美国国家公共电台 NPR Despite Climate Change Setbacks, Al Gore 'Comes Down On The Side Of Hope'

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

A new movie shows Al Gore¹ in Greenland. He's visiting a station where scientists measure the ice. And he's watching as much of the ice in Greenland turns into rivers of water flowing away. The movie is called "An Inconvenient² Sequel." It's a follow-up to "An Inconvenient Truth," Gore's famous film about climate change from a decade ago. This film shows Al Gore continuing his fight. And there was a time when it seemed like it might have a triumphant³ ending - the announcement of the Paris climate accord.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

FRANCOIS HOLLANDE: (Speaking French).

(APPLAUSE)

INSKEEP: But there was another chapter because since then, the United States elected president Trump⁴, who has said in the past that climate change was a hoax⁵. This year, Trump announced plans to withdraw from that climate accord, which was a big part of our discussion with Al Gore.

You have a line in the movie about going between hope and despair.

AL GORE: Yeah.

INSKEEP: Where are you right now - hope, despair, somewhere between?

GORE: I always come down on the side of hope. And...

INSKEEP: You'd like to say so. But where are you really?

GORE: Yeah, that's where I really am because the difference - one of the big differences between today and a decade ago is that we do have the solutions now. It is remarkable⁶ that solar electricity and wind electricity have followed the pattern that we have seen with computer chips and mobile phones and flat-screen TVs.

Some areas of technology come down in cost. And then when production scales up, they come down even faster in cost. And it's wonderful that that pattern is being seen in renewable energy.

INSKEEP: Didn't the election deal such a blow to your side that you actually had to recut the end of your film?

GORE: Well, we always anticipated that we could not end the movie until we realized who was going to win the election and what would happen thereafter. And I will tell you that when President Trump made his announcement that the U.S. will pull out of the Paris Agreement, I was deeply concerned that other countries might use that as an excuse to withdraw themselves.

But I've been gratified that the entire rest of the world has doubled down on their commitments to the Paris Agreement and that here in this country, so many governors and mayors and business leaders have stepped up to fill the gap and say we're still in Paris. And I really think - and the scientists think now, as well - that we have an excellent chance of meeting the commitments that former President Obama made in the Paris Agreement, regardless of what Donald Trump says.

INSKEEP: What was it like after the election, when you went to visit then President-elect Trump?

GORE: Well, I did my best to convince him to stay in the Paris Agreement. I've been respectful of the privacy of those conversations. That was not the only conversation I had with him. And I thought that there was a chance he would come to his senses. But I was wrong.

INSKEEP: Understanding that you want to respect the privacy of the conversation, I'm trying to get some sense of what the president of the United States is like on this issue in private. Do you think he believes in human-caused climate change?

GORE: Well, he has made a variety of statements on that question that you can interpret as you wish.

INSKEEP: Sure, but you got to look him in the eye and...

GORE: I don't know. I have heard him say different things.

INSKEEP: OK.

GORE: I've heard him say, in public, things that would lead you to believe he doesn't believe in it. But, you know, the scientific community has been virtually unanimous for a couple of decades. And now there's a new participant in the debate - Mother Nature. The other big change from 10 years ago is that these climate-related extreme weather events are way more common, unfortunately way more destructive.

Here in the U.S., we've had 11 once-in-a-thousand-year events in just seven years - in the last seven years. Last year was the hottest year globally ever measured. The second hottest was the year before. The third hottest was the year before that. And Mother Nature is more persuasive⁷ than the scientific community.

INSKEEP: What do you make of people who have lost faith in experts generally, feel they've been misled by experts, generally, and that is the context in which a lot of them may dismiss a lot of the science you just cited?

GORE: Well, I agree with the premise⁸ of your question. And I actually think that one cause of this populist authoritarianism⁹ that we've seen, not just in the U.S. but in Poland and Turkey and the Philippines and in Hungary - one cause is that the expert blueprint¹⁰ for globalization that has been touted¹¹ for quite some time has caused those who feel left behind to feel real anger that middle-income wages have stagnated¹² for decades. And I think that generalized anger at how things are going extends over into a vulnerability to listen to demagogic claims that the scientific community doesn't know what it's talking about when they warn us of the climate crisis.

INSKEEP: So in the film, there is an archival clip of a Senate hearing. You've been called as a witness. It's 2007. You're being challenged by James Inhofe of Oklahoma, a Republican who has described climate change as a hoax, among other things.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JAMES INHOFE: Last summer, we had a heat wave. And everyone said, oh, that's proof. It's global warming. Then we had a mild December. Oh, that's proof that global warming is taking place. Now, I wonder how come you guys never seem to notice it when it gets cold.

INSKEEP: And a moment arrives in the hearing in which you say to him...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GORE: I was sitting here trying to think what I could do or say that might make it possible to reach out to you. And I'm serious about this.

INSKEEP: And you even suggested maybe getting to together...

GORE: Yeah.

INSKEEP: ...At breakfast with a mutual¹³ friend. Did you ever get a chance after that moment?

GORE: Never did, never did. I may yet. Sometimes personal outreach of that kind can make a difference. But there are some climate deniers who are encased in a hard shell of denial that makes them relatively¹⁴ impervious¹⁵ to arguments, however personal, however genteel.

INSKEEP: Mr. Vice¹⁶ President, thanks for coming by.

GORE: Well, thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF LIGHTS OUT ASIA'S, "RUNNING NAKED THROUGH UNDERGROUND CITIES")

INSKEEP: Al Gore, star of "An Inconvenient Sequel," which is in select theaters on Friday.

1 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

2 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

3 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

8 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

9 authoritarianism   

权力主义，独裁主义

参考例句：

• Modern authoritarianism is a vestige of traditional personal rule. 现代独裁主义则是传统的个人统治的残余。
• In its latter days it was a byword for authoritarianism, incompetence, and corruption. 在后期，它是独裁、无能和腐化的代号。

10 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

11 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

12 stagnated   

v.停滞，不流动，不发展( stagnate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句
• His mind has stagnated since his retirement. 他退休后头脑迟钝了。 来自辞典例句

13 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

14 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

15 impervious   

adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的

参考例句：

• He was completely impervious to criticism.他对批评毫不在乎。
• This material is impervious to gases and liquids.气体和液体都透不过这种物质。

16 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。