together with the IPCC.
Oscar, Emmy, Nobel Peace Prize - I guess that disqualifies him for the office of American President :)
Joking aside, I think it's not a bad choice. Congratulations, Mr. Gore.
Oh well, at least it wasn't Bono.
I admire Al Gore's campaign to send a message to protect the earth and conserve energy, but Live Earth?... tsk, tsk, tsk. We are talking about stadium lighting and amplifying equipment, and that alone takes a shit load of energy. Not to mention fuel used on transportation for performing artists.
Indeed, congratulations are in order.
But I really have issues with the fact that this was such an obvious political ploy, an obvious political decision. Granted both the UN Intergovernmental Body on Climate Change and Mr. Gore have been fervent supporters of environmental awareness and proponents of climate change, but other than running around and screaming that the sky is falling, what have they done really? Mr. Gore made a movie explaining the situation, but has his it had that much of an impact? I don't see the US getting any greener since that movie has come out (and I'm not talking about federal mandates and things...the US citizens could be greener if they really wanted to without the government having to tell them to be). That movie was seen by a lot of people here, and I don't think it's spurred one movement at the grassroots level to clean anything up. So the movie raised awareness of a problem, which is well and good as without awareness there can be no solution to a problem. But since when did they start handing out Nobel Peace Prizes for raising awareness? Getting a prize like that used to mean that you actually affected change in whatever area you were working in, that you had measurable effect. Are they that short on ideas now that they have to lower the bar to simply "Raising Awareness"? Or is this just an obvious political move in support of Mr. Gore and a not to subtle "F* You" to the Bush Administration for not doing more on the issue? Either way, it's kind of sad.
hear hear! it will be interesting to see if environment issues come up in the '08 election, or if the Republicrats try to ignore it away. If polar bears could vote...
So now we are giving peace prizes away for men who, while very well intentioned, put out factually inaccurate movies? A movie that Al Gore is afraid to debate rational people over?
Just another in a long line of things that have gone on that tell me that we, as a human race, are doomed.....this award USED to mean something, it's now nothing more than a political grab ass session.
Soon, you'll probably add Hillary Clinton to the list, I'm sure they'll find some reason to give it to her.
Haystacks Calhounski wrote: So now we are giving peace prizes away for men who, while very well intentioned, put out factually inaccurate movies? A movie that Al Gore is afraid to debate rational people over?
I absolutely and totally agree.
Experiencing daily temperatures in the 60s, 70s, and 80 degrees during winter time is nothing to worry about.
That's just God fuckin' around with the earth's thermostat. The prank won't last for long.
Just wait for Ashton Kutcher to come out to tell us that we all got Punk'd.
The only useful thing that came out of his movie was the cover artwork....so that we could do this..... link
Look. I have no issues with Al wanting to put out a movie. It is just that, a movie. That said, why the public, as a whole, lets him get away with the amount of obvious inaccuracies which are portrayed as fact in the film is beyond me.
That is what bothers me, and what should bother everyone else....that those who call out the obvious blunders in the so called proof are shouted down. There is a reason that scientists, meteorologists, and people who are far and away more learned on the subject that you and I scoff at the movie. However, do you hear their voices?
No you don't. Gore's opinions are treated as fact, and anyone who argues against them is an idiot.
Isn't that exactly what happened on the run up into Iraq?
I don't think he won the prize for the movie. He is being recognized as an environmental activist who helped a lot to create awareness of environmental issues among the political leadership and the global public. Here is the committee's announcement:
THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR 2007
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 is to be shared, in two equal parts, between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr. for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.
Indications of changes in the earth’s future climate must be treated with the utmost seriousness, and with the precautionary principle uppermost in our minds. Extensive climate changes may alter and threaten the living conditions of much of mankind. They may induce large-scale migration and lead to greater competition for the earth’s resources. Such changes will place particularly heavy burdens on the world’s most vulnerable countries. There may be increased danger of violent conflicts and wars, within and between states.
Through the scientific reports it has issued over the past two decades, the IPCC has created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming. Thousands of scientists and officials from over one hundred countries have collaborated to achieve greater certainty as to the scale of the warming. Whereas in the 1980s global warming seemed to be merely an interesting hypothesis, the 1990s produced firmer evidence in its support. In the last few years, the connections have become even clearer and the consequences still more apparent.
Al Gore has for a long time been one of the world’s leading environmentalist politicians. He became aware at an early stage of the climatic challenges the world is facing. His strong commitment, reflected in political activity, lectures, films and books, has strengthened the struggle against climate change. He is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted.
By awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 to the IPCC and Al Gore, the Norwegian Nobel Committee is seeking to contribute to a sharper focus on the processes and decisions that appear to be necessary to protect the world’s future climate, and thereby to reduce the threat to the security of mankind. Action is necessary now, before climate change moves beyond man’s control.
Oslo, 12 October 2007
There are simply too many substantial factual innacuracies in Gore's movie, and, for me, the prize has become completely politically based.
Gore's movie is the "Reefer Madness" of the environmental movement, and may garner a similar cult-humor following decades from now for its purple prose and alarmism.
Why did this not qualify for a Science award? Perhaps because the science behind his movie is so seriously flawed?
Jimmy Carter
Yasser Arafat
Mohamed AlBaredi
Kofi Annan
Henry Kissinger
On second thought, I guess that Gore fits right in....silly me. I thought that this is what they gave him the Oscar for.....