Our climate crisis may at times appear to be happening slowly, but in fact it is happening very quickly-and has become a true planetary emergency. The Chinese expression for crisis consists of two characters. The first is a symbol for danger; the second is a symbol for opportunity. In order to face down the danger that is stalking us and move through it, we first have to recognize that we are facing a crisis. So why is it that our leaders seem not to hear such clarion warnings? Are they resisting the truth because they know that the moment they acknowledge it, they will face a moral imperative to act? Is it simply more convenient to ignore the warnings? Perhaps, but inconvenient truths do not go away just because they are not seen. Indeed, when they are responded to, their significance doesnt diminish; it grows. -- Al Gore

作者：(美)阿爾·戈爾 譯者：環保誌願者 阿爾·戈爾（Al Gore），前任美國副總統，世代投資管理公司總裁，潮流電視（Current TV）總裁，蘋果電腦有限公司董事，Google有限公司資深顧問，美國田納西州中田納西州立大學客座教授。 阿爾·戈爾於1976年首度當選美國眾議員，並連任四屆。他分彆於1984年及1990年當選美國參議員，並於1993年2月20日宣誓成為美國第45屆副總統。他在執政期間是剋林頓總統經濟團隊的核心人物。他也曾擔任參議院議長、內閣成員、國傢安全局成員以及各項政府提案的領導人物。阿爾·戈爾率領剋林頓-戈爾政府，緻力於環保並曾撰寫關於環保的暢銷書《瀕臨失衡的地球》（1992年）。阿爾·戈爾與他的妻子蒂帕目前在田納西州納什維爾市定居。