Before TV it was the radio, before the radio; the paper, before the paper; the cave wall, etc..

All people, not just Americans, all people have looked to some sort of medium for their information. Any information received from an outside force is in some way manipulated and the only people who hold the truth are the ones who have either lived it or witnessed it firsthand, but even the witness doesn't have all of the information.

Religion is an example of that in the fact in exists in many many forms all of which feel that their teachings are the one and only truth. Which one is right; that is for each person to decide.

During the 70's there was the belief that we were heading for a period of global cooling and that the polar ice caps needed to be melted. Then we went to global warming. Global warming was for a short period reversed in the early 90's due to a volcanic eruption and the resulting ash reflected the suns rays away from the earth.

It's always the same things. Today was the hottest day on record since (blank). This has been the hottest year on record since(Blank). The problem is, when you fill in the blank it is usually a period of time like the 20's or 30's or the 1800's. Considering that we have only been keeping recorded wheather records for a very brief period of recorded history, I think saying things like "all time record" is pretty empty as we really don't know that to be sure and so what if it is. In 2100 will it matter that the heat/cold temp. on a particular day was higher or lower than in 2008? It will matter as much then as it does to you now. Very little.

Manipulators have always used the latest technologies coupled with a extreme understanding of what motivates people at their most basic level(Money,kids,fear of the unknown, etc. etc.) They always know whats best for you and for some reason it always involves just a small amount of your money and it will be alright. Right now with the advent of the internet; we are deluged with information much of which is useless or wrong and often pointless.

People can now put out a press release with manipulated numbers and it will appeal to the fears of a certain group of people. I saw one the other day that said men where an endangered species because the chemicals in the air are causing the feminization of the male genitalia. I even heard it on a nightly news.

One reason you always see those on Yahoo is because many of the people behind Yahoo are members of the green movement and they use the Yahoo page as a way to get their message out.

Look through the want ads and you will see jobs for people to be activists. Paid activism. (I am not so sure I believe in that. How much are you going to pay me? Your right, I have always been against that.) That is just as bad as companies not doing the right thing because it affect their bottom line.

Do I believe that we should be wasteful and pollute; absolutely not. It has to be an on going process though and it has to be a process that learns how to wisely use the resources we have. Just saying that we are going to quit using coal and oil and then we will somehow impliment new fuels without any type of expanded testing is rediculous. I don't mind the idea of natual gas,battery or hydrogen cars, but there are new challenges to dealing with them.

Is the world the cleanest it has ever been? No. It can't be because people need things to survive and thrive. Those things require things like energy and transportation to deliver them. Have we come along way. I believe so. As modern society advances, we have learned to better work with the earth. We are just now learning how the earth works, so it takes time.

How many people on here remember when we where kids and how the Rain Forest was going to be completely gone by now and that civilization would not survive because we would have no way to clean our air for the oxygen? It's still there and they have gotten much better at using it. At the same time we have lessened our need for paper.

For anyone who thinks that living using the most basic means is the way life should be, go to Africa and suffer with those people for awhile and then tell me how bad you have it. If Al Gore cares so much, why doesn't he go over and change those peoples lives with his power and money instead of staging a concert series to save the world and raise awareness while using more carbon based fuels in one day flying around and transporting equipment than all of us on here combined for a lifetime. Same for U2. If they really care, go acoustic and have shows in the park with all proceeds going to the poor. Of course it's hard to afford the clothes,planes,houses and cars that way.

Doesn't anyone else find it ironic that Tipper Gore and Al fought so hard for music labeling for ****** and violent content, but Al Gore takes so much credit for paving the way for the largest, most lawless and most convenient portal for sex and violence that there has ever been? Bringing it right to your house or phone without even looking for it.