Global warming given star treatment
By Dan Vergano
USA Today
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Perched on a metal chair in a coffee shop two blocks from the Capitol, in between meetings with senators, Laurie David considers the difference between finding fresh comedians for David Letterman and finding fresh ways to enlist people in the fight against global warming.
"Dealing with politicians, that's a little different. But government doesn't change until people demand it," says David, 47, a producer of David Guggenheim's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," about Al Gore's climate-change campaign, and HBO's climate special "Too Hot Not to Handle," which aired in April. Elle magazine, which she co-edited in May, calls David, wife of "Curb Your Enthusiasm"'s Larry David, "one of the most powerful environmentalists in America."
The critical acclaim for Gore's big-screen warning about the dangers of warming seems likely to increase David's influence — and that of other celebrities mobilizing to get the word out. (The film, a hit at the Cannes Film Festival, is slated to open at Varsity Theatre June 16. A June 17 screening, sponsored by the Hawai'i Democratic Women's Caucus, may feature a surprise appearance by John Edwards.)
"We're talking about the climate of the planet," David says. "This is about as urgent an issue as there is." Even her famously curmudgeonly husband has signed on, first buying a hybrid Toyota Prius, seen in his show, then giving it away for the cause.
Gore's movie has turned the spotlight on climate change, but scientists have long been concerned about rising temperatures fueled by increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which capture energy from the sun. Feared effects include rising seas, extreme weather and drought. Activists often focus on the need to cut emissions of carbon dioxide by burning less fossil fuel.
Celebrities often get knocked for speaking out, acknowledges David, who worked not only for "The Late Show" but also as a talent manager and comedy specials producer before turning to global warming full time a decade ago. "Everyone has a right to speak out," she says. "I couldn't live with myself, with the opportunity I have, if I didn't try to do everything I could."
Other celebrities who are talking about global warming:
Gore has blended Hollywood with Washington in a high-profile way that has some pundits saying the effort could pave the way for a second Gore campaign for the White House.
David's most ambitious effort may be "The Stop Global Warming Virtual March," an effort to build an Internet coalition. She says more than 360,000 people have joined.
"Everything I've done in my career comes into play," David says. "Environmental communicators are too cautious. I throw caution to the wind. Once people learn what global warming means, they start to pay attention."
