Al Gore Calls out Major Media at TED: Ask More Green Questions to Presidential Candidates

Al Gore gave a well received speech to the Technology, Entertainment & Design (TED) conference on Saturday. He continued his push for global solutions for global problems, but one particular item caught my eye.

• Of the thousands of questions the major networks (figures given for NBC, ABC, CBX, FOX & CNN) asked the U.S. Presidential candidates, only 6 questions concerned global warming. What does this say about the priorities of political reporting in this political year? Maybe Al should be asking questions of the candidates.

Saving the environment and positioning our country to face the realities of climate change is one of America’s most pressing issues, this side of the War in Iraq. We need to hear more from our politicians about their plans to get us there. Keep on rocking Al Gore.

Link [Wired.com]

National Academy of Sciences: Digital Media is Turning Us Into Slugs

It’s official, the internet is turning us into a bunch of nature hating indoor slugs. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences just released a study suggesting that interest in outdoor activities is on on the decline world wide. The downturn coincides with the uptick in media consumption, mostly from the increased adoption of the internet.

This is bad news for the National Parks Service and could be bad for the environmental movement overall. If less of us are getting outside it means that less of us are likely to form a direct connection with the wilderness and hence will be less likely to place a high priority on preserving it.

So what’s the solution to our growing sloth? Well to start, you should stop reading this post. Go outside for an hour and smell the breeze. Walk around, feel the grass on your toes. Then come back and read eight more posts here.

Link [Ars Technica]