JEFFREY BROWN:And you don't think there's—do you think there's the possibility of passing some sort of comprehensive plan, the way the president put it out?

AL GORE:I hope that this is an exception. And there are exceptions.

But the gag point, if you will, the point, the threshold beyond which there is enough public outrage to capture the attention of the Congress, that threshold has been raised to a ridiculously high level. I'm hoping that we will be able to get reform in the gun laws.

But here's the simple mechanism at the heart of this. The way our founders designed American democracy, the role of the elected representatives was to go to Washington and immerse themselves in information and learn more, but always keep in mind, how is this going to affect my constituents? What is in their best interests? Or, to put it another way, how are they going to react if I vote this way or make this speech?

Now, because representatives and senators spend five to six hours a day every day begging for money from wealthy interests and wealthy individuals to build up a war chest, so they can buy their television commercials, the next day, when they go to vote or make a speech, they think to themselves, how is this going to affect my fund-raising?

And so their constituents take a backseat, unless it is an exceptional situation, where the public is passionately aroused.

JEFFREY BROWN:This—this money and influence question has been one that has been hitting you in the past few weeks since you sold Current TV to Al-Jazeera, Al-Jazeera owned by the government of Qatar, the royal family there. It gets its wealth from—from natural gas and oil, fossil fuels.

And what a lot of folks said—and you have been asked about in the last few days, I see—is this question of hypocrisy. How can you, telling all of us that it's important to think about cutting back on our energy use, how can you sell to a company that really is backed by that very thing?

AL GORE:Well, I understand the charge.

I reject it and disagree with it, but for one simple reason. In doing diligence on what Al-Jazeera really is, you will find very clearly that it has long since established itself as a truly outstanding news gathering network.

And let me give you one example. Their coverage of the climate crisis is the highest quality and most extensive of any television network. By contrast, we just went through here in the United States a long presidential campaign in a year that was the hottest in American history, with superstorm Sandy and 60 percent of the country in drought, and massive fires in the West, and $110 billion of climate disasters, and not one journalist asked any of the candidates in any of the debates a single question about climate.

JEFFREY BROWN:Well, you know, you wrote that, and I have heard you say that recently in interviews, but -- but, therefore, what? Because...

AL GORE:Therefore, we, in the United States ...

JEFFREY BROWN:No, but I'm ...

AL GORE:Yes.

JEFFREY BROWN:But I'm asking you, I can't get in the heads of the moderators who didn't ask—they—presumably, they had other things, important things to say.

AL GORE:Yes.

JEFFREY BROWN:Are you suggesting they didn't ask about climate change because they were influenced somehow by—by money or by big corporations? I mean, that's the, "Therefore, what?"

AL GORE:I think that more diversity is a good thing, and fresh points of view articulated by people who are committed to excellence in journalism is a beneficial change in the American media landscape.

And a news organization that regularly and constantly explores this issue, by contrast to the way it has been ignored, up until superstorm Sandy has begun to bring about some change—but we have had a kind of odd silence about this issue.

And the United States is the only nation that can lead the world toward a solution on this issue. In any case, this organization has proven itself. It has a fantastic reputation. I'm proud of what Current TV was able to do. We had an excellent lineup of programming. But, as an independent in an age of conglomerates, without deep pockets, we faced a point, even though we were profitable each year, where we had to make a move.

And this organization, I think, is a very good addition to the U.S. television dial.

JEFFREY BROWN:Let me ask you, finally, you call yourself a recovering politician. Now, I'm not going to ask you if you're planning to reenter politics, because you're no doubt not going to tell me.

But I wonder how you see yourself, your role today. Do you think you have been more effective out of politics or in?

AL GORE:Well, I don't have the illusion that there's any position or role in the world with as much potential for bringing about change as that of president of the United States.

But that wasn't to be. And I found other ways to serve. And I have found a lot of good ways to make a positive difference. And I plan to continue doing that.

JEFFREY BROWN:All right.

We're going to continue this discussion online about climate change and other issues. And I hope our viewers will join us then. But, for now, the book is "The Future."

Al Gore, thanks for talking to us.

AL GORE:Thank you.