SEATTLE, WA - Former Vice-President Al Gore says nuclear power and clean coal may have role in the world's energy future, but a limited one. Gore was in Seattle yesterday to promote his latest book.One problem with nuclear power he says, is that it could lede to more nuclear weapons.

Al Gore: "During the 8 years I worked in the White House, every nuclear weapons proliferation problem we had to deal with was connected to a reactor program. That's what's happening in Iran, and in North Korea, and the technology for further enriching nuclear fuel to get it up to weapons-grade material is now much cheaper and more accessible so it's a real problem."

Gore says nuclear power and carbon sequestration will probably move forward but not at the pace that's being promoted by supporters.

Recent polls suggest concern about climate change is declining. When asked if his activism has backfired and is helping feed that decline, he predicted that concern would soon grow.

Al Gore: "This crisis is unprecedented. It is on a global scale. It's effects are already unfolding but they're distributed globally so it masquerades as an abstraction. And the length of time between the cause and the consequences stretch out over a longer period of time than we're used to dealing with."

Next month, nations around the world will meet in Copenhagen to discuss climate change. Gore expects that meeting may not result in a detailed agreement, due to the difficulty of the task.

Copyright 2009 KUOW

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