By Alyson Watson 

The climate crisis is “the largest and most serious challenge human civilization has confronted,” former Vice President Al Gore told an East Tennessee State University audience March 26.

Gore was guest speaker for the 27th annual John P. Lamb Jr. Memorial Lecture, part of the Leading Voices in Public Health lecture series sponsored by the College of Public Health. Gore has been a leading advocate for confronting the threat of global warming since his earliest days in Congress 30 years ago. He discussed the health threats and the climate crisis with ETSU students, staff and the community.

Political systems in the world have really not faced up to the climate crisis, Gore said. One of the reasons why humans have been slow to realize the magnitude and scale of global warming is because nothing like this has happened before, he added.

“If something has never happened before then we are safe to say it won’t happen in the future,” Gore said.

Throughout the last 100 years, the population of the Earth has quadrupled to 6.7 billion. The population growth has made the
impact of human species on the planet much greater than before.

“Population is stabilizing because of public health,” said Gore.

 Gore said the climate changes are causing more widespread droughts. More moisture is evaporating, causing an increase in the world’s average humidity.  Although there are other causes to health crises, the climate change is increasing the probability of them.

 “The climate crisis is changing all that in the wrong direction,” said Gore. The increasing temperature allows insects such as mosquitoes and ticks to survive in new areas. These insects are infecting populations that have not previously had to confront certain diseases. A growing number of insects are spreading from the U.S. into Canada.

 Gore gave several examples of how global warming causes health problems: more deaths by heat waves, West Nile virus, and mosquito-borne diseases.

 Citizens have to first deal with global warming to affect public health, Gore said. “We have to deal with global warming and we can,” he added.

 “Don’t separate your professional aspirations from your responsibilities as citizens,” he said.

 The United States is seen by other countries as the leader of world, said Gore. If the U.S. does something first, the world will follow.

 “We need to get politically active and do something about global warming,” he said.

 “We have to get the United States to take a lead on this,” said Gore. “Global warming is a public health threat.”