“As a consequence of the Green Fund, there have been some 20 or more projects that have come to fruition. We’ve seen an average rate of return of close to 40 percent—that’s even better than the endowment,” he said. “And today I am pleased to announce that we are doubling the size of that fund.”      

But in a question and answer session, Summers was forced to defend his position as an economist, which some saw as favoring economic development at the cost of economic reform. “There’s a reason I wasn’t in a big hurry to be on this panel,” Summers joked.

Students also questioned the administration’s resistance to the Undergraduate Council wind power referendum, which passed last week in the council elections.

“Harvard is committed to efficient and sustainable energy, and will invest in this on a substantial scale, but we don’t believe that it is appropriate to use an optional check-off fee as a mechanism for supporting those investments,” Summers said.

But while the panelists took the subject seriously, the talk had its light points.

During the question and answer session, Maya E. Frommer ’07 asked Summers if he thought it would be economically feasible to pass the restrictions on greenhouse emissions.

“Perhaps I should defer that question to someone who’s received over 60 million votes,” he joked, turning the question over to Gore, who himself couldn’t help but laugh.

And when a student asked Gore for a catchphrase to describe the people obstructing the work against global warming, Gore fired back: “Republicans.”

But Gore said that climate change must be taken seriously. “We have to take care of this, and we have to keep our eyes on the prize.”