Gore Visit ‘Symbol’ For Green Attention

University President Drew G. Faust announced Wednesday that former Vice President Al Gore ’69 will speak as part of Harvard’s Sustainability Celebration in late October.

Gore, who will be joined onstage by Faust at the Tercentenary Theater event, is known for his part in the Academy Award-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” and was the recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to raise awareness about the impact of global warming.

“Al Gore is the posterchild for Harvard’s impact on addressing the challenge of the environment,” said Daniel P. Schrag, head of the Harvard Center for the Environment. “Gore learned about the climate problem at Harvard, and he goes around telling everyone about it.”

The speech is part of Harvard’s Sustainability Celebration, which, according to a news release from Faust’s office, will mark the launch of a new greenhouse gas-reduction initiative, and a celebration of Harvard’s role as an environmental leader.

The University aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on campus by 30 percent by 2016. Announced in July, the initiative comes from recommendations made by the Greenhouse Gas Task Force convened last spring and co-headed by Kennedy School Professor William C. Clark.

Clark said that a guest speaker of Gore’s status and the location of the event in Tercentenary Theater reflects that the issue is receiving an appropriate amount of attention from the President’s office.

He praised Faust for implementing the recommendations of the task force, and emphasizing the research possibilities of the University.

Zachary C. Arnold ’10, chair of the Harvard Environmental Action, praised Gore’s ability to engage the student community.

“Its a great thing about Harvard’s commitment to accentuate a milestone in what has been a very long process and one that will extend over the next several decades,” he said.

While recognizing that this is an important step, Clark emphasized that more needs to be done to formulate a multifaceted plan.

“Harvard needs to rise to other challenges,” he said, including its water use, and the carbon emissions generated by Harvard’s energy production.

But for now, the symbolic role of Gore’s presence may be sufficient.

“Symbols are important,” Shrag said. “Its important that Harvard sets an example that leads our neighbors and community down a path of more sustainable practices.”