Wildlife has been coping with the aftermath of our actions for generations; the impact of our “carbon footprints” tells a similar story with one notable difference; we are now beginning to experience the negative effects of global warming right along with wildlife. Now that we’re all in the same boat, it’s time to set a course for the future. And who better to steer the ship than Al Gore?

Universal awareness of climate change has risen significantly in the two years since Nobel Laureate Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” took the world by storm.  Intended to be an educational tool that inspires action, his award-winning film delivered a critical message to the masses – we must act now. Yet despite a groundswell of support for taking action, little has changed in the grand scheme of things except that the situation seems to be getting worse. Still, climate change ranks at or close to the bottom of most people’s list of “serious issues.” Why? And how is that going to change?

We hope you’ll join us for a presentation that will provide the answers to these questions and more as Richard Whiteford, Pennsylvania and New Jersey outreach representative for Defenders of Wildlife, gives a newly revised PowerPoint version of An Inconvenient Truth that reflects up-to-date scientific information on climate change. Following the film will be a discussion on what it all means and where we go from here as Al Gore himself admits, “Most of the work remains to be done.”

The Philadelphia Zoo’s sustainability initiative Footprints and the Footprints’ carbon offset projects will also be profiled by Zoo conservation program manager Valerie Peckham and sustainability program manager, Chris Waldron. Learn more about what the Zoo is doing to be green and about how you can sequester carbon dioxide while you protect wildlife from Borneo to your backyard.