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24 Hours of Reality: The Dirty Weather Report to Spark Climate Change Call to Action

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 14, 2012 CONTACT: Bill Rigler, +1-917-415-0612, [email protected] Al Gore Hosts Global Live 24-Hour Broadcast to Discuss Impacts of Extreme Weather, and Showcase Solutions New York, NY (Nov. 14, 2012) — The Climate Reality Project today launches 24 Hours of Reality: The Dirty Weather Report at 8 p.m. EST. Over the course of 24 hours, millions of people will participate in an ongoing conversation broadcast live online, which will include noted climate scientists, elected leaders, business leaders, activists, celebrities, and Climate Reality Project Founder and Chairman and former Vice President Al Gore.

In the wake of the historic devastation from Superstorm Sandy and other recent incidents of extreme weather worldwide, combined with a hard-fought U.S. presidential campaign in which climate change was rarely mentioned, the call to insert climate change prominently into the national and global discourse has gained newfound urgency.

“2012 was an extraordinary year for extreme weather events. This year has seen consistent world-wide record-breaking temperatures, historic droughts in the Midwest, and of course Superstorm Sandy, which alone affected millions of people and caused an estimated $50 billion in damages, though that number has been revised upwards,” said Chairman Gore. “And this was only one year after Hurricane Irene closed down parts of lower Manhattan and devastated areas of the Northeast, particularly Vermont. In addition, the North Polar Ice Cap reached a record-low summer ice cover — less than half of what existed just 30 years ago. It becomes more and more obvious every day that Dirty Energy is changing our climate and causing Dirty Weather. We are already paying the price for inaction, and that must change before we cause much worse damage.”

The first annual 24 Hours of Reality live broadcast in 2011 received more than 8 million online views, 90 million Twitter impressions, and earned a Cannes Silver Lion at the 59th International Festival of Creativity. This year, 24 Hours of Reality will again circle the globe, showcasing across 24 time zones how Dirty Energy pollution from coal, oil, and gas leads to Dirty Weather like extreme storms, floods, heat waves, and severe drought.

“We are excited about the variety and expertise of the guests and partner organizations that have come together for 24 Hours of Reality: The Dirty Weather Report to share their knowledge of climate change and innovative solutions,” said Maggie L. Fox, President and CEO of The Climate Reality Project. “24 Hours of Reality is about connecting the dots between climate change and extreme weather, and about bringing together partners from all walks of life together to inspire action.”

The event will draw upon the expertise of more than 100 prominent experts and guests from around the world who have convened to provide unique insights from scientific, business, governmental, environmental, and youth perspectives. Confirmed guests include:

  • Al Gore, Founder and Chairman of The Climate Reality Project

  • Maggie L. Fox, President and CEO of The Climate Reality Project

  • Sir Richard Branson, Founder and Chairman of the Virgin Group

  • Brigadier General Stephen Cheney, USMC (Ret.), CEO of the American Security Project

  • Mindy Lubber, President of Ceres

  • Raymond Offenheiser, President of Oxfam America

  • Johnny Alamo, Executive Director at Warren Miller Entertainment

  • Dr. Noah Diffenbaugh, Climate Scientist at the Earth Sciences and Woods Institute at Stanford University

  • Manish Bapna, Executive Vice President and Managing Director at World Resources Institute

  • The Honorable Bill Ritter, former Governor of Colorado

  • May Boeve, Executive Director of 350.org

  • Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of Iceland

  • Larry Schweiger, President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation

  • Jeff Orlowski, Director of Chasing Ice

  • Don Henry, CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation

  • Dr. Paul Higgins, Associate Director, Policy Program, American Meteorological Society

  • Dr. Peter Fox-Penner, Principal and Chairman Emeritus of the Brattle Group

  • Nobuo Tanaka, Global Associate for Energy Security and Sustainability at the Institute for Energy Economics

  • Dr. Amanda Katili-Niode, Indonesian National Council on Climate Change

  • Dr. Fachruddin Mangunjaya, Imam and Associate Lecturer, Universitas Nasional and Islamic College for Advance Studies

  • Dr. Scott Mandia, Professor of Earth and Space Studies, Suffolk County Community College

  • Kabir Arora, India Youth Climate Network

  • Dr. Henry Pollack, Professor of Geophysics, University of Michigan

  • Dr. Jeffrey D. Sachs, Earth Institute at Columbia University

  • Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, Director-General of UNIDO

  • Wanjira Mathai, Director of International Affairs at The Greenbelt Movement

  • Dr. Eugene Cordero, Professor at San Jose State University

  • Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

  • Jeunesse Park, Founder of Food and Trees for Africa

  • Scot Horst, Senior Vice President of the US Green Building Council’s LEED Program

  • Mark Kenber, CEO of The Climate Group

  • Naomi Hirabayashi, Chief Marketing Officer of DoSomething.org

  • Casey Caplowe, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of GOOD

Major partners for the event include Ustream, which will again broadcast 24 Hours of Reality live online. GOOD (good.is) is the official online action and content partner. Mashable (mashable.com) and TakePart.org are online partners. This program is made possible in part through the generous support of the Rockefeller Foundation, the Skoll Global Threats Fund, and the Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust. For a complete schedule of the event, please visit climaterealityproject.org. 

About The Climate Reality Project The Climate Reality Project is one of the world’s leading organizations dedicated to mobilizing action around climate change. With a global movement more than 5 million strong and a grassroots network of trained Climate Leaders, we are spreading the truth and unleashing the cultural momentum to solve the climate crisis. Former Vice President and Nobel Laureate Al Gore is the Founder and Chairman of The Climate Reality Project. For more information, visit www.climaterealityproject.org or follow us on Twitter at @ClimateReality.