Speaker Series: The Minds That Move the World – Al Gore

At the Chicago Theatre

Al Gore

I was impressed with the large crowd that come to hear former U.S. Vice President Al Gore speak. There were all kinds of protestors outside the Chicago Theatre including deniers of global warming. The carnival atmosphere quickly got serious when Al Gore—a little grayer and heavier began to speak. He was crystal clear and focused concerning global warming. He outlined the bleak future of our planet if we don’t take action now.

Gore was most effective when he stood at the center of the stage and explained the problem. Gore was articulate and compelling. He tied the three current crises together—solving global warming with free renewable energy: financially we can reduce spending on coal and oil. Building windmills and geothermal facilities will put people back to work and becoming energy independent will increase our security. Gore’s outline is interesting. He applauds President Obama for starting this process.

As an event, I liked Gore speaking alone and it was a distraction when Harold Evans and gore sat down to do a Q & A. Evans seem unprepared as he asked several inane questions and he seemed to be pandering to Chicago by making too many references to our city. We came to hear Al Gore, not Evans. While no new ground was spoken about, we did get some personal insights into how Gore has handled his ill fated election nine years later.

Kudos to MSG Entertainment & The Chicago Theatre for hosting this series. Based on the crowds so far, the series is a hit.

Upcoming Schedule at The Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St., Chicago, IL:

April 22 at 7:30 pm: Chris Matthews interviewing Tucker Carlson, Arianna Huffington and Paul Begala

May 29 at 7:30 pm: Charlie Rose interviewing James Carville and Karl Rove

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