Al Gore has an intelligent and well written essay in today's NYT that is worthy of your attention. He talks about real problems and offers real solutions that are workable and worthwhile undertaking. Above and beyond the practical angles, it also inspired. Here is a brief excerpt of a section near the end of the essay:

In an earlier transformative era in American history, President John F. Kennedy challenged our nation to land a man on the moon within 10 years. Eight years and two months later, Neil Armstrong set foot on the lunar surface. The average age of the systems engineers cheering on Apollo 11 from the Houston control room that day was 26, which means that their average age when President Kennedy announced the challenge was 18.

This year similarly saw the rise of young Americans, whose enthusiasm electrified Barack Obama's campaign. There is little doubt that this same group of energized youth will play an essential role in this project to secure our national future, once again turning seemingly impossible goals into inspiring success.

And here's a link to the full text:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/opinion/09gore.html?pagewanted=1&ref=opinion 

It makes one wonder what might have been if only Democrats had fought harder in 2000