Largest Ever Conversation on Carbon Pollution Kicks off with Google+ Hangout

Boulder, CO (October 17, 2013) – In advance of the third annual 24 Hours of Reality, the Climate Reality Project will kick off the largest ever conversation on the cost of carbon pollution with a Google+ Hangout on October 21st at 9:30 am Pacific/12:30 Eastern Time featuring the Chairman of the Climate Reality Project, Vice President Al Gore, Stacy Martinet, Chief Marketing Officer of Mashable, and Naomi Hirabayashi, Chief Marketing Officer of DoSomething.org. Bringing together voices at the intersection of climate vision, technology, and activism, these leaders will explore what the climate crisis means for young people today and what the next generation of social entrepreneurs and innovators are doing to solve it.

“We are going to launch a planet-wide conversation that will be led by you, the emerging generation of global citizens and leaders,” said Vice President Gore. “Carbon pollution is costing us already, from human displacement to rising food insecurity, to infrastructure losses. Handling this crisis means this generation must continue to talk about the impacts of carbon pollution and must work together to find solutions.”

Thinkers, activists and leaders are invited to ask questions of the participants on the hangout. Individuals can sign up for the hangout at http://bit.ly/15JsTUX.

“People are already talking about all the impacts of carbon pollution on their social networks whether they know it or not. Through this Hangout and 24 Hours of Reality, more and more people will understand the connection between carbon pollution, its impacts, the bad actors that generate the pollution, and the need for a price on carbon. Through widespread participation, we can raise the level of digital conversations and make real progress,” said Stacy Martinet of Mashable.

The Hangout will also explore how people around the world are working in many different ways to find solutions and reduce carbon pollution.

“We can talk to friends and family about carbon and its impacts on our lives, we can volunteer on a project that helps build support for a price on carbon, or we can do anything in between. The important thing is that we take an action,” said Naomi Hirabayashiof DoSomething.org.

Vice President Gore will also introduce a new innovative Cost of Carbon tool, an interactive digital experience that offers viewers the opportunity to document the collective price we are all paying for carbon pollution, from higher health care bills to drought relief. Together, users will demand that leadership of the top 20 carbon polluting countries end the denial and act to put a price on carbon.

Six hosts, one from each continent, will guide the segments that make up 24 Hours of Reality, set to launch live from Los Angeles on Tuesday October 22nd, and finish on October 23rd, an event that will be the largest ever global conversation on the cost of carbon pollution.