Never, never apologize for "abstract." At least not around me... <g>
I spent a lot of time in my car this morning. (I put gas in it for the first time. I was expecting to enjoy the experience of buying regular gas and having gotten 6-7 more miles to the gallon, but the difference wasn't conspicuous. Sigh.) During my drive I thought a bit about what I would to if I had Gore's bully pulpit.
I think I would try to get young people excited about an adventure. My speech would be the "plastics" speech, with apologies to The Graduate. Give young people the sense that they are being engaged to go play star wars and lasso a comet before it hits the earth, that this will be the next great adventure. Mention ice cores and hockey sticks only by way of introduction, then talk about the new paradigm and all the fabulous and important fields of endeavor that will need our best efforts, the kinds of work they can do, what they can accomplish. Include not only scientific domains but the whole landscape--community action, international relations, green eyeshade stuff, counseling, manufacturing, architecture, public health, everything. Make it sound cool: fun and important. And lucrative. Inspire, not scare. That's what I'd do. |
