For whom the Nobel tolls

Al Gore and the IPCC jointly win peace prize

Posted by David Roberts at 2:09 AM on 12 Oct 2007

Read more about: Al Gore | climate | heroes

Photo: Stephen Lovekin/WireImage

Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have jointly won the Nobel Peace 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." Here's the press release. Here is his statement:

I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. This award is even more meaningful because I have the honor of sharing it with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change -- the world's pre-eminent scientific body devoted to improving our understanding of the climate crisis -- a group whose members have worked tirelessly and selflessly for many years. We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level.

My wife, Tipper, and I will donate 100 percent of the proceeds of the award to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the U.S. and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis.

Over the past week, all the U.S. media could talk about was how winning might affect Gore's chances in the U.S. presidential race. To me this demonstrates just how badly our media is misjudging the race, Gore's significance, and our current historical moment.

There's no reason to think that winning the prize would have any positive effect on Gore's chances if he did run. Does the American public care about the Nobel, a prize awarded by a bunch of ... foreigners? Wouldn't winning a "peace" prize brand Gore as weak on national security? Doesn't it show that he thinks he's better than us? Who would want to get a beer with a Nobel Peace Prize winner? Wait, did he just sigh?

If he entered the race, Gore would run headlong into the same dim-bulb, theatrics-obsessed political press that did him so much harm in the 2000 race. He'd also run into Hillary Clinton's political machine. He would own the climate change issue, so other candidates would have to start attacking him on it and distancing themselves from it. He'd be forced to spend his time discussing one piece of frenzied ephemera after another, instead of focusing on his animating passion. He'd end up in a bruising, demeaning battle, and winning some peace prize wouldn't shield him. The process of electing a president, like so many things in the U.S. today, has become small and petty. It shrinks, cheapens, simplifies, and plasticizes those who take part in it, as Gore has already learned.

No, it would be a disaster for Gore to enter the race at this point -- not because he might lose, but because he has transcended U.S. partisan politics. He has become a figure of global stature, one of a tiny fraternity of private individuals in the world capable of driving historical change from outside the confines of any institution. What many Americans don't realize is that the rest of the world is not distracted by the serial, lurid distractions that compose our political dialogue. Our national conversation is dominated by the resentful bile of a core of nationalist, reactionary, authoritarian ding-dongs, but it's not like that when Gore goes overseas. In other countries, they don't care about his electrical bills or his waist size or his clothing choices or his lack of that most important qualification for leader of the free world, the ability to act like a regular guy.

Gore can't act like a regular guy. He's smart, and he talks like a smart person. He's earnest and committed. He cares. He wants to help save the world. Inside the glorified high school of U.S. politics, those qualities make him a square, an easy subject of mockery. But outside the U.S. they are assets. Gore can help bring governments together; he can get powerful financiers, corporate titans, rock stars, and energy scholars in the same room. He can help shape policy and public opinion across globe, not just in the U.S.

We are at an inflection point in history. These are times of immense consequence. The world will either unite around the problem of climate change and start pulling as one in the direction of survival and sustainable development, or grim years lay ahead for all of us. We must learn, as a species, how to share our collective resources more equitably and how to become happier without using more stuff and creating more waste. We must decouple our health and fulfillment from our ecological impact.

That's the project Gore's involved in now. He is called to higher things than running for president.

For story: For whom the Nobel tolls
56 Comments | Post a Comment

Great!

Now, I doubt as much as you that this would make him reconsider running, but I wish he would. And I don´t feel that any less after seeing again this nice old footage: http://jordnara.typepad.com/jordnra/2007/10/fredagsfilmen ...

by Sven Cahling at 2:55 AM on 12 Oct 2007

I post on another message board

made up of paddlers. The right wingers on the board are beside themselves, I mean biting the rug and foaming at the mouth. I have just posted a response to the news, telling them what to kiss and where to put it. I am going to smiling all day.

Randy Cunningham

Randy Cunningham

by randino at 5:26 AM on 12 Oct 2007

Sound and Fury Signifying.......?

What?

Al Gore is deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize as awareness of climate pressures is going to push politicians to consider military action to solve resource problems at home. Knowing what's squeezing your b*11s is half the battle to making the pain go away.

Unfourtunately the pain you might feel is controlled by a comittee of people down the block. They get free beer as long as they go along with the merchant who is causing you pain. Despite the fact that I have been feeling the pain myself I haven't yet pushed away the free beer vender that's squeezing THEM.

Al Gore has made us all more aware of what's hurting us. It's too bad that he took so long to modify his own behavior. His frequent flyer miles will offset any advantage offered to the planet by the solar panels installed recently on the most massive of his several houses.

In one man he represents precisely the whole climate change debate. Fully informed of the problem he moves far too slowly to implement solutions in his own life.

Put the Carbon Back

by Pangolin at 6:25 AM on 12 Oct 2007

Ah yes, and MLK

cheated on his wife, etc, etc, etc. All you give are excuses that are identical to those of the oil companies and deniers. Please tell us how wonderful it is to live a pure life. Tell us how it enables you to look down from your lofty heights upon a person, a flawed person at that, who has done more in the past year and a half to shape the public consciousness about global warming, than you, me and everyone else on Grist could have managed in a dozen life times.

Tell us, oh great one.

Randy Cunningham

Randy Cunningham

by randino at 6:46 AM on 12 Oct 2007
[ Parent ]

What the...

What?! I cannot believe what I am hearing! There are right wingers in paddling?!

NoPunProductions.com ~ AmericaTheGreen.org

by Greta at 7:06 AM on 12 Oct 2007

David, very well said

You offer an unusually clear-headed assessment of our political system and Gore's highest and best role in it.

I have a boss who is involved in the draft Gore movement. She is absolutely convinced that he can be coaxed into running. Perhaps I'm way off base, but I'm not seeing signs of that happening, but I can't share my evidence with this True Believer.

I say this to remind everyone that the right wingers aren't the only ones susceptible to falling off the "reality-based" bandwagon. We all can (albeit on vastly different subjects). And as the pace of social change speeds up and our problems become bigger and more complex, the tendency to seek out saviors will only grow.

Gore is good and Gore is great; let us thank him for continuing to do what he has been doing so well.

by Steven T at 7:08 AM on 12 Oct 2007

Rising above the office

This idea about politics tainting a great activist, and of rising above the office of president, makes me think of Jimmy Carter.

While I was too young during his presidency to have been aware of his effectiveness therein, he certainly is a citizen of tremendous value. As Al Gore, seemingly more effective on the outside.

Both men deserving of a Nobel prize, IMO.

Cheers to unfettered activism!

NoPunProductions.com ~ AmericaTheGreen.org

by Greta at 7:20 AM on 12 Oct 2007

yup

TOTALLY agree with Dave Roberts.

by Flamingo at 7:26 AM on 12 Oct 2007

Yes, greta

It is sad but true. I am on a message board on Paddling Net, and we are pretty evenly divided between left and right wingers. The right wingers are some of the worst bunch of anti-environmentalists I have ever encountered and it is because that is an article of faith among contemporary conservatives. Environmentalists are their substitutes for communists. I know for alledged outdoor people, it is a wonder, but it is true. They hate greens.

And global warming? Ohmagood, they will resist that til the last dog is dead.

Randy Cunningham

Randy Cunningham

by randino at 7:52 AM on 12 Oct 2007
[ Parent ]

I'd like to see what he does with this...

...I'm sure at least half of the American media coverage will be blathering about how he must feeeeeeel about it and him running for president, so the half or so remaining may lead to some actual discussion of global warming, although I'm not holding my breath. Contrarty to what some people might think -- I don't include grist-ers in this -- the coverage of global warming has not hit a "tipping point", it's still pretty low on the totem pole, so we'll see if this improves things.

I guess the big question is, what will Al do with this big moment? Apparently he's strategizing with the other people in his organization, this is a critical time for him to either build a global organization or coalition and also come up with a vision of the future, me thinks.

by Jon Rynn at 8:26 AM on 12 Oct 2007

what he will do with this ...

Yes, that is an interesting question.

Here is the automatic response I just got, after signing the letter of congratulations to Al Gore from the DSCC, on the recommendation of my senior Senator, Chuck Schumer:

<<
I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. This award is even more meaningful because I have the honor of sharing it with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change--the world's pre-eminent scientific body devoted to improving our understanding of the climate crisis--a group whose members have worked tirelessly and selflessly for many years. We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level.

My wife, Tipper, and I will donate 100 percent of the proceeds of the award to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the U.S. and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis.

Thank you,

Al Gore
>>

I am fascinated by what is to me a new detail, that bit about "our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness." That sounds like, the international effort to deal with the climate crisis can be the means of accomplishing a still greater end, a major moral advance in understanding the nature of the global community of living creatures to which we belong, and our responsibilities toward that community.

And that is entirely compatible with my own sense of the most fundamental environmentalist value.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 8:55 AM on 12 Oct 2007

CC --

Viva the Noosphere!

by Jon Rynn at 9:11 AM on 12 Oct 2007

Doesn't it all sound a bit wooly

"The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level."

How can it not be a political issue? The idea that we'll all suddenly realise the error of our ways and act together as one is nonsense. Like it or not the low carbon economy will only be achieved with political leadership and clear price signals - not some improvement in "global consciousness" what ever that is.

Gore does have a great opportunity to make a difference but he must stop preaching to the (sadly small) choir of environmentalists. Vague talk of morality doesn't help him do that.

by James Murray at 9:50 AM on 12 Oct 2007

al gore for president

In these times, not only the United States but the whole world needs a US president who is aware of the assault on reason and is courageous enough to try to stop it. Al Gore has no chance but to sacrifice himself for the good of mankind by running for president.
THIS MESSAGE COMES FROM A GROUP OF TURKISH PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT AL GORE'S DRAFTING AS DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR '08 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.

There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophies.

by neckobay at 9:56 AM on 12 Oct 2007

Gore Win A Blow to Environmental Movement

Al Gore picks up a Nobel prize for providing commentary in a movie that wasn't his idea. Why not give the Nobel to the person who created the film-activist Laurie David?

The Norwegians who awarded this prize were simply trying to make a political statement aimed at Bush, nothing more. And in doing so, they've created a global climate change leader who alienates 50% of the U.S. population. This is just horrific. What we desperately need is climate change leadership who can bring into the fold 100% of the population.

Mind you, I'm not bashing Gore. He's a perfect politician. But, as a leader of the global environmental movement, he's absolutely ill-suited. He will never be viewed by half the population with anything less than distrust. The platforms he espouses will be ignored, brushed aside. Worse, when these same ideas are proposed by nonpartisan leaders, Gore will have polluted the waters. Not Gore's fault, inherently, mind you. That's just how things work when you once held the office of Vice President of the U.S.A..

This Nobel win for Gore is an unabashed disaster (unless he somehow takes the Presidency as a third party candidate and becomes the Great Uniter on Climate Change . . . can you say `very unlikely?'). When will people learn that politicizing the battle to SAVE THE PLANET is always dead wrong?

by Tod at 10:07 AM on 12 Oct 2007

I Should Add

That in essence I'm disappointed the Norwegians didn't choose this overly ripe moment to create a nonpartisan global leader for the movement. There are many candidates out there who would have instantly become nearly as recognizable as Gore, but with a wider potential reach.

The non-Gore winner would have had instant access to every global head of state, every media outlet. The Norwegians did the planet a disservice by missing the moment to craft powerful climate change leadership.

by Tod at 10:14 AM on 12 Oct 2007

James --

We can walk gum and chew...we can chew gum and walk at the same time here. I agree that Gore will have to make a decision about moving politically, that is, can he continue to be based in an organization that is bi-partisan and nonprofit? How can you kill coal without being political? Or maybe his strength, as Roberts implies, is working in the corridors of power and moving the powerful as far as they can be moved without grassroots pressure. So where does the grassroots pressure come from?

But it's also helpful to bring up the issues of global consciousness, because Gore is now at a global level, and we may have to feel our way around for a while on this, but it would certainly help if, in addtion to good ol' nationalism, people were feeling some Earth-ism or whatever you want to call it too.

by Jon Rynn at 10:14 AM on 12 Oct 2007

Costs & Benefits of Gore's Canidacy

While I agree that Al Gore would inevitably be sullied by a run for president, you have to balance that against all that he might accomplish as a 'green' president. President Gore would have an historic opportunity to chart a radically new course for America's energy future. With Democratic majorities in Congress, President Gore could conceivably usher in a new era of subsidies for clean energy, plug-in hybrids, a smart electrical grid, mass transit, co-generation plants and energy conservation, while curtailing subsidies for fossil fuels. Think of the appointments that President Gore would make to the departments of Energy, the Interior and the EPA. Would a cautious President Hillary Clinton be likely to make any bold moves for the environment? Or would she, like most Democrats, do a little bit of green-washing to mollify her environmentalist constituents? Al Gore would certainly be risking his well earned reputation as an environmental champion if we were to run for the presidency, but if he were to win, the rewards for our nation and the world might be enormous.

by infp at 10:18 AM on 12 Oct 2007

Well-said, David Roberts

The U.S. Congress is like high school, come to think of it...besides being lagging indicators (as commented by Mark Shields from PBS).

Nancy LaPlaca www.energyjustice.net/coal/igcc

by nancylaplaca at 10:22 AM on 12 Oct 2007

top priority is an intact earth

You have to have an earth first, if you're going to talk about climate change.
How much earth will you have left to talk about climate change if the US makes the crazy move to hit Iran with (tactical!) nuclear weapons?
That's why the Americans and the rest of the world need a US president who can think reasonably.

There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophies.

by neckobay at 10:42 AM on 12 Oct 2007

Outside North America, Gore is not controversial

Well said, Dave!

What Americans and Canadians tend to forget is that Al Gore is not a controversial figure outside of North America. It wasn't a political move to award him the Nobel prize. It was simply awarded to him (and the IPCC) because he has had the most positive impact on global issues pertaining in some way to peace in the last few years. Not only the last few years, actually, but going all the way back to the start of the Kyoto protocol. In North America, we tend to ignore this and just see how he is skewered by the national media.

Andrew Eisenberg
The gateway project is wrong---http://www.livableregion.ca

by Werdna at 10:56 AM on 12 Oct 2007

on the contrary

Otherwise why should a group of Turkish people support Al Gore's candidacy?

There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophies.

by neckobay at 11:10 AM on 12 Oct 2007
[ Parent ]

neckobay - I agree

The April rebellion of the military blocked the intention to nuke Iran and the military continues to resist go-arounds with smuggled nuclear weapons.

Perhaps Al Gore can do more for global warming awareness blazing his own trail. However, stopping the corporate war crime of attacking Iran for oil is something that requires cool reason and immediate political action. Gore could use the bully pulpit of a campaign to highlight that attacking Iran would be a war crime.

We need a stable international political climate for global warming solutions.

by sunflower at 12:19 PM on 12 Oct 2007

Gore Has Lead

on global warming issues for almost 20 years, beginning during his Senate career in the 80s. He also set his sights on the destruction of tropical rain forests around the same time. It was no big stretch for Al to see the links between threats of destruction by nuclear war and the threats arising from our global abuse of the biosphere. But it continues to be a big stretch for the ideologically blind to perceive connections between global warming, the destruction of the biosphere and global peace. Blessed are the peace makers and blessed are those who defend the earth. Only an alien culture could fault anyone like Al.

by justlou at 12:53 PM on 12 Oct 2007

President is not everything

I would be extremely disappointed in Al Gore if he chose to run for president. The fact is, president of the United States is not the be all and end all of humanity; it does not mean being Supreme Leader of the Universe, and it will dirty his message by making it seem totally political. Presidents can have very little power, when it comes down to it.

In any case, by very virtue of becoming president of the most widely hated country on earth, people will lose faith in him.

If I share initials with 'Global Warming', is that a sign?

by tico89 at 1:05 PM on 12 Oct 2007

Bricks are flying

Out of curiosity, I just watched how Shepherd Smith on Fox News handled the story. Nothing overtly hostile was said; former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford had very good things to say about Gore (e.g., "He is an American first, and all Americans should be proud of him"); the Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza said that Gore has succeeded in making global warming a mainstream issue, one that is no longer a wedge, so that even the Republican candidates "are beginning to sound like Democrats." But on the other hand, there was a bit of chuckling over whether awarding Gore the prize was intended as a rebuke of George W. Bush, or as a consolation to Gore for losing in 2000 -- "as though foreigners should vote for our presidents for us." And below the screen were banners saying things like, "Gore's lifestyle not so green"; "British judge says movie is inaccurate"; "British court rules movie is political."

Then, there is this very sad bunch of comments sent to CNN.com:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/12/gore.nobel.reader. ...

The majority opinion seems to be that Al Gore is a feckless fool or worse, the IPCC is a futile organization purveying false science, and the Nobel Peace Prize is meaningless.

And on AOL's news page, the poll question is asked, "Did Gore deserve the peace prize?" Well over half of respondents said, "No."

So once again I find myself in a proud and principled minority.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 1:16 PM on 12 Oct 2007

Now we have to walk the talk......

that Al has been talking about for so long. Unfourtunately most of us just talk the talk. The first thing that we need to jettison in any kind of coal burning. "Clean coal" is just a fairy tale promoted by coal compainies to allow them to keep burning coal while the climate gets worse.

Conservation is ultimately going to be the biggest wedge in reducing emissions that enhance global warming. The hard plan (plan A) is going to mean examining every aspect of our lives and eliminating emissions sources. The easy plan is simply to wait until climate change related disasters kill off enough people that we embrace the idea of plan a.

Anybody who tells you that we get to keep a car centered, jet setting, global economy AND reduce GHG emissions effectively is simply lying at this point. We have to power-down the global economy before it burns out of control.

Put the Carbon Back

by Pangolin at 2:00 PM on 12 Oct 2007

"Al Gore's igNoble Nobel Prize"

Noble verses Nobel News... Former Vice President Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), will share in the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize award, as well as in the nearly $1.6 million dollar cash prize that goes with the honor. Al Gore was honored for raising awareness to the world that global temperatures have warmed by just more than half a degree ( .6*F ) over the past thirty-two years. How many lives this discovery by has saved is still unclear.

Mr. Gore beat out many others for the prestigious award, including an old woman whose only claim to fame was that she had rescued hundreds of poor children of the Warsaw Ghetto from the gas chambers of another past Nobel Peace Prize nominee, mass murderer Adolph Hitler.

Other people of interest besides Adolph Hitler who were nominated for the prize were; Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, Fidel Castro, Yasser Arafat, and Hugo Chavez to name but a few. Yet of this motley crew of `peaceful' men, only Yasser Arafat was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The woman who multi-millionaire environmentalist Al Gore beat out for the prize, is 97 year old Irena Sendler, a nurse who saved the lives of an estimated two thousand five hundred children during Nazi Germany's holocaust. After sneaking the children out of the Warsaw Ghetto, she arranged to have the children 'adopted' by non Jewish families to protect them, even documenting their names in a jar and burying it so that one day she could tell the children their real names. After being captured and even tortured, Irena refused to reveal the truth to the Nazi's holding her, and eventually she escaped.

Irena should take pride in her noble deeds and service to mankind, as we should all be grateful for people like her who would risk their own lives for the sake and safety of others. And although this hero wasn't found worthy to win this prize by the Nobel Prize award committee, Irena no doubt has greater treasures awaiting her in heaven than anything Nobel could ever offer to this Noble woman.

Here is a web-site for those who want to learn more about this courageous woman and what she did that warranted her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize: http://www.irenasendler.org/

by iwrote1 at 2:16 PM on 12 Oct 2007

He's ours now

Hey, all you Americans; give up on the presidential thing. He's ours now (as in the rest of the World's). We need statesmen(women) who can stride the international stage, and Al Gore is deeply deeply impressive and inspirational in that capacity. It would be a terrible misfortune if he got bogged down once again in your cesspit of a political system. He is doing a brilliant job out there right now connecting with and turning the opinions of the leaders of nations and industries across the globe.

by picoallen at 4:53 PM on 12 Oct 2007

My thoughts precisely, picoallen

If I share initials with 'Global Warming', is that a sign?

by tico89 at 6:35 PM on 12 Oct 2007

What I'm told Ehrlich said

"Paul Ehrlich, whose been thinking about this stuff longer than many of us have been alive, has very much switched to the answer that the problems that have to be solved are changing the US political leadership and culture ... without putting the political/cultural management in place, nothing will happen, and that with proper political/cultural management in place the science and engineering can happen pretty fast."

(from Maynard Handley at preview.tinyurl.com/yo5ngc )
I guess you could say Gore can do "cultural management" from outside, but it sure looks like political management would be more effective...

by Anna Haynes at 7:37 PM on 12 Oct 2007
[ Parent ]

He's still more politician than environmentalist.

I've been a fan of Gore for about 15 years, and I'm elated to see him win this extremely prestigious award.
However, it's hard to fathom how anyone who eats meat could deserve a prize for peace. Is there anything peaceful about slaughtering animals?

Did the Nobel crew not get the memo about the huge impact of meat-eating on climate change?

What Gore should do now is to set a positive example for a responsible diet by stopping his nasty habit of eating meat. I can understand his energy use -- he has a big mission. But I wonder if he considers the climate issue important enough to change his eating habits.

"Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues." - Sri Krishna
http://vedabase.net/bg/3/21/en

by Pandu at 8:16 PM on 12 Oct 2007

Gores a Whore

Folks,Folks,Folks, What an Oxy-moron, A peace prize for infecting our society with the disease of false science. His contingent(YOU) would have us destroy our economy to weaken us as a nation by paying the oil contingent to destroy other countries militarily due to their ability to be in collusion with the oil industry to insure "OUR" ability to sustain our oil gluttony.I consider Al a shill for the cabal that is not pursuing peace,but continual war for resources.The IPCC men/women dont have the science right,the Kyoto folks dont have the science right and Norwegians from the Nobel committe do humanity damage by not being responsible enough to REALLY find out the answers to the science before awarding anything.This place is broken and the carbon folks are breaking it more and more each day and doing the chance for peace death blows everyday by supporting the oil company in their quest for more oil and governments to enjoy another tax,now for carbon for cryin out loud. When you un-conscious folks finally find out you have been duped and the climate settles back down when the perturbations of the sun/grid revv abate and the planet gets cooler than normal for a few years,I will be calling for the return of all of the money that has been spent and collected by the charlatan science boys and get it,just wait and see.

Earth Shaman

by Earth Shaman at 9:23 PM on 12 Oct 2007

Gore and Peace

I wonder what science Earth Shaman is using to prove his theory of solar fluctuation and Earth response to be a temporary effect? I look at pictures of glaciers retreating from their usual habitat at an accelerating pace (Kilimanjaro is now almost bare of snow and ice) and rotting icebergs calving from them into oceans north and south. I read consensus reports from reporters about climate change evidenced in unrelenting droughts in some places and horrendous floods in others, all out of the usual order. If his "catastrophe" is temporary, just long do we have to endure it? A few years? A few decades? A few centuries? No, Global Warming is real, it is imminent, and it is dangerous. So -- Taxes be damned, Earth Shaman, pay with your money now, or pay with your life later.

Des Emery

by Des Emery at 10:14 PM on 12 Oct 2007

Climate vs. other genocides

The reason Al Gore deserves the Nobel Peace Prize is that the negative effects of climate change can swamp the death toll of every genocide in human history.

For those of you not paying attention:

World grain harvest are FALLING BELOW YEARLY CONSUMPTION levels despite the best efforts of the worlds farmers. This is largely due to drought, soil depletion, weather events such as freezes or sandstorms, and heat waves. If the climate doesnt' cooperate we starve.

Fish harvests from the worlds oceans are dropping and many commercial fish species face collapse. CO2 is causing acidification of ocean waters that inhibits the growth of the ocean food web. GHG emissions are killing the worlds largest source of protien and oxygen.

Changes in local weather patterns are increasing the severity of both droughts and floods. Google: "africa flood," "australian drought," "england floods," "spain heat wave." Changes in weather patterns are killing people now, today.

As simple malnutrition drives death rates in infant mortality, AIDS, TB, Malaria and other diseases responsible for millions of early deaths yearly on a worldwide basis. Increases in average temperatures are allowing malarial mosquitos to live at altitudes formerly free of the disease.

Considering the millions who die yearly largely due to factors of environmental degradation I think work to reduce Global Warming trumps saving 2,000 people, 60+ years ago.

Put the Carbon Back

by Pangolin at 12:05 AM on 13 Oct 2007
[ Parent ]

Learn to write, Earth Shaman...

If you're not responsible enough to worry about getting your facts right, at least try and use the English language properly--I could barely understand what you were trying to say.

The IPCC men/women dont [sic] have the science right,the Kyoto folks dont [sic] have the science right

I like your reluctance to refer to these people as scientists. So what's your claim to fame?

If I share initials with 'Global Warming', is that a sign?

by tico89 at 8:51 AM on 13 Oct 2007

Oh, and for those saying it means nothing...

As with all prizes, awarded as opposed to being actually won (most of all the Oscars), the Nobel Peace Prize is essentially meaningless; and as such I see no reason why Gore shouldn't win it, it being more a recognition than anything concrete.

However, for those making fun of it because of there being such notable nominees as Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin and Benito Mussolini:

[S]ince nomination requires only support from one qualified person (e.g., a history professor), these unusual nominations do not represent the opinions of the Nobel committee itself.

If I share initials with 'Global Warming', is that a sign?

by tico89 at 8:58 AM on 13 Oct 2007

Nobel Should Have Gone to Arnold, Bush

The two men who should have won the Nobel Prize are Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and George W. Bush.

Together, in the past eight years, they have done the most to eliminate air pollution by pushing and accelerating the technology of hydrogen fuel cells. The California Hydrogen Highway was driven by Arnold to convert people to the clean fuel. Bush has spent 1 Billion a year investing in hydrogen fuel cell technology and hydrogen generating science.

Al Gore has only enriched himself. Bush and Arnold have enriched the world!

Possibly the best Alternative Energy blog I read: New Energy and Fuel

by jabailo at 9:15 AM on 13 Oct 2007

I guess that it is the downside of success

that Grist posts have begun to attract those David Roberts has called "trolls." Have you noticed the upswing in the activities of John Bailo, and now the ravings of Earth Shaman? I find the trolls are especially active whenever the topic of Al Gore comes up. Only Hilary and Cindy Sheehan cause their juices to flow faster than Al.

Randy Cunningham

Randy Cunningham

by randino at 10:26 AM on 13 Oct 2007

Intergalactic

Earth Shaman flew here on an intergalactic grid revv, lay off. Transdimensional beings like him know what true science is, and they're also, apparently, very concerned with our tax systems. So bow down to the true science, people, and give Dr. Shaman some respect!

As per the charge that Al Gore is political, or that the Nobel Prize is political: duh. When did the term "political" become a proxy for unfounded or untrue? We live in a democracy, our choices reflect (so we hear) our values and are reflected, in turn, in the marketplace. This is an imperfect economic system, but certainly our political system, which rests upon representation and participation, is suited for people like Al Gore, who seize upon a cause and seek to change individual behavior through education and advocacy. Is he political? You bet. The best kind of political. He is advancing change by changing people's minds, not through force or through oppression, but through making lucid arguments (ahem, Earth Shaman) and letting people decide for themselves.

by blueberrysushi at 12:27 PM on 13 Oct 2007

Excellent, BBSushi

The part about "political" especially.

The Norwegians on the Nobel committee are only human beings, after all, and it is grossly unjust to expect them to make perfect decisions every time. Yes, Hitler was nominated -- back before his monstrosity was evident; and the nomination was anyway withdrawn. Yes, they never got around to giving the prize to Mohandas K. Gandhi -- which they deeply regretted when it was too late. Yes, they gave the prize to Yasir Arafat -- but was it so unreasonable, or quixotic, or anti-Israeli, to encourage whatever he still had the power to do by way of reaching a peaceful accommodation with Israel, when Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Barak were prepared to deal with him?

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 1:46 PM on 13 Oct 2007

Some of the scientists who participated

There's a great article in the
Seattle Times about some of the scientists who participated in the report, particularly a profile of Dr. Phillip Mote, Washtington State Climatologist, who was lead writer on the chapter on ice, show and tundra.

If you're in the area Dr. Mote is speaking at a benefit for
the Skagit Land Trust in Mount Vernon WA this coming Wednesday night at 7. I don't know how big the "historic Lincoln Theatre" is (it's a benefit for them as well) but I bet it'll be standing room only.

Patrick
pkwrite.com/blog

by onebluewave at 6:01 PM on 13 Oct 2007

Come Fly With Me (Cough, Choke)

Al's been doing a lot of flying lately.

China, Europe.

Check out this vid on what that means to the environment:

http://truths.treehugger.com/video/planeless.php

Possibly the best Alternative Energy blog I read: New Energy and Fuel

by jabailo at 1:35 PM on 14 Oct 2007

Sad Real Life Snippet

I was at my local organic market yesterday picking up a few supplies. I had a canvas bag with me, and the woman in line behind me commented on how she always seems to forget her bags, they are always in the other car. I told her that it took me a while to develop the habit as well, and that I had to keep them on the passenger seat for a while until it became routine. I also recommended that she simply buy 2 sets of bags - one for each car.

The talk moved on to the development in the area, sprawl, trees being cut down, etc. I mentioned Al's Nobel Prize; the first comment out of the woman in line was "Yes, but I hear he drives a big SUV." ARGH. I resisted the powerful urge to smack her upside the head and replied "Al Gore travels the globe and has secret service shadowing him, not to mention family, assistants, staff, etc. He can't do what he does and live a low-carbon lifestyle." I should have added that he will do more to lower carbon emissions in his lifetime than anyone else this century but... my bag was packed and I left, feeling disgruntled.

Imagine how Al feels.

by kmp at 2:18 PM on 14 Oct 2007

Science facts

Whilst many insist that todays science boys are proper in their theory of the science that runs the earth,I do not concur.I have a right to do that ,do I not? And when I deliver the proper grid science information from my science group,I have a right to do that,Do I not? When my science group trained me as an earth scientist,I understood their language because I had the pleasure of assimilating massive amounts of earth science information before being tasked to receive further training.Ladies and Gentlemen,oxygen is not made by plants on this planet or any others and that concept of photosynthesis has been drummed into your beingness so deep that you refuse to understand that practical applications of ozone made by light frequency are in use everyday right in front of you,maybe even in your hot tub.So when that gas is made by light frequency,your botanical folks still refuse to assimilate that all gases come into this planet by frequency on the cymatic(Musical) grid that envelopes this planet.Go to google videos and watch someones presentation called "Cool Salt" and you will get one of your first clues as to how the "Magnetosphere" is formed. We call it the grid.The whole of the universe is positioned and formed by the laws of vibration(Music) When I have shared many times on this forum the earths processes,that is not a singular tasking from my perspective or theory.It is shared by earth scientists of my group.I will give you folks again the process of carbohydrate flow through plants and explain that just like your body,that plant must exhaust its waste through its stomata.That stomata opens up with a tone(music) and you dont have to believe me,Check Dr. Dan Carlsons work that I am familiar with as he uses a tone to open the stomata to foliar feed through the exhaust ports.Ask yourself why this old earth scientist would also say that when the sun comes up and the tone from that frequency closes the stomata,what did the master geneticists design into the process to hold the moisture into that plant and what tone at night might open that stomata to exhaust used up carbohydrate and provide for foliar re-hydration from the dew. When we have an 11 year sunspot cycle,our weather is enhanced and we get more precipitation,right? What is it that perturbs that sun, and you study and measure the solar wind and know of the weather revv when we have had so many solar storms these last years?There also has to be proper understanding of how the motor works on this planet,because it is a motor and needs an electrical force to make it runs just as any other motor,and when the motor runs excess current designed into our earths system has to heat the magma to keep up the heating of our planet.When we have extra energy coming into the grid,our magma heats more and it expands as you all know and must relieve its excess pressure through volcanic and vent process.That same grid extra energy enhances our weather and we see the heating/drought and flood/heavy snows we have been experiencing these last 30 years.The glaciers melt from the magma heating more in polar areas. C'mon you glaciologist kind of guys,you see the ice caves all over the place.This period of grid revv has lasted so long and my group has not been publicly speaking out about grid science and the "Weather theorists" "Climatologists" without the pleasure of grid science in their packets have made assumptions based on their theories and assumptions that are set down when they finally listen and start to understand grid science.I have seen many men in your "Science Fraternity" speak over and over to their observations that it is the sun that causes the planet to heat up and the extra moisture in some areas and drought in others and the frat boys drown them out with their carbon process.Sure ,we put out too much carbon,but the coal being burned is really more egregious of a problem than our cars.Jet exhaust causes most of the haze also and that eats up our oxygen also and we would request a fix be instituted for that problem also,and we have one I assure you.When scientists do not understand grid science and we have such a split on theories/facts , who benefits? Who benefits for the carbon tax? The fact remains as I was speaking to in this communique,the grid brings in the oxygen on this and every other planet,along with the nitrogen and hydrogen and we are not in danger of it running out,but we have many other dangers to our grid and eco-system that need addressing.And as I stated in my previous communique in this thread,when this anomalous(Yet not anomalous to my group) period of grid revv abates and the planet cools off more that its usual stability point,what will you folks do about what you have wrought and supported? And to the fella that complains about my writing perfection,how about you volunteering to repair my communiques,as I usually had a secretary to do that for me,but have missed her tasking for me,as she is now deceased and I have not found replacement that suits me.Just let me know if you are a man of service as I am.

Earth Shaman

by Earth Shaman at 4:11 PM on 14 Oct 2007

Lucid

Im not sure how berries and fish commingle to make sushi,so maybe being considered to be in a state of transdimensional flux without outing your sushi experiment without creations permission may get you a similar seat on the shrinky bus you would have me transported in.Without a doubt there certainly is one hell of an argument as to who is the mindfed robot and who is not.Been takin your Flouride hits from water and sub-lingually from your tooth paste?Its a great thing this old "Papa" has his humor in what he considers the "Lucid" category.Be careful though as I have reported you to the ASPCA for injecting fish with berries without regard for their welfare. Ta Ta

Earth Shaman

by Earth Shaman at 4:26 PM on 14 Oct 2007

Shaman

Your grid revv does not exist.
You are the only person on the internet talking about.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&a ...

Nor your secret government agents trying to steal your magic hydrogen production method that ignores the laws of thermodyamics.

I swear, paranoid senile people can be annoying sometimes.

by GreyFlcn at 5:57 PM on 14 Oct 2007

Poor Grey Falcon

Please explain the grid system to me and the laws of thermodynamics as you were taught. Your insistence that your thermodynamics laws overtake all laws of physics in play since creation built this and other galaxies amuses me actually since you should be well aware of the experiments already being used using frequency to stimulate the splitting of the water.Even the man who made his car run on the combined process of electrolysis radio frequency to split hydrogen is very dead.Most of the experimenters are very ill or dead Mr. Falcon and I have to assume that you are the standard science shill hired by the same folks that insist the hydrogen not reach fruition.What about Eugene Mallove Mr. Falcon,did his name pass through your desk also?Are you just the writer to negate any statement of science fact with the standard fictions fed by your cabal or do you write the checks to the protocol teams.The petroleum contingent has already had mission at my house and I survived so far as I am bright enough not to task our system.So I guess now you will call me paranoid as your mission for your contingent calls for? You have continually tasked my statements as to the statement grid revv no matter how many times that I have explained that the sun spot activity that enhances our weather on just the 11 year cycle is grid revv which assures me that you are one of the mission men tasked and trained to provide mis-information and call names as has been standard procedure for your contingent.So please send this message to your superiors,return our books and materials with the batterie design,the three tone hydrogen process and rotary hydrogen motor and train engine plans.My contingent protects me with "Papas" and we insist that our accounts be returned and our office materials be returned to us.So Mr. Grey Falcon,if you have no complicity and dont get a check or funding for an organization,you have not a care or worry. But the "Papas" that had their material stolen will eventually eliminate all involved from the planet I suspect. The attempted murder and destruction of equipment at my farm from those cabal kind of folks will not go unpunished by "Papas" And now ,Mr. Falcon I need to inform you that I am not just talking just to you ,but really specificially to the same people that make you dream and give you any negative body process you may be experiencing.You see Mr. Falcon,Im in kinda one of those moods tonight where I tell you I am a hyperdimension man on the planet that is a physicality "Papa"recompleting himself in my present body and we task our Earth Service positions when we become mature and people like you and others who read these types of forums never usually know about us or our work. But you see sir,we have been damaged and task,task,task until our material is returned so we can do our tasking which is repair the excess carbon emissions on this planet and task for the economys stabilisation from "Peak" oil problems.We really dont mind the petroleum being tasked as we might as well use the rest of the sweet crude,but as I have shared before the coal MUST be untasked in the power plants,and I was not kidding one Iota when I shared elsewhere that the coal is former cities and other infrastructure on this planet cooked down with a process similar to microwave energy 4000 years ago when there was a major war here where mercury explosions were used and Earth Service had no choice but to cook down the planet at that time and ALL coal on the planet is that infrastructure cook down and objects HAVE been found in that coal providing proof of civilisation buried in the coal.Simple as that. So go ahead and inform this old "Papa" all about your laws of thermodynamics that you adhere to and dont forget to tell your superiors because they all have invisible taskers working with and /or against them and they ARE the very best information system on the planet and will let their superiors know also that this old "Kook" is tasking until all are depleted that have taken our materials and funds to stop us from repairing the coal problem.We are charging all of your friends who are complicit with genocide also Mr. Falcon as we brought our designs to their attention 26 years ago and were pressured not to release our information until a certain time frame,and when that time frame came their process was to kill 6 of our staff and remove the material from our safe.So again, Mr. Falcon,instead of throwing stones at me,teach me your laws of thermodynamics and I may return the favor and teach you all about gravity. Ta Ta

Earth Shaman

by Earth Shaman at 8:34 PM on 14 Oct 2007

Oh,old senile me forgot something

Us old paranoid senile old folds do love a good tiff,so task on Senor Grey Falcon.And by the way,we all here at the contingent office all laugh our asses off when folks like you make those kinds of comments cuz we would eat you alive and you would be beat to death just for good measure by contingent men you cannot see.A"papa' can knock you on your ass with what is called a bipp where your field comes right off your body,as this old papa has had that demonstrated to him personally.Two good "Bipps" will kill a physicality man,might be some of those thiefs I talked about will get that pleasure.Have some fruitful dreams Ta again.

Earth Shaman

by Earth Shaman at 8:47 PM on 14 Oct 2007

george w vs gore

I love that statement by JB about Bush deserving the Nobel Peace Prize. John you're such a kidder. What interests me is the power of this issue to bring out everyone's hopes and fears. The republicans are committing suicide on this one. Imagine just five years from now these right wingers are going to look like flat earthers by more and more people. Global Warming is such a powerful sign of the times and Republicans and conservatives are running away from it as fast as their legs can carry them. Instead of a permanent majority they are guaranteeing themselves a permanent minority. It's hard to believe they can be that short sighted and stupid.
I like this quote from Al Gore which also sums it up for me: "Are we so scared of this challenge that we cannot lead?" The right is basically handing this central issue to the left on a platter.

by charlesjustice at 11:17 PM on 14 Oct 2007

Test

Gore bashers are insane. Repeat... Gore bashers are insane.

Dimbulb limboob wing nuts. Do not try to reason with them. And never read any blog entry without paragraphs or puncuation.

Hillary is going to be the next president. Bill will be first gentleman. Reminding the nut wing of this eventuality will be good enough. No need to actually reply to them.

Bill as first gentleman flying around the world facilitating an end to endless war is going to be so hard on them that many will just be pushed into oblivion. It will be a wonderful hell on earth for them. Enjoy their suffering!

It looks like a few that posted in this thread are already there. Good luck with that limboobs.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

by amazingdrx at 3:28 AM on 15 Oct 2007

Limboob

Dr. X, that was the best laugh I've had in a while.

Thanks!

by kmp at 7:51 AM on 15 Oct 2007

Many good points...but.

You make good points, Dave, and I don't believe Al will pursue a presidential run. But this:

"Gore can help bring governments together; he can get powerful financiers, corporate titans, rock stars, and energy scholars in the same room. He can help shape policy and public opinion across globe, not just in the U.S."

is a great reason FOR him to run.

He has succeeded at bringing the urgency of global warming into public consciousness. With the Oscar and now the Nobel, he has done that job as well as he can.

What now, indeed?

by WKB at 10:59 AM on 15 Oct 2007

Limboob

Thanks KMP, it's an original. So is krazy, konfederate, korporate, kriminal, kristian, krusader kontractors.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

by amazingdrx at 2:13 PM on 15 Oct 2007

Gore can win...

For those of you who don't think that Gore could win if he ran for president, think again.

Al Gore beat GWBush by 543,000 votes in 2000. That's a lot. Consider that John Kennedy beat Nixon by only 120,000 votes in 1960...and even then there's some question about whether or not his father bought votes in Chicago.

I know this isn't scientific but my doctor is a southerner and told me that he usually votes Republican. He wishes Al Gore would run because he's sick of all the Republican shenanigans. Gore could hit the ground running on Jan. 20, 2009.

On the other hand, I heard a news story that said that if there was a strong Democratic candidate this time, Gore would wait 4-8 yrs to run for president so as to keep Democrats in the White House.

by LynnThomas at 3:33 PM on 15 Oct 2007

The Clintons

are pretty good friends and fearsome enemies. Gore would be insane to switch them from Camp A to Camp B.

Unlike some politicians, he understands that political capital should be kept, not burned through. Preferably in a nice SRI mutual fund where it will get a steady return for the next three decades of his work.

by eriqa at 12:02 PM on 17 Oct 2007

ADVERTISING POLICY

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