"Guru" Laurie David In Denver; Talks Al Gore, Sen. Inhofe

Activist, producer of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, and global warming nannyist Laurie David will speak in Denver tonight to a sold out(?) crowd:

2 What was it like to work with Al Gore?

By the time I was done working with him, I was begging him to adopt me. He's like a father figure to me, one of my heroes. He's so charming and lovely and smart and funny. He makes fun of himself; he's got a great sense of humor. He's dry and he laughs at other people's jokes. [Al Gore is charming and lovely and smart and funny? Must have missed that in the 2000 election--ed.]

3 If you could have dinner with Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who called global warming the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people," what would you say to him?

There's something in my heart that makes me believe if I could get 10 minutes with these guys, I could change their mind. I would love to have dinner with Inhofe. We're at the point where we have to do something big to stop global warming. I would want him to watch the movie. I would pop the popcorn. I would pick up the check (for dinner).

4 So how do you react to the Bush administration's stance on global warming?

It's terrifying. I've spent a lot of time saying to people that I believe the changes are going to come when these guys are still in office. I don't personally believe we have two years to waste before we start solving this. I'm not focused on '08. I'm focused on right now. Here's a perfect analogy: if you had a choice between being in a 5 mile-per-hour car accident or a 50 mile-per-hour car accident, what would you choose? I would choose everything we have to do avoid the larger collision ahead.

5 What changes have you made in your own life?

I don't believe everyone has to do everything. I don't do everything. It's about everyone doing something. I have changed as many lightbulbs as I could to (higher efficiency) bulbs. I started a new idling rule at the school carpool lane (cars dropping and picking up kids can't idle their engines more than 30 seconds). I bring a garment bag to the dry cleaners (instead of having the dry cleaners wrap her clothes in petroleum-based plastic). I drive a hybrid. [nothing much really, but it makes me feel good inside; you, however, are asked to do more--ed.]