Former Vice President Al Gore called on college students Wednesday to take the opportunity in this year's election to hold politicians accountable for how they handle the issue of climate change.
Gore spoke to students on campuses across the United States via webcast about their opportunity to promote clean-energy policies this election cycle and answered questions on climate change.
For way too long, politicians in both parties have too often just set aside the real solutions and we've had business as usual. And business as usual is unacceptable where the climate crisis is concerned,"" Gore said.
Gore related the climate crisis to the economic crisis and said both issues have the same causes and same solutions.
""You know, we've had this debate about a $700 billion bailout in the financial crisis. Well, $700 billion is the annual cost of bailing out America's economy by sending that much money every single year to foreign countries in return for oil,"" Gore said.
According to Gore, knowledge of the climate crisis has increased, but there is not enough urgency surrounding the issue. He said young people can make ""an amazing difference"" by making sure they get out to vote and encourage others to do the same.
Power Vote, an organization committed to drawing attention to the issue of climate change in this election, coordinated the event and kicked off six days of intensive ""Get Out the (Power) Vote"" campaigning Wednesday.
UW-Madison sophomore Susie Dilauria, events coordinator for the UW-Madison chapter of Power Vote, said she is happy with the organization's campus involvement.
""It's growing and it's really inspiring to see how many people are actively involved in it,"" Dilauria said.
