Thursday, February 22, 2007

Inconvenient Truth Convenient Location

Transcript Staff Reports
The Norman Transcript

Al Gore, the bestselling author of An Inconvenient Truth and the 45th vice president of the United States, will deliver a presentation on global warming to University of Oklahoma students Thursday, March 1, in Paul F. Sharp Concert Hall of Catlett Music Center, 500 W. Boyd St. Doors will open at 3 p.m. Gore’s presentation will be part of a campus discussion of different points of view on global warming.

Devoting much of his political career to the topic of global warming, Gore in recent years has intensified his efforts both nationally and internationally on environmental protection. He is the author of the bestselling book, An Inconvenient Truth, upon which the major motion picture of the same name was based. The book claimed the No. 1 spot on the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Denver Post and Washington Post bestsellers’ lists. The film based on his book is nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. In addition, Gore talks about what he refers to as our “planetary emergency” or “climate crisis” as a frequent featured guest on some of television’s most watched programs.

“Clearly, the issue of global warming is of major importance to our society and it is appropriate to have an understanding and broad-ranging discussion of the subject on the campus. The view of Vice President Gore will allow our university community to hear first hand from one of the most prominent and active leaders in the entire nation in this field,” OU President David L. Boren said.

The day’s activities will begin with a free, public forum on global warming featuring two OU faculty members with different points of view. The forum, featuring David Deming, associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, and David Karoly, Williams Chair and professor of meteorology, is slated for 1:30 p.m. in Meacham Auditorium of Oklahoma Memorial Union, 900 Asp Ave. Additionally, a President’s Associates dinner and dialogue, featuring Gore, is scheduled for that evening.

Gore’s political career began in 1976 when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984 and was inaugurated as the 45th vice president of the United States in 1993.

Environmental issues have been at the forefront of Gore’s efforts since his days in the House and Senate. He authored an earlier, also bestselling, work on the environment titled Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit (1992); it became the first book written by a sitting senator to make The New York Times bestseller list since John F. Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage. Gore also led the Clinton administration’s efforts to protect the environment. He lectures widely on the topic of global warming.

Gore is a visiting professor at Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, and Fisk University, Nashville, where he teaches courses on family-centered community building.

Gore earned a bachelor of arts degree in government with honors from Harvard University in 1969 and also attended Vanderbilt University’s Divinity School and then law school at Vanderbilt. After graduation, he volunteered for enlistment in the U.S. Army and served in the Vietnam War.

The lecture is open to OU faculty, staff and students, with overflow seating available to the public. For more information and accommodations on the basis of disability, please call OU Special Events at 325-3784.

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