Former Vice President Al Gore left politics behind – as much as he could – when he gave the 62nd annual Bownocker Lecture yesterday, the eve of Earth Day, focusing on the environmental issues facing both current and future generations.

Weigel Hall was packed as Gore spoke for nearly an hour on dire situations facing Earth, such as global warming, the melting of glaciers and constant pollution.

“We are witnessing a collision between our civilization and the ecology of our Earth,” Gore said. “We are overriding nature and becoming a force of nature ourselves.”

Gore cited three factors for the occurrence of this collision: a rapidly increasing population, the scientific and technological revolution and current ways of thinking. He said the world’s population is slowing its rate of increase, but the population size is still a large problem.

“The size is already so unprecedented,” Gore said. “We are causing real pressure on natural resources.”

The pressures the world faces include species loss, food demands and water demands. United States’ citizens cause a majority of the global warming, as improved science and technology have resulted in exploitation of the land, he said.

“Old habits with new technologies bring about dramatically altered consequences,” Gore said. “Our technology threatens to dwarf the human scale, and we have to come to terms with it.”

Gore also said the environmental problems have met with a passive response from the population at large.

“When it seems like it’s happening gradually, we just sit,” Gore said.

The politics underlying these issues surfaced as Gore pointed out there are people who try to manipulate public beliefs because of huge economic interests they hold.

“Continue to make the lack of scientific certainty a primary issue,” said Gore, quoting Republican Pollster Frank Luntz. Gore used the comment to demonstrate the determination of some to make the environment less of a serious issue in the eyes of Americans.

Gore said a misconception among the public is the belief that both the Earth and its problems are so big, no one can make a difference.

“Some people thought the Berlin Wall would never come down,” Gore said. “But it did because we worked together as Americans. We are a democracy, and we have the ability to reason together and make these choices.”

Using a PowerPoint presentation, Gore showed pictures of glaciers melting from all over the world and graphs of rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Other facts Gore mentioned were: the 10 hottest years on record have occurred in the last 13 years, 2003’s heat wave killed about 15,000 people in Europe, and the United States is in the sixth year of record drought in the American West.

On a humorous note, Gore used a Simpsons-esque cartoon short to explain the science behind global warming, making the prediction that more drought and flooding will plague the Earth in the future.

“We can stop all this, but we have to act,” Gore said. “We are at a fork in the road, and if we continue business as usual, we’re really going to have a problem. That’s what this issue is all about – adopting the right perspective and keeping our eyes on the prize.”

Sen. John Glenn, representing the John Glenn Institute for Public Service & Public Policy, introduced Gore. The institute co-sponsored the lecture with the Ohio State department of geological sciences.

Prior to his speech, Gore toured the Byrd Polar Research Center and was awarded the 62nd Bownocker medal for his contributions to the realm of geological sciences.