Al Gore kicks off climate ‘reality’ campaign

Former US vice president Al Gore is spearheading a global internet campaign aimed at raising awareness around climate change.

The “Climate Reality Project“, which aims to bring the “facts about the climate crisis into the mainstream and engaging the public in conversation about how to solve it,” kicked off with an event called “24 hours of reality“.

The event featured an online multimedia presentation showcasing how extreme weather events like floods, fires and storms are linked to climate change.

The presentation was broadcast every hour, over 24 hours, representing 24 time zones and 13 languages.

According to the organisers, by the end of the 24 hours, the event’s site had received some 8.6-million views.

Also featured in the presentation were the stories of people living with climate change every day.

The participation by ordinary members of the global community ties in with the wider project’s ambition of helping people around the world discover the truth about climate change and “take meaningful steps to bring about change”.

Among the project’s stated aims is revealing how money motivates those who deny that human-driven pollution is contributing climate change.

“Around the world, we are still subjected to polluter-financed misinformation and propaganda designed to mislead people about the dangers we face from the unfolding climate crisis,” Gore said in a statement.

Situating “24 hours of reality” online, the organisers say, gave the event an added level of environmental sustainability.

“By using an online viewing portal, we are encouraging a worldwide audience to participate without incurring the carbon emissions associated with travel,” they said.

Gore, who is a known tech-lover, won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts on climate change.

A slide show presented by Gore about the dangers of climate change was the basis of the popular 2006 documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” which grossed US$49-million worldwide.

The sequel to “An Inconvenient Truth”, “Our Choice” comes in the form of a fully interactive book that allows readers to pick up images and video, interact with infographics and use the microphone to mimic the production of wind power.

Image: jdlasica