The votes have been cast and the word is finally in: Former
Vice President Al Gore and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change are the co-recipients of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. The
Norwegian panel conferring the honors explained that the two parties were
deserving of the prestigious prize “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.”
Read more about this breaking news story at www.CBSnews.com
and Nobelprize.org.
There are few organizations with a more global focus than
the Nobel Foundation. Founded in 1901 by Renaissance-man Alfred Nobel, its
councils in Sweden and Norway
undertake the task of selecting annual winners whose activities have beneficially
impacted the world. In addition to the Peace Prize, awards are granted in the
fields of Medicine, Literature, Economics, Physics and Chemistry. Laureates
represent an extremely diverse range of countries, cultures, and backgrounds.
I think this year’s panel made an appropriate decision in
choosing Gore and the IPCC for the Peace Prize. Climate Change is an issue of
pivotal international importance, one that requires dedicated efforts on all
fronts to address. I saw Al Gore present his Inconvenient Truth lecture this
past spring, and it was inspiring. To me, he is an example of someone with a
truly global perspective–one with the courage to stand up to criticism in
defense of what he perceives to be our collective fate as Earth’s inhabitants.
Like the My Wonderful World campaign, he recognizes the need for public
awareness of global issues, and has made it his primary mission to educate
others. What a Noble cause (please excuse the pun).
What do you think about Al Gore winning the Nobel Prize?
Sarah for My Wonderful World
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Hi Greg,
Thanks for your impassioned comments about the awarding of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. With any such major accolade, there are often several viable candidates, and, as a result, plenty of room for controversy over the final selection. While we think Gore was a good choice, there are certainly many others paving the way for peace around the world–often under the guise of a lower–perhaps more humble–profile, as you imply. I’d encourage you to check out these resources for more on the process of selecting Nobel Prize award winners.
1) Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize#Nomination_and_selection
2) Nobel Prize Committee Websites database: http://nobelprize.org/prize_awarders/
Sarah Jane
Politics as usual in 2007. A man & an organization who speak loudly about environment(an important subject-we only get one earth)have risked very little to nothing to get their message across. Little Irena Sendler risks her life every day to save over 2,500 Jews in Poland and she is not honored with the coveted nobel peace prize. Her life story will live on for years, but she is certainly far and above more worthy of a peace prize for her efforts in a time of war against a race in humanity. Maybe the real issue is that she saved Jews. If it was another race her name would have been at the top of the list. The Nobel Peace Prize is a political joke!