Al Gore in the Central Coast
Nobia Monsauret, Staff Reporter
nmonsauret@csumb.edu
Climate change, the hot topic of the decade will be the discourse of Former Vice President Al Gore’s lecture when he is the headline speaker in the last lecture of the semester of the Panetta Institute Lecture Series scheduled for Monday, May 17, 7:00 p.m. at the Golden State Theatre in Monterey. Gore’s lecture is entitled, “Our Environment: Can We Save the Planet that Sustains Us?” and will be moderated by Frank Sesno, Director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University and host of PBS Planet Forward.
Students selected to attend the afternoon academic session submitted an online form questioning them on their environmental literacy and sustainable actions. Kelly Mailly, Student Activities Coordinator of Leadership Development said, “The response was so overwhelming that the Panetta Institute opened up 10 additional spots, totaling 30 CSUMB students that will attend the afternoon program,” Mailly said. “My hope is that Gore’s presentation will bring more political and environmental awareness to students.”
Sylvia Panetta, Director of the Panetta Institute said, “When the Panetta Institute started the lecture series in1997 there was a lacking of high profile, deeply knowledgeable experts. It was the mission of the Panetta Institute to reach a broad audience and there is no question that this concept has filled a tremendous need. We reach 60 schools to our important afternoon academic program to share information and inspire young people, as well as the evening live, television and radio audiences.”
Over 30 years ago, Gore was the soft-spoken congressman from Tennessee, who subsequently became a part of the executive duo of the Clinton-Gore Administration from 1992-2000. Gore shaved his post-election loss beard from his bid for presidency against George W. Bush in 2000. He then picked up a few shares from Google and Apple as an advisor and board member, now worth millions. He is a high profile speaker and advocate on the issues that confront growing global concerns of climate change and won an Academy Award for” An Inconvenient Truth, the documentary of the bestselling book, and Grammy award for audio book. Additionally he has multiple bestselling books on topics of climate change and the environment and took the Nobel Peace Prize along with the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007. Ellen McGirt, business magazine columnist for Fast Company (2007) has coined him, “The Million Dollar Make over Man” for the wealth and speaking demand he has commanded since his days as an elected official.
The Gore lecture will be broadcast live throughout the Monterey Bay Area by various PBS affiliates including KQED and KTEH and will also be available on public radio. C-SPAN has been invited to broadcast the lecture nationally and will stream online at the Panetta Institute’s Web site at www.panettainstitute.org.
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