May 22, 2026
The Climate Reality Project, a nonprofit organization founded by former Vice President Al Gore, hosted the 20th Anniversary Climate Reality Training at The Pinnacle in Nashville on May 2, 2026. The event included a panel discussion with University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) Professor and Dean Emerita Rosina Bierbaum, Gore, and Michael Mann, a professor of earth and environmental science at the University of Pennsylvania.
The discussion centered on the importance of equipping young people with the tools needed to move forward on climate and other challenges, with Bierbaum commenting that immense progress has already been made on the accessibility and prevalence of these tools.
“In 1975, there were only four programs in the United States that offered energy, environment and policy together, one of them right here at the University of Tennessee, by the way … However, now, there are hundreds of these all across the country,” Bierbaum said.
The event, which is one of three global advocacy leadership trainings offered by the nonprofit, began after the release of Gore's 2006 documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."
Specialization
Environmental Policy and Planning