Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore Jr. still remembers the childhood experiences that inspired his passion for the natural environment.
"Some of my earliest memories are walking with my father over every hectare of our family farm as he explained the importance of caring for the soil," Gore, 69, told The Japan Times via email. "The next formative experience for me was when my mother read aloud, to my sister and me, Rachel Carson's (environmental science) book 'Silent Spring' — I don't remember her doing that with any other books."
Today, those memories have manifested in Gore's life in the form of a lengthy career championing the movement against climate change. Aside from hosting presentations around the world, he has written two books and adapted two documentaries centered on the dangers of environmental destruction — the latest of which will make its Japanese debut by closing the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival on Nov. 3. The film is set for a wider release two weeks later.