Subscribe to this blog's feed

                                 

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

My Wonderful World Home About My Wonderful World Sign Up for Updates