Former Vice President Al Gore told a San Diego audience Tuesday that the planet is increasingly showing signs of climate change.
Gore did not mince words as he addressed the audience at the Salk Insititute.
He pointed out that wildfires around California and the rest of the world are increasing in frequency and intensity.
Storms are pounding our coastlines and communities and these extreme weather events are all symptoms of a planet trying to endure a rapidly warming climate, he said. Fossil fuels are putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere faster than at any time in the last 66 million years.
RELATED: How Ice A Half A World Away Affects Southern California Sea Levels
Change is needed and Gore is optimistic people can change, but the final question he posed was, will they?
“I’m optimistic there too, but, spoiler alert, the answer to that question kind of depends on you. Not just you, but really in meaningful ways, you,” Gore said before the presentation began.
The nation needs the political will to take the partisan politics out of the climate change debate, according to Gore.
Fortunately, he said, political will is a renewable resource.
“There are 57 college campuses in the U.S. where the Young Republicans clubs have joined together to petition the Republican National Committee demanding that they change their position on climate,” Gore said.
RELATED: Climate Activists Cast Shade On San Diego’s Ambitious Tree Planting Efforts
But progress is being made.
Gore said the expansion of the nation’s solar and wind resources are accelerating, but the former vice president said the pace needs to move faster.
The direst effects of a changing climate can still be avoided, but Gore acknowledged that some climate change impacts can no longer be undone.
