Ecosystem disturbed by population rise: Al Gore

CHENNAI: Former Vice-President of the United States and Nobel Laureate Al Gore on Wednesday drew an analogy between the challenges faced by cardiologists and those involved in assessing the health of the global ecological system, saying the role of the heart in beating regularly and distributing blood throughout the body is similar in some ways to the hydrological cycle of the earth. He was speaking at the 20th World Congress of the World Society of Cardio Thoracic Surgeons, here. Mr. Gore said the reason for extreme highs of temperatures and unprecedented weather events was that the relation between human beings and the ecosystem of the earth had dramatically changed in a relatively short period. One of the key reasons that disrupted the balance was the dramatic increase in population, Mr. Gore said. “We are beginning to see a great many consequences of this. This past summer, 19 countries have seen all-time highs in temperature. The period from January to August this year represents the hottest season ever measured,” the former Vice-President said, adding 2010 is on course to become the hottest year along with 2008. From preliminary calculations, it could be said that the amount of rainfall had far exceeded what was seen or recorded in the past. There has been a once-in-a-1000-year rainfall. Droughts in Australia had also been severe, Mr. Gore said in his key thematic oration ‘Thinking Green.'