Al Gore at the American Geophysical Union

I was one of about 5000 people who went to hear Al Gore speak at the American Geophysical Union meeting last week. The thing that most impressed me about Gore was his transformation from a somewhat boring and dry speaker (During his campaign days) to the very funny and down-to-earth speaker I listened to last week. Although he touched on global warming issues, he largely focused on the need for scientists to become more involved in speaking out on their research. He noted that science is under attack and not just by political leaders. He urged us to get out more and tell the people what science is about. He noted that in the past, scientists were respected by politicians and even sought out for the information they could provide. Now, if scientists are sought out by politicians, it's usually to support a political goal. Hopefully, his message got through to some of us at the meeting and we will continue to push for a greater lay understanding of science.

Cheers

Joe Meert