This blog was written by Jennifer Rennicks, former Senior Director of Policy & Communications at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

Guest Blog | September 14, 2011 | Climate Change, Events

Here’s one truth: climate science is real. Here’s another: every one of us contributes to the climate crisis and every one of us has the ability to help solve it.

These simple truths inspired the Climate Reality Project: today’s 24 hour, multi-media event developed by former Vice President Al Gore to draw the world’s attention to the truth, scope, scale and impact of the climate crisis in order to engage everyone in climate solutions.

Once every hour – at 7 p.m. in each global time zone – on-line viewers can livestream a multimedia presentation featuring a different presenter sharing the latest climate science and revealing the motives of those who still deny it.

Incredulously, and despite new data revealing dramatic sea ice melt and confirmations that a warming world is connected to extreme weather events like those of 2011, many climate deniers are still taken seriously.  Even more troubling is the fact that some of the loudest deniers are not scientists at all but are, in fact, TV commentators, politicians, and those with a vested interest in maintaining the energy status-quo.

The late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said “everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” It is our hope that the Climate Reality Project and similar educational efforts help to clearly differentiate between climate science opinion and climate science fact to inspire us all to much-needed climate action.