By Christian Davis

Thousands of East Tennessee State University students and faculty, and other Johnson City citizens, stood and applauded as former vice president Al Gore walked to the podium in the Mini-Dome on the ETSU campus March 26 to give the 27th annual Lamb Lecture in the Leading Voices in Public Health Lecture Series.

“It’s great to be back at ETSU,” said Gore.

The topic of the night was global warming and health.  While discussing global warming, Gore said that humans tend to think they cannot do anything to harm or affect the environment because, compared to people, the world is so large.

“Nothing like this has ever happened before, therefore we think we’re safe in assuming it won’t happen in the future,” said Gore.  “However, that’s not the case.”

Gore said that there are many effects of global warming.  Global warming is beginning to cause severe droughts due to the increase in carbon dioxide around the world.

“According to a recent study, if we don’t take action quick, much of southern Europe will eventually desertify,” said Gore. 

Another effect of global warming, according to Gore, is the melting of glaciers.  Gore said that the melting of glaciers causes sea levels to rise.  Also, storms are becoming stronger because of global warming.

Gore said that the greatest threat of global warming is the health consequences.  He said that with every half degree Celsius increase in temperature, the abundance of mosquitoes increases 30 to 100 percent.  This increase in mosquitoes can increase the number of people with diseases because mosquitoes carry diseases such as malaria.

Gore said that in order to attempt to stabilize germs, four factors have to be present.  These factors include colder winters, colder nights, stable conditions and a rich web of biodiversity.  Global warming, Gore said, is pushing society in the opposite direction of stopping diseases in the world.

“We hold the key to global success,” he said.

The United States, as a leading country in our world, needs to start taking steps toward a solution to global warming, Gore said.

“We’ve got to get the U.S. to take a lead on this,” he added.

He said that the rest of the world looks up to us and if we set an example and show ways we can help stop global warming, there is a good chance the world will follow our footsteps.

Gore called out the students in the audience telling them that their generation needs to begin to put pressure on the issue of global warming until something is done to try to stop it.

“All of us have to be part of reaching the solution,” he said.

Gore said that one of the ways to slow down global warming is to plant trees.

“We have everything we need to make a difference,” he said.