rest of the heavy hitters...

I understand what he was trying to say and in context it's great, but it was an unfortunate choice of words. As a matter of fact, I think that any report on that is likely to take it out of context and I'm sure that the writer of the posted article did so intentionally.

[wroberts189]

4. Someday there will be an honered statue of Gore

If we survive.

[AyanEva]

5. I read that headline as Davros

And got really confused as to why a villain from Doctor Who was talking about the environment.

[Xipe Totec]

7. It's a nice compliment, but I do wish he would rephrase

to avoid the double entendre...