Al Gore brings climate change message to campus
By Corey Spring
“I am Al Gore,” the former vice-president told a crowd of a couple of thousand people gathered at the Value City Arena on Sunday night. “I used to be the next president of the United States of America.”
Gore talked for roughly an hour about the environment and the current climate crisis he says our Earth is facing, while taking time to crack the occasional joke.
Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee briefly introduced Gore, noting that they were neighbors from Gee’s days in Tennessee. Gee also made sure to mention that the campus had been abuzz for several weeks after it had been announced that such a distinguished speaker, an Oscar-winner, would be visiting.
“Then we found out that Angelina Jolie wasn’t available,” said Gee. “But Al Gore is pretty good, too.”
Gore reiterated many of the same points in his lecture to Ohio State students that he has in his previous speeches over the last several years: the effect man is having on climate change by releasing large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, the shrinking polar ice caps, and the need for individuals and lawmakers to take notice.
“This is our home,” Gore said at one point. “We don't have another planet to go to. Don't let anybody tell you that we're going to get on rocket ships and go to a new planet.”
“We couldn’t even evacuate New Orleans,” he added.
Gore repeatedly urged those in attendance to visit the non-profit, non-partisan website, wecansolveit.org, a project of Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection. The website encourages visitors to register and advocate for the cessation of global warming, by minimizing their own impact as well as pressuring politicians to adopt environmentally-friendly policies.
The audience responded positively to Gore’s message, interrupting him at various times throughout his speech with applause. As Gore was making his concluding remarks, however, one lone person in the audience, who could not be clearly understood, yelled repeatedly over Gore.
Finally, the former vice-president relented and addressed the man disrupting his speech, saying that he was trying to talk to the audience and that “I think they want to hear what I have to say,” netting Gore even more applause from the audience.
At the end of the lecture, Gore took several questions from students that were submitted to OUAB in advance. While failing to specifically answer questions on which candidate Gore supported in the upcoming presidential election, or which of the three presidential hopefuls would offer the best energy policy, one student did pose a particularly hard-hitting question.
“Is ManBearPig real?”
“I’m sworn to secrecy,” the former vice-president chuckled. “I like Futurama reruns better than that show, anyway.”
“That show” Gore was referring to is “South Park.” As many college students know, a 2006 episode of the show poked fun at Gore by having a cartoon version of him warning citizens about the threat of a half man, half bear, half pig that roams the Earth attacking people. In contrast, Gore has lent his voice to Futurama several times, playing a disembodied head version of himself. His daughter, Kristin, was a writer for the popular cartoon series.
Originally Published: Issue 647 - May 7, 2008
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