Friday, October 12, 2007 at 12:12am
Friedman, Gore and me
Column: Interesting Times
I went to this take-your-breath-away dinner last week at the Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe, where the first three people I met said, "Of course, everyone else must have told you that you look exactly like Vanessa Redgrave," and writer Tom Friedman was the speaker just after the Mixed Organic Greens with Dried Apricot Slivers ,Toasted Pinon Nuts and the Juniper Marinated Texas Buffalo Tenderloin with a Cherry Merlot Demi-Glace, fresh asparagus and, with the requisite numbers of women with long blond hair and an obvious history of plastic surgery.
The head of the National Resources Defense Council told me that Friedman's new book will be called "Green Is the New Red White and Blue." Hard to fathom that any writer on earth has a better, more facile way of expressing titles, and this will, of course, be a best-seller — as is his current book "The World Is Flat." He has already taken the idea of environmental crisis and some of the material on the road even before the book is published. But never mind. Friedman started his career as an "environmental journalist," and in this current work he has — pooh on you, Thomas Wolfe — come home again.
Pushing aside the wine and water glasses, I frantically scribbled on the back of my menu as Friedman, from a relaxed seated position on a small platform, answered questions and spun one clever sound bite after another. Three cups of decaf in small square cups later, I tried to decipher my notes.
"There are 47 million cars a year added to the planet," he said.
"It's about War and Oil."
"Edmonton and Calgary are the new Saudi Arabia."
"Leadership Matters."
"The Environmental Movement needs a narrative and some jokes;
The polar bear said to Al Gore — fill in the blank" brought laughs.
Speaking of Al Gore, today the Nobel Committee will announce the winner of the Peace Prize. Gore is one of 181 nominations, 46 of which are organizations. I first met Al Gore When he was a rather slim senator and I was an editor for the Earth Summit Times during the lead-up to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Gore would come to the office alone or with one aide to offer his help with any information we might need on water usage around the world, global warming, or population and environmental issues.
Gore would attend rallies of even just a handful of women when no other elected official would. His commitment to environmental issues is long and sincere. And Norwegians, who make up the committee to select the Peace Prize winner, are known worldwide as devoted to the environment and to the natural world. One of the current committee members, Kaci Kullmann Five, told me once in Oslo when she was a member of the Storting (Parliament) that she could never understand American women. "You spend $5 billon a year on lipstick and have no universal day care?"
Glaciers are melting in Norway. Perhaps the Committee will choose as winner someone or some group that calls attention to the environment?
But, as I try to decipher the scribbles on my dinner menu, Tom Friedman is out and about across the world gathering information, spreading the gospel of a green revolution. To quote him from a recent New York Times article: "The good news is that after traveling around America this past year, looking at how we use energy and the emerging alternatives, I can report that green really has gone Main Street — thanks to the perfect storm created by 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the Internet revolution. The first flattened the Twin Towers, the second flattened New Orleans and the third flattened the global economic playing field. The convergence of all three has turned many of our previous assumptions about 'green' upside down in a very short period of time, making it much more compelling to many more Americans."
In the meantime — about that polar bear joke. While I still try to recover from the over-the-top dinner, is there anyone out there with a good punch line? The Polar Bear says to Al Gore — ?
— — —
Lynne Bundesen is the author of five books on religion and was adjunct professor at the Boston Theological Institute under a Templeton Science and Religion Grant. She is currently the spiritual expert for the physical and spiritual health website of Dr. Andrew Weil. Her book "The Feminine Spirit: Recapturing the Heart of Scripture" was just published. Her email address is {email lynnebundesen@hotmail.com}lynnebundesen@hotmail.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Lynne Bundesen.
The head of the National Resources Defense Council told me that Friedman's new book will be called "Green Is the New Red White and Blue." Hard to fathom that any writer on earth has a better, more facile way of expressing titles, and this will, of course, be a best-seller — as is his current book "The World Is Flat." He has already taken the idea of environmental crisis and some of the material on the road even before the book is published. But never mind. Friedman started his career as an "environmental journalist," and in this current work he has — pooh on you, Thomas Wolfe — come home again.
Pushing aside the wine and water glasses, I frantically scribbled on the back of my menu as Friedman, from a relaxed seated position on a small platform, answered questions and spun one clever sound bite after another. Three cups of decaf in small square cups later, I tried to decipher my notes.
"There are 47 million cars a year added to the planet," he said.
"It's about War and Oil."
"Edmonton and Calgary are the new Saudi Arabia."
"Leadership Matters."
"The Environmental Movement needs a narrative and some jokes;
The polar bear said to Al Gore — fill in the blank" brought laughs.
Speaking of Al Gore, today the Nobel Committee will announce the winner of the Peace Prize. Gore is one of 181 nominations, 46 of which are organizations. I first met Al Gore When he was a rather slim senator and I was an editor for the Earth Summit Times during the lead-up to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Gore would come to the office alone or with one aide to offer his help with any information we might need on water usage around the world, global warming, or population and environmental issues.
Gore would attend rallies of even just a handful of women when no other elected official would. His commitment to environmental issues is long and sincere. And Norwegians, who make up the committee to select the Peace Prize winner, are known worldwide as devoted to the environment and to the natural world. One of the current committee members, Kaci Kullmann Five, told me once in Oslo when she was a member of the Storting (Parliament) that she could never understand American women. "You spend $5 billon a year on lipstick and have no universal day care?"
Glaciers are melting in Norway. Perhaps the Committee will choose as winner someone or some group that calls attention to the environment?
But, as I try to decipher the scribbles on my dinner menu, Tom Friedman is out and about across the world gathering information, spreading the gospel of a green revolution. To quote him from a recent New York Times article: "The good news is that after traveling around America this past year, looking at how we use energy and the emerging alternatives, I can report that green really has gone Main Street — thanks to the perfect storm created by 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the Internet revolution. The first flattened the Twin Towers, the second flattened New Orleans and the third flattened the global economic playing field. The convergence of all three has turned many of our previous assumptions about 'green' upside down in a very short period of time, making it much more compelling to many more Americans."
In the meantime — about that polar bear joke. While I still try to recover from the over-the-top dinner, is there anyone out there with a good punch line? The Polar Bear says to Al Gore — ?
— — —
Lynne Bundesen is the author of five books on religion and was adjunct professor at the Boston Theological Institute under a Templeton Science and Religion Grant. She is currently the spiritual expert for the physical and spiritual health website of Dr. Andrew Weil. Her book "The Feminine Spirit: Recapturing the Heart of Scripture" was just published. Her email address is {email lynnebundesen@hotmail.com}lynnebundesen@hotmail.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Lynne Bundesen.