In the last month, Vanity Fair and Time have both proclaimed that global warmer is a real and credible threat. While I know Vanity Fair’s proclamations won’t do much to sway the opinion of your average red-stater, Time has purple appeal. Time is in waiting rooms all over the country and its jarring caption: Be Worried. Be VERY Worried, is bound to shake up a few cynical psyches enough to think twice about how their actions affect the environment.

Al Gore’s stunning and optimistic piece in Vanity Fair actually brought me to tears — keep in mind I have been neurotically obsessed with pollution and global warming since 1987. He writes:

And now we face a crisis with unprecedented danger that also presents an opportunity like no other. As we rise to meet this historic challenge, it promises us prosperity, common purpose, and the renewal of our moral authority.
We should not wait. We cannot wait. We must not wait.
The only thing missing is political will. But in our democracy, political will is a renewable resource.

Amen.

And now I need to take my leave. I have an appointment to have my legs waxed. It is going to take me a little extra time to get there — I am going to walk. And for once, I am not going to worry about sounding self-righteous.