Not everyone who currently cares about the environment has done so for their whole lives. Who cares? Everyone grows up, though that term means more to some people than to others. For our part, we don't have a problem with the Woodward Dream Cruise, which will take place this weekend in Detroit, Michigan. Sure, there will be lots of carbon-emitting and pollution-generating V8 engines powering Hot Rods and muscle cars for no reason other than to see and be seen. Still, these vehicles were built long before the effect of pollution were in the public eye and are a testament to where the United States came from and are therefore a legacy that still burns strong. That's fine. But, that doesn't mean that the future's vehicles need to be as big, powerful and gas-guzzling as their ancestors.

These facts as laid out in the preceding paragraph seem lost on Detroit News writer Manny Lopez as he calls green-minded politicians like Nancy Pelosi, former Vice President Al Gore and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger people who "hate the American auto industry." Lopez goes on to imagine in his head what these people drove before they were in positions of power. Sure, it's completely fictitious, but who cares, right?

[Source: Manny Lopez / The Detroit News]

Halfway through Al Gore's challenge today calling for a 100% renewable electric grid within ten years is a call for plug-in electric cars. This represents a big change in his thinking, and will hopefully quickly push political and environmental leadership to coalesce around policies to push plug-in cars into the market as quickly as possible. The unfounded fear that large numbers of plug-in cars will overwhelm the grid and increase the use of coal and reinvigorate the nuclear industry to produce electricity has kept major environmental organizations from looking at plug-in cars with clear and objective eyes.

"We could further increase the value and efficiency of a Unified National Grid by helping our struggling auto giants switch to the manufacture of plug-in electric cars. An electric vehicle fleet would sharply reduce the cost of driving a car, reduce pollution, and increase the flexibility of our electricity grid."

[Source: NY Times]

A contest was recently held by The Alliance for Climate Protection and Current TV to create "eco-spots" that encourage people to take action to help solve the climate crises. Dave Schlafman was the grand prize winner with this somewhat humorous entry. It was featured in Al Gore's TED conference slide show but since so many of us suffer from short attention spans we thought we'd give it it's own special place here on AutoblogGreen just in case you missed it.

Although the video, titled "Sky is Falling," doesn't offer up any specific solutions, it certainly does a good job of helping us get our heads around the amounts of CO₂ we emit into the air by burning carbon-based fuels. Hit the jump to enjoy the video and watch out for those elephants!

Al Gore had the opportunity to address the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference again and he gave them a slide show which was recorded that we can now bring to you. This one differed from "An Inconvenient Truth" somewhat. Sure, there were images showing the awesome amount of changes happening on our planet but, with a confident and highly optimistic tone, there were also some solutions presented beyond changing light bulbs and driving a hybrid. Concentrating solar renewable energy plants in developing nations to supply Europe with power was one interesting example.

Al's performance was exceptional and even more than that, with statements like, "How many generations in all of human history have had the opportunity to rise to a challenge that is worthy of our best efforts?", very inspirational. We think the twenty-seven minutes spent watching this video (after the jump) may well be your best spent time all day.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore voices himself as a hybrid cab driver in 2012 Long Island in the new animated movie Futurama: Bender's Big Score. In the movie, Al is happy to get a ride from a killer, time-traveling robot that offers him $100 to run over someone. Al crashes his Hybraxi Taxi Co cab (with NOC02 license plate, natch), loses the fare and complains "dang. That $100 could have bought me one gallon of gas." And you thought $3 a gallon was bad.

Related:

• Video: GE not making car that runs on garbage (Al Gore on 30 Rock)
• What Gore's Nobel Prize might mean for cleaner cars

[Source: Wired, YouTube]

The video above is an interview done in May with Walter Copan, chief technology officer of Clean Diesel Technologies (ticker: CDTI), by thestreet.com. Autobloggreen is not a stock tip or investing website but we wanted to show you what the stock market thinks about green, automotive companies. In the above video, Walter is asked if clean diesel will catch on in America and can the technology take on hybrids. Walter thinks clean diesels have potential because the technology has developed and new cars are being released.

Below the fold is a video done in a May episode of Forbes on Fox with Jeff Siegel and includes two interesting ethanol stocks. The first company is SunOpta (ticker: STKL), which is actually a food company but Jeff says they have plans to go into cellulosic ethanol and even want to built a plant. The second company is Pacific Ethanol (ticker: PEIX) which Jeff says is embracing regional production and are building ethanol plants in California. Bill Gates is about to sell his 21 percent stake in Pacific Ethanol.

Nobel peace prize Al Gore is getting in on sustainable investing, so don't be surprised to see a few more articles from AutoblogGreen with stock tickers.

Related:

• Stock analysts say we could be in an "ethanol bubble"
• Motley Fool sez AltairNano stock "missed the mark"

[Source: YouTube, Google Video]

Al Gore made a guest appearance on the TV show "30 Rock" as part of NBC's Green Week. The story in the episode included Gore being told GE is making a "trash-powered car" and Alec Baldwin telling David Schwimmer to either get on board or he will wake up on that island with Phil Donahue and the "electric car." Sound like good TV? You can watch the entire thing in the video above.

[Source: Brightcove]

Just yesterday, July 1st, Al Gore authored an opinion editorial which was published in the New York Times. I have copied a few choice portions from the editorial, and will have a few comments after the break, if you care to read them. All of the following are quotes attributed to Gore from his editorial:

"On Sept. 21, 1987, President Ronald Reagan said, 'In our obsession with antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity. Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to recognize this common bond. I occasionally think how quickly our differences would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world.'

"This threat also requires us, in Reagan's phrase, to unite in recognition of our common bond.

"Americans must come together and direct our government to take on a global challenge. American leadership is a precondition for success.

"To this end, we should demand that the United States join an international treaty within the next two years that cuts global warming pollution by 90 percent in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy Earth.

"We should aim to complete this global treaty by the end of 2009 - and not wait until 2012 as currently planned.

"It is, after all, a planetary emergency.

"Are we so scared of this challenge that we cannot lead?"

- Al Gore

Click past the break for a few comments on this editorial piece from Al Gore.

[Source: New York Times]

I'm sure that by now, all of us are familiar with Al Gore and his documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth". You probably also know that automakers, scientists and politicians are busy in Washington making decisions on what steps, if any, to take to combat global warming and the greenhouse gases that are emitted from our exhaust pipes, factories and the like. While reading over some of the statements and testimony in the hearings, something really caught my eye. According to Ralph Hall, a Republican from Texas, the suggested cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases amount to an "all-out assault on all forms of fossil fuels" that could eliminate jobs and hurt the economy. That sounds pretty serious, and I was wondering if any of our readers would like to comment on that. I have some opinions of my own, and perhaps I will write an editorial about it in the next few days if you readers are interested. Let me know, and let us all know what you personally think.

[Source: The New York Times]

Perhaps President Bush knew what was coming when he decided to check out the Phoenix SUT and a plug-in Toyota Prius last week. According to the the Detroit News, Congress is meeting to discuss Bush's proposed fuel economy changes. To recap, the changes basically call for "reducing gasoline consumption 20 percent by 2017 and increasing fuel economy an average four percent annually beginning in 2009 for passenger cars and 2011 for light trucks."

General Motors claims that they will spend about $40 billion between 2010 and 2017 to reach those targets. Toyota wouldn't mind spending their estimated $8.4 billion, and Honda would spend some $4 billion to reach the same targets. U.S. Rep. John Dingell, (D-Dearborn) hopes to meet some sort of compromise between what Bush proposed and what the automakers would like. He intends to hold at least eight more hearings regarding fuel economy and the "climate change" that Bush spoke of in his State of the Union speech. The total estimate for all carmakers to meet the goals is about $100 billion. Pocket Change! (I'm just kidding)

On March 4th, auto executives will testify before Congress, followed a week later by former vice-president and current environmentalist Al Gore. Nicole Nason, chief of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration backpedaled testified today that the four percent goal as outlined by Bush was just based on rough estimates and may be unrealistic.

[Source: Detroit News]

"We have only our own ingenuity and we have no hope of a meaningful solution unless we find a way to work together. Necessity is the mother of invention." - Richard Branson

Virgin Empire giant Richard Branson is willing to put his money where his mouth is. Citing the Ansari X Prize as partial inspiration, Branson is offering a $25 million prize to the scientist who devises a system to significantly reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Al Gore joined Branson as the announcement was made. Gore, politician turned environmentalist, is the man behind the film, "An Inconvenient Truth", which focuses on mankind's contribution towards global warming. Recently, scientists sponsored by the United Nations published a report which in no uncertain terms indicated that global warming is real, and that man is at fault. The scientific group will publish their ideas on what to do about it later this year.

One east way to contribute to the cause yourself is to choose a fuel-efficient vehicle. We'll be here to help you do just that.

Related:

• Update from the Automotive X Prize team
• Richard Branson promotes alternative fuel movement by driving a Saab 9-5 BioPower
• Virgin Fuels officially announced, invests in Cilion's ethanol plants

[Source: CNN]

I saw the Ecolimo booth at the Santa Monica Alt Car expo last month, but didn't take the time to share information on chauffeur service, which uses biodiesel and hybrid vehicles to ferry celebs we're all heard of – Steven Spielberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Gore – around L.A. My apologies. Now, thanks to the L.A. Times, I can point you to some more information on the Ecolimo company, which is based in Santa Monica and started in 2004 with a single Toyota Prius. Today, Ecolimo has nine vehicles, eight drivers and offices in L.A. and San Francisco.

I like the idea (it's sort of like green car sharing for the rich), but I'm worried the green rides might be giving some people the wrong idea. Take this quote from Steve Miller, a Beverly Hills business owner who usually drives a Hummer H2: "I love my Hummer," Miller told the L.A. Times, "But this balances out my life."

I'm sorry, sir, but you'll have to do better than use biodiesel once in a while to balance out driving a Hummer.

[Source: David Colker / LA Times]

There was a segment on Monday's Oprah show with former Vice President Al Gore shopping at Lowes for energy-efficient products. He pointed to low-power light bulbs and water-heater wraps, noting that while only small amounts of CO2 emissions are reduced with each application, if everyone used them the results could have a major impact on saving our atmosphere.

While Oprah gushed with amazement at each of Gore's apocalyptic revelations and gave plugs for the DVD release of his movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," I wonder how much she's going to cut back? Is she going to install curly fluorescent bulbs in her Italian villa estate located on 42 acres in super expensive Montecito, California. One can only guess how much electricity her studio uses each day, or how much fuel her private jet burns shuttling her between homes.

The former vice president took advantage of the air time to present a concise, forceful overview of his movie. No doubt the exposure offered by Oprah will have an effect on the masses. But for every light bulb I change, Oprah could change hundreds. I feel she's the type of person that will make an effort. Let's see if there's a show about that.

[Source: Melanie Hunter, CNSNews.com]

In case you just happened by AutoblogGreen, but don’t really know much about green automobile technology and are curious about why people are so concerned about making their cars run cleaner, here’s a movie trailer worth watching. The film, “An Inconvenient Truth”, appears to be a dramatic documentary detailing the causes and effects of global warming. The film stars Al Gore, who says in the trailer that he “used to be the next President of the United States.”
I’m not one to usually accept fear-mongering or cries of the sky is falling, but last year’s insane hurricane season and the continued shrinking of the Artic ice tells me that our planet is going through some changes. Just look at the shots in the trailer of the glacier from 70 years ago and then today and tell me global warming is just hype. We may not be able to stop climate change when we use green car technology, but we can do a little to slow it down because we’re not participating as regularly in the rush to output greenhouse gasses.