Back in December 2005, I had the opportunity to hear Al Gore deliver his now-famous presentation about the climate crisis. It was quite the eye opener. At the time, Al Gore was delivering the presentation, introducing himself as the “former next President of the US” (he still is BTW). Quite a lot has happened since then: Nobel prize, Oscar, and by now, he has delivered that presentation over 2000 times. Today, Al Gore was awarded the Dan David Foundation prize, for the “present" category for alerting the world to the crisis caused by overuse of fossil fuels.
As part of his trip to Israel, Ness Technologies invited Al Gore to deliver his presentation yet again as part of their annual customer/partner meeting “We make IT happen”. I was there, Ness customers were there, and some Israel knesset members were there (together with an estimated 2000 other people!).
It is difficult to remain indifferent following that presentation. From the jam packed David Intercontinental, I continued straight to Airport City for IVA conference Day #2. As I drove into the parking lot, it really bothered me to see all those SUV’s!
When I mentioned this to a former VC colleague of mine who has just recently purchased a new SUV, he smiled, and said “boys will be boys”. Hmmmmmmmmm. (BTW – even Arnold got rid of his Hummer after he saw the movie!
Al Gore’s presentation has so much data, delivering a truly powerful message. As in the TED presentation, he emphasized the importance of behavior change (get rid of the SUV, install energy efficient lighting, etc.), but more significantly, changing regulation.
What would happen if SUV’s were taxed 3X of what they are today, while hybrids tax reduced to 10% (like the proposed tax for ProjectBetterPlace’s battery-powered cars)? What would happen if individuals and corporations had a carbon tax? What would happen if installation of PV on my rooftop would be subsidized, with an attractive feed-in tariff already in place? You don’t have to be a genius to figure it out.
Several Knesset members were in attendance. I wonder if they got the message…
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