Gore campaigns to raise global awareness

WASHINGTON, March 31 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore says he's launching a $300 million bipartisan campaign to raise climate change higher on the U.S. political agenda.

The three-year, Alliance for Climate Protection campaign will start Wednesday with network television advertising that will include "American Idol," and other shows that reach non-traditional audiences, The Politico reported Monday.

The campaign aims to capture growing awareness of the climate crisis and channel it into becoming one of the top issues on which voters make decisions.

The campaign has created some strange political bedfellows, such as conservative Pat Robertson and activist the Rev. Al Sharpton in an ad saying they may not agree on many things, but they do agree that they must work to save the planet.

The campaign is being paid for in part with profits from Gore's book and Oscar-winning documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," and with the prize money from his share of the Nobel Peace Prize, which he matched. The alliance is also raising money online through WeCanSolveIt.org.