Posted on 05/18/2008 8:51:42 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
PITTSBURGH (AP) Former Vice President Al Gore on Sunday told graduates of Carnegie Mellon University they could become part of the next ''hero generation'' in American history by solving environmental problems.
In a commencement address before a record crowd of about 10,000 people, the Nobel laureate said there had already been two ''special generations'' of Americans: one that founded the country and another that defeated fascism during World War II.
''You, I hope and expect, will be called upon to be part of the third hero generation in American history,'' now that the U.S. is poised to reclaim its rightful place as the leader of the world as it faces the threat of global warming, he said.
''We face a planetary emergency,'' Gore said. ''The concentrations of global warming pollution have been rising at an unprecedented pace and have now given the planet a fever.''
Carnegie Mellon had provided ''great leadership in confronting what I regard as the most serious crisis our civilization has ever confronted,'' partly by becoming a major buyer of retail wind power, he said.
Alternative energy sources such as the sun and wind can replace fossil fuels, Gore said, but ''we need one ingredient that you represent. We need political will; we need your dedication; we need your hearts.''
Another speaker at the ceremony was Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon professor with terminal cancer whose inspiring ''last lecture'' about childhood dreams made him an Internet video sensation.
Pausch said he was told in August it was unlikely he would live for more than three to six more months, but that he was now surviving into his ninth month.
''We don't beat the reaper by living longer, we beat the reaper by living well and living fully,'' he said. ''I think the only advice I can give you on how to live your life well is, first off, remember ... it's not the things we do in life that we regret on our deathbed, it is the things we do not.''
What matters, he said, is that he can look back and say, ''pretty much any time I got a chance to do something cool, I tried to grab for it, and that's where my solace comes from.''
About 2,200 graduate and undergraduate degrees were to be conferred during the ceremony at the university's Gesling Stadium in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood.
Gore, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, received an honorary doctorate in humane letters.
Among the other recipients of honorary degrees were Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon.com; Norman R. Augustine, retired chairman and chief executive of Lockheed Martin Corp.; Elizabeth Catlett, artist; Nam P. Suh, president of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and Patrick Suppes, a professor emeritus at Stanford University.
Nut case.
Maybe the will be heroes, solving the environmental and economic disaster caused by Al Gore and his Global Warming Crusade against Humanity and the World.
Single/simple-minded lunacy.
When Al Gore is the subject a hurl alert is not necessary.
he is destroying our way of life and our childrens future.
what a selfish boob.
He invented the internet. He's reclaiming America's place as the leader of the world. And now he's inspiring others to be heros like himself. What a guy!!!
/Sarcasm pukefest mode off.
He invented the internet. He's reclaiming America's place as the leader of the world. And now he's inspiring others to be heros like himself. What a guy!!!
/Sarcasm pukefest mode off.
It isn’t every day that a con man gets to pitch his scam to a bunch of blithering idiots and get an “honorary degree” at the same time. Lucky Al!
There are only two crowds that will listen to Gore — the foreign enemies of America want to hear his anti-American treasonous rants, and academia who will listen to, and believe, ANYTHING.
This idiot has the potential to be more dangerous to civilized humanity than Jimmah Carter.
This is the true essence of catatraphisim. When you are not under threat, you must invent the threat and declare that it is a “war”.
They have been accusing Bush of this since 9/11. Except, of course, we had 3000 real bodies and trillions in real, visable losses after that one along with a, relatively, well defined enemy and a plan of action that would work, eventually (and IS working now).
The Gore “war” exists in projections and print outs and cheezy, cult like faith in a few Power Point slides. There is no documented solution, fuzzy causes and truly questionnable impacts.
As gas prices increase, you have to wonder how long Americans will fail to connect the dots.
Well, we do need some heros to reform the media and make and honest institution out of it, how about that for a challenge.
Okay....I had to make sure this wasn’t SCRAPPLEFACE....some freeper was on this board this last week, complaining about Phyllis Schafly politicizing a graduation just for being there....and here is GOREBALL...GIVING THE COMMENCEMENT SPEECH on GLOBAL LIES!
” and another that defeated fascism during World War II. “
Would not citizens need to destroy the enviro-fascists to be heroes too. The communists are calling for their own destruction...which always seems to be the end result anyway.
Rep Chris Smith spoke at Ave Maria School of Law yesterday.
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