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A prominent leader in the climate change movement warned a full crowd Wednesday night at the University of Wisconsin of the negative environmental effects of their daily decisions.

Michel Gelobter, founder of Cooler, Inc. and member of the advisory board of Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection told the assembly the topic of global warming “is nothing at all but an issue of justice.”

“The unequal allocation of energy resources has led to something that is unsustainable,” Gelobter said, adding this results in a “political and international shove game” over where to place the blame.

Gelobter said climate change could be “the greatest threat to disadvantaged groups” because they are the least equipped to deal with the consequences. He added he projects that in a hundred years, heat deaths will exceed murder deaths in Los Angeles.

The international “burst of development, the act of simply taking, has added up,” Gelobter said. He added this was especially evident in the fossil fuel industry.

He identified oil conglomerates specifically as a group that must be forced to take responsibility for their role in the threat of climate change, because they are such a major cause of the problem.

“It’s time to throw off our chains and take a crowbar to the knees of these dinosaur industries,” Gelobter said.

Cooler, Inc. aims to direct consumers to more appropriate product choices and donates offset and reduction costs to environmental groups, building a pool of capital for action against the global climate change.

Gelobter said the two ways individuals affect the global community most are by voting and shopping.

He added the carbon footprint left by individuals is determined by “tens of thousands of purchase choices a year.”

Gelobter said that global warming is a “very strange evil” to battle, but, after mentioning the oil companies, he added, “we already know who is to blame.”

Rep. Jim Ott, R-Mequon, a former meteorologist, said he is not convinced human activity is causing global warming.

“There is an awful lot we don’t understand about climate change,” Ott said in a phone interview adding he does not advocate the passing of legislation that could “potentially restrict our economy.”

“Humans are not necessarily the cause,” Ott said. “This is not something we can verify in our lifetime.”

Ott said in order to combat the issue, policy could be enacted to “reduce greenhouse gases while also benefiting the economy” by conserving fossil fuels and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

In his closing statements, Gelobter said this coming year is an “intense one for climate legislation.”

“It’s time to work together and demand unity from all sorts of environmental groups,” Gelobter said. “Companies like Exxon-Mobile make more in one day than these groups make in over a year,” he added.

Gelobter said it is important to bring the global fight on climate change down to the level of the individual. He added people must “continue to push the envelope” of what is expected of them and make a greater effort to reduce their effect on the environment.