Al Gore came by campus ten days ago to deliver his wonderfully rich and compelling talk on the very real and current climate crisis facing our planet. His presentation starts with some slower foundational and expository slides and then builds over a stimulating and visually entrancing hour and a half to an exciting, frothy, and inspiring finish with a concrete call to action. Not afraid to take on detractors, a much more engaged Gore than you have ever seen in a political campaign addresses head-on many of the classic naysayers denying the impending environmental disaster. The result is an intellectually and aesthetically captivating presentation.
For the last couple of years, Gore has been incubating this speech and delivering it to small groups at fundraisers and green events, evolving his take as new data becomes available. I have been lucky enough to catch him at the UN World Environment Day and at the Aspen Institute, in addition to the Google gig. That said, he is taking the covers off and blowing this preso wide open. Working with Lawrence Bender (producer, Pulp Fiction), Gore has converted his talk into a feature film that played the festival circuit and will see nationwide distribution soon. Though I missed it at Sundance, judging by the trailer, An Inconvenient Truth promises to be required viewing.
On a related personal note, though I have always considered myself environmentally aware and concerned, one glaring inconsistency is that since graduating law school, I have driven an SUV. My affinity for skiing in Tahoe and surfing Pacifica have always mandated a rig with four wheel drive that can fit piles o' gear. I know, there are vehicles with a smaller footprint that could suffice. Argh. I am such a hypocrite.
When I first started at Google, I used to ride Caltrain to work. Though the aggregate trip was ultimately 25 minutes longer than driving, I relished that time. Pre-EVDO, I found the journey to be a welcome break from ubiquitous connectivity and took the opportunity to focus on some complex deal thoughts. I would arrive at work feeling ahead of the day and in a great, relaxed mood.
Soon though, I caught the morning surf bug and started making daily treks out to Linda Mar to paddle into the frigid lineup of beachbreak closeouts. Don't get me wrong, I loved most every one of those mornings (there is always the occasional ass-kicking surf day in which the ocean dishes more humble pie than you can stomach). However, surfing meant that I had to drive to and from work in my truck toting my longboard. Now, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is how hairy work has gotten this past year, I have not been surfing in the AM as much as in the past.
So, it was with great joy this morning that, in lieu of rumbling my 19MPG rig down Highway 101, I caught the biodiesel Google Shuttle from San Francisco. The stop nearest my house is at 8th and Market, so it is very convenient that, last night, I picked up a new hot rod to wheel myself over to the Civic Center. The whole trip couldn't have been easier. Pedaled over to the bus, strapped my bike on the rack, dove heads down into my email using the on-board Junxion-backhauled WiFi, and popped my head up an hour later at the Googleplex.
Convenient, productive, efficient, and environmentally sensitive - not a bad way to get to work.