Man, does Al Gore have a cluttered office or what? Dig the 3 Apple displays though. What the hell is that frog thing above the TV?

And Dude, cut the paper. Paper = Cutting Trees = Global Warming. Duh!

[Photo: Time Magazine]

In the past few weeks, Europe announced a slew of proposals on improving the efficiency of:

1. Buildings, applicances and transportation
2. Phasing out incandescent light bulbs
3. Wasteful water pumps
4. Power adapters that connect devices like laptop computers, modems and cordless phones to wall sockets – The enhanced performance standards for external power supplies means the E.U. could save enough electricity by 2020 to power Lithuania for a year. (Wow!)

What are we in the US doing?

• We still don’t have recycle bins in most public places – malls, airports, offices, starbucks (hello?). We have seen these all over Europe.
• Many cities/towns are still not recycling
• Most of our office buildings leave their lights ON all night. What exactly is the justification for that? Can technology not solve it?

Wake up, USA.

As a resident, not citizen, of the United States, it was amazing to watch the 2008 elections. I know what I am about to say has been said in many ways by more eloquent and articulate people before me.

It has taken me an entire 2 days to absorb what has happened and to be able to sit down and write this.

There are but a handful of transformational figures in History, those who have the ability to move people enmasse in a certain direction. Entire countries, nay, the entire world. We have seen a few of these people in the last century – Mahatma Gandhi, MLK, the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela. Hundreds and thousands of people would flock to hear them speak to get a glimpse of them in their mortal skin, to hang on to their every word and would march with them faithfully and unflinchingly.  These personalities arise from modest backgrounds and change the path of the world for the better – they change the way we behave, the things that we believe in and most importantly they change how we see ourselves.

As one who has no right to vote in the US and no political leaning one way or the other (though I live in democratic Massachusetts), the ability to see, hear and observe Obama was fantastic. Though the popular vote tally shows a 52% to 46% split in favor of Obama – this race in its content, personality and identification was not even close. People flocked enmasse to Obama rallies – something tugged in their hearts, it was as if when Obama spoke – whether you watched it on TV or at a rally – you thought he was directly speaking to YOU. Time Magazine named YOU, the person of the year in 2006 – Obama made you feel it and believe it.

The message of Change, is intrinsic to human evolution. More of the same does not indicate progress. But Change is just a word – uttered by a normal human being (moi) sounds like what I get back at McDonalds after buying a sandwich – but a transformational figure gives it weight, a balance, a cadence and, most importantly, a ring of truth.

Mahatma Gandhi – You must be the change you want to see in the world. MLK – I have a dream. Nelson Mandela – I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself. The Dalai Lama – World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not the absence of violence. Peace is the manifestation of human compassion.

In many ways, Obama is channeling all these transformational figures and has the ability and the potential to be one of them. The promise is evident in the fact that his speeches have been watched by millions, that in one swoop it was no longer embarrassing for Americans to be Americans, that being educated and intelligent was once again aspirational, that being worldly wise, well traveled and exposed to cultures outside the US was is not a mark against you, that many millions of people of all colors, gender, ages, religions all over the world celebrated his election, that this can only happen in the US, that once again the US is the country to look up to, the undisputed democracy, the lone superpower with a message of good.

Transformational figures do not plan to be transformational, they live it, they are it. Obama, afterall is a politician and he will stumble and have missteps. But he has the opportunity to move a nation and with it the world – towards managing the Climate and Energy crisis, towards a more peaceful Middle-East and Africa, a more benevolent developed world towards their more unfortunate brethren.

Time will tell if he lives up to his promise. In the meanwtime, can we HOPE Obama can CHANGE the world? YES WE CAN.