By Khalida Sarwari and Jeff Shuttleworth
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore today encouraged individual commitment to fighting poverty and disease at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new poverty studies building at the University of California at Berkeley.
Gore spoke at the groundbreaking for the Richard C. Blum Center for Developing Economies, a multi-disciplinary initiative established to combat poverty. The center was set up three years ago through a founding gift from Blum, a San Francisco financier and philanthropist.
“It is unacceptable for those of us alive to look away when there’s so much hunger, malnutrition and disease in the world,” Gore said.
One of the climate crises in our time, Gore said, is the rapid growth of population, which has led to the increase in carbon emissions.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” Gore said, echoing the famous words of Martin Luther King Jr. “Increasing CO2 anywhere is a threat to civilization everywhere.”
Gore said the divide between developed and developing countries must be bridged and that the solution begins with individual responsibility and commitment to the cause.
In addition to the struggle against climate crisis, Gore said, we must also add the struggle against poverty and disease.
“It is a challenge that requires the head and heart of those who are awake, who have understood the moment we live in and the necessity to take on the challenge,” Gore said.
Gore was joined today by Blum, who serves as chair of the UC Board of Regents and is the husband of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein; UC President Mark Yudof; UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau; and College of Engineering Dean Shankar Sastry, faculty director of the Blum Center.
In a statement, Blum, who received both his undergraduate degree and his MBA from UC Berkeley, said, “I believe UC Berkeley can have a singular effect in the fight to alleviate human suffering.”
He said, “If you look at the dangerous political divisions in today’s world, you will find that most extremism has its roots in poverty and lack of education. We hope that our center will help train the next generation of leaders to be dedicated to alleviating poverty in the developing world.”
The center also involves a partnership with UC Davis and UC San Francisco.