Hundreds of people converged on the University of Toronto by bicycle, on foot and by public transit to hear Al Gore deliver his Inconvenient Truth slide show Wednesday. A few sheepishly admitted they drove.

Outside Convocation Hall, hundreds more demonstrated for environmental causes — welcoming people with placards, such as "Heed the Goracle" — and clamoured for scalped tickets, some going for as much as $500.

Al Gore arrives to make his speech in Toronto Wednesday evening.
(Canadian Press)

"I am Al Gore," he introduced himself to the sold-out crowd. "I used to be the next president of the United States of America."

Cheers erupted.

Once dubbed "Gore the Bore," the former U.S. vice-president has become an environmental superstar since last year's release of the documentary film about climate change  An Inconvenient Truth.

Tickets sold out in minutes when the $20 tickets went on sale Feb. 7 — demand was so high for the 1,000 available seats that the university's online ticketing system crashed. Another 500 seats were reserved for invited guests.

And in the week leading up to the show, scalpers posted tickets online, some asking for several hundred dollars for a ticket.

Hoping to cash in on Gore's popularity

Many audience members talked about their conversion to the environmental ways Gore espouses, such as recycling more and using less electricity.

Others just spoke of the cool factor.

"Well, actually, my friends are all jealous that I'm going. And I'm really excited," said 15-year-old Sara MacRitchie, as she waited to enter the hall.

Scalpers weren't the only ones hoping to cash in on Gore's popularity. Environmentalists hope it won't just be a flash in the pan.

Miriam Diamond, a University of Toronto geography professor who specializes in environmental science,  said she's hopeful about Gore's long-term impact.
 
"We've been working in the trenches for years," she said. "This is so gratifying that Al Gore, such a prominent figure, has made the front page.

"It means a great deal. We get the profile that we need. We need to keep this moving forward."

Others are not as optimistic.

"My sense is, it's a unique opportunity that may actually be rather short," said Frank Vanya, a University of Toronto professor and environmental scientist who specializes in pollution. "The things that need to be done are painful and require, for lack of a better word, suffering."

But at the very least, he hopes the groundswell of popular support may be enough to secure more funding for the field, if only temporarily.