Nobelity strives to make brilliance accessible [ Turk Pipkin ]

Houston Chronicle ^ | November 25, 2006 | Janet Elliott

[SunkenCiv]

Pipkin's remarkable conversations with nine Nobel laureates from around the world have been shown around Austin at churches and schools since the documentary debuted in March at the South by Southwest Film Festival... A class in the International Baccalaureate program at Round Rock's Westwood High School has used the film to study global issues. The students recently raised $5,000 for The Nobelity Project, an activist offshoot of the movie... Pipkin recalled [land mine activist Jody Williams]' challenge for people to take action when he traveled to Kenya to explore the Green Belt Movement, which has planted 30 million trees. He found a school where the students had to walk more than a mile to fetch water... The project turned out to be more difficult than he imagined. The water source the school was using was too contaminated to pipe in, and drilling a deep well would be expensive to maintain. The plan now is to build a rainwater collection system and use solar energy for power. Pipkin plans to start construction next year. Money raised by the sale of DVDs, T-shirts and other products, community screenings and donations helps fund such Nobelity projects as well as some favorite charities of the laureates, including Habitat for Humanity, Oxfam and the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines. The Pipkin family is working on a sequel that will focus on solutions. They also are launching Nobelity in Schools with a goal of putting the film in 2,000 classrooms.

[SunkenCiv]

I feel like huggin' a tree.

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Turk Pipkin's website:

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[Maceman]

The Nobel Peace Prize isn't worth a festering bowl of dog snot.

Whatever prestige it may have had went out the window when they awarded it to Arafat and Carter.

[GSlob]

"The Nobel Peace Prize isn't worth a festering bowl of dog snot. "
Well, it still comes with a check. The accompanying diploma could be used for toilet purposes, but the check better be cashed.