IF AL GORE met Charles Dickens today, great conversations would ensue, with the former advocating climate change awareness and the latter asking what happened over the past century.
"It is the best of times and the worst of times," as Dickens would put the age of discontent over a century ago, not knowing, it would ring true till today.
In the age of millenials and information technology the century old novel rings true, it's message still clear and it's words still relevant.
It is an age of advancement and technology but also an age where we are confronted with our mortality.
Gore welcomed over 700 delegates all over the world who converged in the Philippines for the three day Climate Reality Leadership Corps training aiming to up the existing 9,000 climate change leaders in to 20,000 in 2020 which will hopefully make a dent in saving the planet.
At the peak of development and knowledge, we have managed to bring our existence into peril by wreaking havoc to our environment.
The Philippines is ranked number 1 in weather related events from 1994 to 2013, next only to Bangladesh and Vietnam, making the islands atop the list to countries experiencing weather related disaster.
The climate change phenomena has taken typhoon Yolanda as the poster kid for the world to see the impact of the climate crisis humanity is facing.
The storm of all storms has took into form the climate crisis and the increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events.
A heat wave has hit the entire world and as temperatures increase, oceans evaporate more moisture into the sky contributing to the messed up weather conditions we have today making flooding, melting of glaciers, extinction of species and shorter life expectancy an accepted reality.
Again, the words of Dickens reverberate "It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us."
Unlike the novel of Dickens where the tale revolved on two cities... We, today only have one planet.