Former Vice-President Al Gore has thrown down the gauntlet in the U.S. energy debate by challenging the nations lawmakers, entrepreneurs and energy policy specialists to rid the country of all fossil fuel-driven electricity within ten years.

Speaking at an energy conference in Washington yesterday, Gore told the audience renewable energy sources such as wind and solar needed to take precedence because "the survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk."

The Nobel Peace Prize recipient and noted environmentalist told the audience that he could not "...remember a time in our country when so many things seemed to be going so wrong simultaneously" in the country but added that though the problems faced are many, they were not insurmountable.