Former Vice President Al Gore (D) likened a "shrinking group" of climate change "denialists" to an alcoholic father or a slavery perpetrator in an interview with the Washington Post's Ezra Klein.
Gore compared the conversation on climate change to conversations about civil rights, apartheid or gay rights.
"I remember as a boy when the conversation on civil rights was won in the South. I remember a time when one of my friends made a racist joke and another said, hey man, we don’t go for that anymore," Gore said.
"A few months ago, I saw an article about two gay men standing in line for pizza and some homophobe made an ugly comment about them holding hands and everyone else in line told them to shut up. We’re winning that conversation," Gore continued.
"The conversation on global warming has been stalled because a shrinking group of denialists fly into a rage when it’s mentioned," Gore said. "It’s like a family with an alcoholic father who flies into a rage every time a subject is mentioned and so everybody avoids the elephant in the room to keep the peace. But the political climate is changing."
But Gore does think some of the climate change conversation is moving forward. In June, he hailed a speech President Barack Obama gave on climate change at Georgetown University "the best address on climate by any president ever."
Click here for more from the Washington Post's interview with Al Gore.
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