Andy rooney books common nonsense

Chapter 11 The Fate of the Earth: Can We Preserve the Global Environment?

Responding in Writing 6. Write your own essay titled "The Obligation to Endure: You may focus on

p,€sticides or any other topic-for example, genetically altered foods or global warming-to organize your paper.

7. In an essay, argue for or against the proposition that we spend too much time and money worrying about the state of the world environment.

8. Write a paper in which you present solutions to some of the problems that Carson raises in her essay.

Networking 9. Working in small groups, find out more about Rachel Carson and her

involvement with environmental issues. In class discussion, evaluate her relevance to the environmental situation today.

10. Go online and find out more about pesticides commonly used today. Share your findings with the class. How safe are they? Would you use them as a homeowner, landscaper, farmer, or forestry official?

The Climate for Change Al Gore (Albert Gore Jr.) is a former congressman, AL GORE senator, and forty-fifth vice president of the United States. He was the Democratic candidate for the presidency in 2000, winning the popular vote but losing the electoral count when the Supreme Court on a 5-4 decision awarded Florida to George W. Bush. The son of a distinguished senator from Tennessee, Gore was born in 1948 and grew up in Washington, DC. He attended Harvard University (B.A., 1969) and served a tour of duty in Vietnam. A self-described "raging moderate," Gore became interested in environmental issues during his years in Congress, writing during that time the best­

Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human After his defeat in the 2000 Dresidential

race, Gore evolved into arguably prominent spokesperson for environmental concerns. His book An Inconvenient Truth (2006) and compani film, which won the Academy Award for best documentary, were wildly successful, helping to earn Gore a 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his environmental work. His most recent book is The Assault on Reason (2007). In this essay from the November 10, 2008, issue of the International Herald Tribune, Gore offers a five­ part plan for repowering America.

AI Gore The Climate for Change 409

Before Reading Do you think that it is possible for the United States-and other nations as well-to reduce dependency on traditional energy sources like coal and oil? Justify your response.

The inspiring and transformative choice by the American people to elect Barack Obama as our 44th president lays the foundation for another fateful choice that he-and we-must make this January to begin an emer­ gency rescue of human civilization from the imminent and rapidly growing

posed by the climate crisis. The electrifying redemption of America's revolutionary declaration that 2

all human beings are born equal sets the stage for the renewal of United States leadership in a world that desperately needs to protect its primary endowment: the integrity and livability of the

The world authority on the climate crisis, the intergovernmental Panel 3 on Climate Change, after 20 years of detailed study and four unanimous reports, now says that the evidence is "unequivocal." To those who are tempted to dismiss the increasingly urgent alarms from scientists around the world, ignore the melting of the north polar ice cap and all of the other apocalyptic warnings from the planet itself, and who roll their eyes at the very mention of this existential threat to the future of the human species, please wake up. Our children and grandchildren need you to hear and recognize the truth of our situation, before it is too late.

Here is the good news: the bold steps that are needed to solve the climate 4 crisis are exactly the same steps that ought to be taken in order to solve the economic crisis and the energy security crisis.

Economists across the spectrum-including Martin Feldstein and Law- 5 rence Summers-agree that large and rapid investments in a jobs-intensive infrastructure initiative is the best way to revive our economy in a quick and sustainable way. Many also agree that our economy will fall behind if we continue spending hundreds of billions of dollars on foreign oil every year. Moreover, national security in both parties agree that we face

strategic vulnerability if the world suddenly loses access to Eastern

As Abraham Lincoln said during America's darkest hour, "The occa- 6 sion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew." In our present case,

AI Gore, "The Climate for " from The New York Times, 11/9108, © 2008 The New York Times. All rights reserved. by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of the Material without express written permission is prohibited.

410 Cllapter 11 The Fate of the Earth: Can We Preserve tile Global Environment?

1I1I1lKlll~ anew requires discarding an outdated and fatally flawed defini­ tion of the problem we face.

Thirty-five years ago this past week, President Richard Nixon created 7 Preject Independence, which set a national goal that, within seven years, the United States would develop "the potential to meet our own energy needs without depending on any foreign energy sources." His statement came three weeks after the Arab oil embargo had sent prices skyrocketing and woke America to the dangers of dependence on foreign oil. And-not coincidentally-it came only three years after United States domestic oil production had peaked.

At the time, the United States imported less than a third of its oil from 8 foreign countries. Yet today, after all six of the presidents succeeding Nixon repeated some version of his goal, our dependence has doubled from one­ third to nearly two-thirds-and many feel that global oil production is at or near its peak.

Some still see this as a problem of domestic production. If we could 9 only increase oil and coal production at home, they argue, then we wouldn't have to rely on imports from the Middle East. Some have come up with even dirtier and more expensive new ways to extract the same old fuels, like coal liquids, oil shale, tar sands and "clean coal" technology.

But in every case, the resources in question are much too expensive or 10 polluting, or, in the case of "clean coal," too imaginary to make a difference in protecting either our national security or the global climate. Indeed, those who spend hundreds of millions promoting "clean coal" technology consis­ tently omit the fact that there is little investment and not a single large-scale demonstration project in the United States for capturing and safely burying all of this pollution. If the coal industry can make good on this promise, then I'm all for it. But until that day comes, we simply cannot any longer base the strategy for human survival on a cynical and self-interested illusion.

Here's what we can do-now: we can make an immediate and large 11 strategic investment to put people to work replacing 19th-century energy technologies that depend on dangerous and expensive carbon-based with 21st-century technologies that use fuel that is free forever: the sun, the wind and the natural heat of the earth.

What follows is a five-part plan to repower America with a commit- 12 ment to producing 100 percent of our electricity from carbon-free sources within 10 years. It is a plan that would simultaneously move us toward solutions to the climate crisis and the economic crisis-and create millions of new jobs that cannot be outsourced.

First, the new president and the new Congress should offer large-scale 13 investment in incentives for the construction of concentrated solar thermal

AI Gore The Climate for Change 411

plants in the Southwestern deserts, wind farms in the corridor stretching from Texas to the Dakotas and advanced plants in geothermal hot spots that could produce large amounts of electricity.

Second, we should begin the planning and construction of a unified 14 national smart grid for the transport of renewable electricity from the rural places where it is mostly generated to the cities where it is mostly used. New high-voltage, low-loss underground lines can be designed with "smart" features that provide consumers and easy-to-use tools for conserving electricity, eliminating inefficiency and reducing their energy bills. The cost of this modern grid-$400 billion over 10 years-pales in comparison with the annual loss to American business of $120 billion due to the cascading failures that are endemic to our current balkanized and antiquated electricity lines.

Third, we should help America's automobile industry (not only the Big 15 Three but the innovative new startup companies as well) to convert quickly to plug-in hybrids that can run on the renewable electricity that will be avail­ able as the rest of this plan matures. In combination with the unified grid, a nationwide fleet of plug-in hybrids would also help to solve the problem of electricity storage. Think about it: with this sort of grid, cars could be charged

off-peak energy-use hours; during peak hours, when fewer cars are on the road, they could contribute their electricity back into the national grid.

Fourth, we should embark on a nationwide effort to retrofit build- 16 ings with better insulation and energy-efficient windows and lighting. Approximately 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States come from buildings-and stopping that pollution saves money for homeowners and businesses. This initiative should be coupled with the proposal in Congress to help Americans who are burdened by mortgages that exceed the value of their homes.

Fifth, the United States should lead the way by putting a price on 17 carbon here at home, and by leading the world's efforts to replace the Kyoto treaty next year in Copenhagen with a more effective treaty that caps global carbon dioxide emissions and encourages nations to invest together in efficient ways to reduce global warming pollution quickly, including by sharply reducing deforestation.

Of course, the best way-indeed the only way-to secure a global 18 agreement to safeguard our future is by re-establishing the United States as the country with the moral and political authority to lead the world toward a solution.

Looking ahead, I have great hope that we will have the courage to 19 embrace the changes necessary to save our economy, our planet and

ourselves.

412 Chapter 11 The Fate of the Earth: Can We Preserve the Global Environment?

In an earlier transformative era in American history, President John 20 F. Kennedy challenged our nation to land a man on the moon 10 years. Eight years and two months later, Neil Armstrong set foot on the lunar surface. The average age of the systems engineers cheering on Apollo 11 from the Houston control room that day was 26, which means that their average age when President Kennedy announced the challenge was 18.

This year similarly saw the rise of young Americans, whose enthusiasm 21 electrified Barack Obama's campaign. There is little doubt that this same group of energized youth will play an essential role in this project to secure our national future, once again turning seemingly impossible goals into inspiring success.

Thinking About the Essay 1. How would you characterize Gore's tone in this essay? What is his

purpose in using words like "inspiring and transformative" (paragraph 1), "electrifying redemption" (paragraph 2), and "existential threat" (paragraph 3)? How does Gore's style reinforce his tone?

2. Why does Gore allude to the installation of Barack Obama as president of the United States on January 20, 2009? Does he exploit this event or use it as a touchstone for his argument-or both? Explain.

3. Explain the pattern of cause and effect that Gore develops in this essay. Why, for example, does he devote a paragraph to a project initiated by President Nixon (paragraph 7)? In broader terms, what connections does Gore draw between climate change, politics, and the economy?

4. Evaluate Gore's five-part plan into terms of audience, style, and structure. Do you find this part of the essay too stiff or formulaic, or do you think it succeeds in reaching the readership of an international English-language newspaper? Justify your response.

5. Why does Gore use his notion of "transformative eras" as a framing device for his essay? How does this strategy reinforce his argument?

Responding in Writing 6. Write an essay presenting your own five-part plan to repower America.

7. Argue for or against the proposition that the Obama era will usher in a new "transformative" period in the nation's approach to the climate crisis.

8. Analyze Gore's essay as a model of journalistic opinion writing. Discuss style, tone, paragraph organization, and other relevant strategies.

Andy Rooney Talking Trash 413

Networking

9. Help to arrange a class viewing of Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Afterward, discuss the film in relation to the essay.

10. Go online to find out more about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (see paragraph 3). Share your findings in a discussion with other class members.

Talking Trash ANDY ROONEY

Before Reading

Andrew A. Rooney, better known as "Andy" from his regular appearances on 60 Minutes and his syndicated columns in more than 200 newspapers, is one of the nation's best-known curmudgeons, a writer and commentator who is frequently at odds with conventional wisdom on various issues. Born in Albany, New York, in 1919, he attended Colgate University before serving in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945 as a reporter for Stars and Stripes. Rooney has written, produced, and narrated programs for some of the major shows in television history: he wrote material for Arthur Godfrey from 1949 to 1955, and for Sam Levenson, Herb Shriner, Victor Borge, Gary Moore, and other celebrities who define many of the high points of early television comedy. Over the decades, Rooney has also produced television essays, documentaries, and specials for ABC, CBS, and public television. A prolific writer, he is the author of more than a dozen books-most recently My War (1995), Sincerely, Andy Rooney (1999), Common Nonsense (2002), and Years of Minutes (2003). Known for his dry, unassuming, but acerbic wit (which from time to time has gotten him in trouble with viewers and television studios), Rooney is at his best when convincing readers about simple truths. In this essay, which appeared in 2002 in Diversion, he tells us the simple truth about our inability to moderate our wasteful ways.

Americans are perceived as being terribly wasteful. They discard food, appliances, clothing, and so much more that other peoples and societies would find useful. Do you agree or disagree with this profile of the wasteful American? And how do you fit into this picture?

"Talking Trash" by Andy Rooney, Diversion, September 2002. Copyright 2002, Tribune Media Services. Reprinted with permission.