Despite his many successes in Washington and Silicon Valley, Former Vice President Al Gore continues to struggle in the battle against climate change, and clearly laments the lack of progress made toward fighting global warming. Americans continue to rank global warming toward the bottom of national priorities, while greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise.

In a recent interview by Australia’s Fairfax Media, Gore emphasized that “history will not be kind to those politicians” who continue to challenge the science and validity of human driven climate change.

As a former Washingtonian, Gore remains a “policy wonk,” and remains committed to his work promoting policies to address climate change. In a two hour interview with Darren Samuelsohn at Gore’s Nashville office, when prompted to describe his job, Gore answered, “I want to catalyze the emergence of a solution to the climate crisis as quickly as possible. Period.”

Nevertheless, Gore has been careful not to give too much criticism on the handling of the climate change agenda, considering the fact that a fellow democrat is in office. Certainly, this is coupled with his own failures in office and the desire to maintain a low profile.

According to accounts by friends and family, it is not by accident, but rather deliberate intent, that Gore remains under the radar. As a polarizing figure for climate issues, he does not want to make this issue about him.

It is is difficult to appeal to those in the middle when there is a clear bias toward one political side of the climate change debate. As put by Missouri Democratic Senator, Claire McCaskill, during an interview, “any politician with a background like Gore’s is bound to be a problematic face of the climate fight. I’d vote for a scientist..He may be a statesman, but I think once a politician, always a politician in the eyes of many.”

However, this has not stopped Gore from continuing to lead the fight against global warming, even if it is from behind the curtains. With almost unlimited access to the White House, he prefers to lobby the President and private organizations behind closed doors. Even when he was invited by Congress to present an update on climate change, he chose to do it at the Capitol’s weekly luncheon.

While successes in the global warming fight are still few and far apart, Gore continues to work on various fronts with the clear mindset that, unless something is done, our planet will be much less habitable by the end of the century.

– Sahar Abi Hassan

Sources: Politico, Huffington Post Photo: Urban Splatter