we get three takes on that, from glenn hurowitz, who works on environmental issues at the center for international policy. daniel weiss, the director of climate strategy at the center for american progress. and ken green, who studies environmental policy for the american enterprise institute. glen hurowitz, is al gore right? >> he is right. unfortunately environmentalists got the sense that president obama was not fully fighting for the climate and for the urgent environmental needs that we have during the debate over climate legislation when he cut side deals with the oil industry, the coal industry, the nuclear industry without getting anything in return in terms of a commitment to support a cap on pollution or investment in clean-energy jobs. that was rumor that he was seeing other people but we really got confirmation when he embraced a broad agenda of drilling for oil offshore in the gulf, now looking to do in the very sensitive ecological areas in alaska. we saw it when he opened up huge areas for coal mining in wyoming it's about 30 times the amount of coal mining as clean ene

. >> ifill: glenn hurowitz, you're never going agree but let me ask it this way. how much of this, whether you believe there should be government action or not, should have the public clamoring to change? how much can they stomach? especially at a time of economic stress? >> well, i think the public needs it and... >> ifill: we also need broccoli but we don't all like it. >> that's true. but i think what vice president gore was saying in the article was that it's hard for just the environmental community to stand up against entire republican party, against the fossil fuel lobby with all their money. there needs to be leadership the white house. historically that's how we've made environmental progress to pass the clean air act, to pass the clean water act, to protect public lands and national parks and without that kind of leadership we won't get the agenda we need. and in terms of just day to day putting bread on the table, like i said, revitalizing the economy means investing in clean energy. it means investing in ecological restoration. and in order to do that,