Although most environmental groups have endorsed Al Gore for president, they also complain that he has been too cautious as vice president. He has certainly talked big about the environment and has a great storehouse of policy ideas, but he has tended not to take big political risks that would require citizens to sacrifice for the environment and instead pinned his hopes on technical wizardry and clean-and-green inventions to save the day. John Passacantando, the head of Greenpeace USA, said, “The Clinton-Gore administration has been excellent on the soapbox, excellent at talking about global warming — but in practice, the United States has been almost the most counterproductive nation, a leader of the forces of delay.” To which Gore responded, “You always hurt the ones you love.” More Gore: “We can clean up pollution, make our power systems more efficient and more reliable, and move away from dependence on others — all with no new taxes, no new bureaucracies, and no onerous regulations.”
