CNBC Press Releases

DEUTSCH: Why do you think that moment--because we all have those lows.

Mr. GORE: Yeah.

DEUTSCH: Yours was so stunningly public in every way. What's the--where do you reach at that moment? Because clearly where you are now is a different universe. But what happens at that moment?

Mr. GORE: Well, humor--actually, I laughed, because you have to laugh. And it's one of the secrets of the human condition that we usually do learn the most from the most painful experiences. And it unlocks a passion and energy that for whatever reason might not be flowing without, you know, just going through those kinds of experiences. And I had the opportunity to start over, and to have the luxury of focusing on a single issue that I've always felt passionately about, and Lord knows it needs the kind of sustained focus. I mean, it's the overriding crisis of our time. And getting an awareness of it, and developing solutions for it, and mobilizing opinion and unleashing that commitment on the part of others, it's a worthwhile cause, and I can tell that I'm doing the right thing, because it feels--it just feels so clearly like it's the right thing to do.

DEUTSCH: You--I want to get to that moment, what I call tucking the football under, where you had been kind of teased about the environment early on, you talk about it, obviously, in your movie, with that very, very special teacher. But you kind of--it was 1989, you put your first little slide show together at a--at a dinner party for David Brinkley. What--give me the moment, that mad scientist moment, because I want to--everybody out there might not be changing the world like you are, but everybody has a little thing inside that they want to get going. What started this thing going?

Mr. GORE: You know, it developed slowly over time. Actually, when I was a college student, I began this intellectual journey. And then when I was first elected to Congress in 1976, I helped organize the first hearings on this. I actually thought, Donny, that when people saw the evidence, and the facts were laid out, that the machinery of democracy would start moving, and we would solve the problem. And it didn't happen. And I'm, `Whoa, what's going on here?' And I just published a new book called "The Assault on Reason," which is basically about why facts and logic and reason don't play as big a role now as they should. But the frustration that I felt in laying the facts out there, and getting no response, caused me to dig more deeply, to try to find better ways to communicate. And I kept going back to the well to dig deeper, and I'm still not there yet. I mean, I--you know, people come up and say congratulations this, congratulations that. We're nowhere close to where we need to be. I appreciate the fact that a lot of people that I'm being effective, I hope I am. But it's nothing compared to what we need to be doing.

And I'm not done yet, and these concerts this weekend represent crossing a threshold of a global--this is going to be the biggest global event in history, two billion people in the audience, more than 10,000 events in 130 countries all around the world, eight huge concerts. The best entertainers in the world, all focused on one message. And a seven-point pledge, that's part of that message, here's how we can solve the climate crisis.

DEUTSCH: You--what gotten you this position where you're going to get two billion eyeballs, you're going to do this event with ten--the equivilent of ten superbowls--is what a lot of people--I want to read a quote from Fast Company article that says, "After 2000 election, you may be the greatest brand makeover in history. Gore is being hailed as a visionary, who was right about everything from global warming to Iraq. At 59, he's an Academy Award winner, best-selling author, a front-runner for the Nobel Prize, a concert promoter who turned out to be a bigger rock star at this year's Grammys than the rock stars themselves." Let me add onto that, incredibly successful businessman, they estimate your net worth at $100 million. Is the thesis correct that because you are a man who went back to your passion, everything else fell into place?

Mr. GORE: Well, first of all, I'm no rock star.

Tools:

PrintEmail

Back to Main Page