Posted on 10/12/2007 5:43:28 PM PDT by Monique in Manchester
Reaction from around the world to the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize to former US vice-president and climate change campaigner Al Gore, and the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
PROFESSOR WANGARI MAATHAI, FOUNDER OF GREEN BELT MOVEMENT AND NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE 2004
When it was first announced that I would be receiving the peace prize in 2004, many people asked what does the environment have to do with peace?
By choosing Al Gore and the IPCC for the award in 2007, the Nobel Committee have rightly brought to our attention that climate change is the single biggest threat to world peace we have ever faced.
TONY FRATTO, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN
Of course [US President George W Bush] is happy for Vice-President Gore and happy for the international panel on climate change scientists who also shared the peace prize.
Obviously, it's an important recognition and we're sure the vice president is thrilled.
UK PRIME MINISTER GORDON BROWN
Al Gore has been inspirational in focusing attention across the globe on this key issue. The IPCC's work on the science of climate change has been vital and they are now leading a process by which all countries will work together to tackle the effects of climate change.
ACHIM STEINER, HEAD OF UN ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP)
The Nobel Peace Prize Committee has today made it clear that combating climate change is a central peace and security policy for the 21st Century.
SPOKESMAN FOR CZECH PRESIDENT VACLAV KLAUS, CLIMATE CHANGE SCEPTIC
He is somewhat surprised that Al Gore got the Peace Prize, because the relation between his activities and world peace is unclear and indistinct.
It rather seems that Gore's questioning of the basic foundation stones of the current civilisation does not contribute to peace much.
DR JEREMY LEGGETT, OXFORD UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE INSTITUTE
I can't think of a better combination for this award - the previously unsung and much-falsely maligned legion of scientific whistleblowers, and their tireless chief advocate.
Perhaps now the shrivelling band of fossil-fuel-funded contrarians and car-enthusiast media stars will finally have the good grace to shut up with the ignorance they pedal about the threat we face.
TONY JUNIPER, EXECUTIVE DIRECT OF FRIENDS OF THE EARTH
This is a very welcome signal that the world is beginning to wake up to how environmental challenges are going to shape many aspects of human welfare long into the future. We hope that politicians everywhere will see this signal and take heed.
JOSEPH BAST, HEARTLAND INSTITUTE
Al Gore doesn't understand the science behind climate change or he deliberately misrepresents it. Either way, that should disqualify him from a prize like this.
PIERS FORSTER, SCHOOL OF EARTH AND ENVIRONMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
It's every scientist's dream to win a Nobel Prize, so this is great for myself and the hundreds that worked on their reports over the years.
It is perhaps a little deflating though - that one man and his PowerPoint show has as much influence as the decades of dedicated work by so many scientists.
UN SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON (SPOKESMAN)
The secretary-general notes that largely thanks to the IPCC's lucid and well-documented findings, it is now established beyond doubt that climate change is happening, and that much of it is caused by human activity. As a result, there is now unprecedented momentum for action on climate change around the world, and recognition of the UN as the forum for reaching agreement on it.
SHEILA WATT-CLOUTIER, CANADIAN INUIT ACTIVIST AND PREVIOUSLY TIPPED FOR THE PRIZE
The Planet Earth is a winner today and that is what counts for me.
BJORN LOMBORG, AUTHOR OF THE SKEPTICAL ENVIRONMENTALIST
Awarding it to Al Gore cannot be seen as anything other than a political statement. Awarding it to the IPCC is well-founded. [Gore's film The Inconvenient Truth has] some very obvious mistakes, like the argument that we're going to see 6m of sea-level rise.
They [the Nobel committee] have a unique platform in getting people's attention on this issue, and I regret they have used it to make a political statement.
JOSE MANUEL BARROSO, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT
[The recipients'] contributions to the prevention of climate change have raised awareness all over the world. Their work has been an inspiration for politicians and citizens alike. The European Union remains committed to its ambitious goals in the field. I call on all our partners to take this Nobel Peace Prize as an encouragement to approach this challenge even more swiftly, and decisively.
Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/europe/7041573.stm
Published: 2007/10/12 15:16:50 GMT
© BBC MMVII
*ouch* Ain’t that the truth!
I was struck by this statement:
“The Nobel Peace Prize Committee has today made it clear that combating climate change is a central peace and security policy for the 21st Century.”
We are now combating climate change. The climate has changed drastically in the past without significant human input but now we are going to put an and to all that change. The way things are is the way we are going to keep it from now on because the current climate is as good as good can be.
And it highlights the fact that Algore is the Flim Flam Man.
Wonder if she had a previous FR account that someone recognized.
I am not being sarcastic when I say this. Anything that highlights the utter lunacy of these people, and this incident does just that, is a good thing.
So yes, this is a good thing, but not for what you are thinking.
Gore and the IPCC receiving this prize drives the final nail in the coffin of the Nobel’s credibility.
TARHEELSWAMPRAT: Endangered denizen of the allegedly threatened Carolina swamps... err... wetlands...
“I am happy that Al Gore has won this prize, since his share should just about cover the cost of electricity for his Tennessee mansion for one year.”
if you’re all so sure of your “facts”, explain why I will surely get blocked before I have a chance to debate the issue? Your moderator appears to be terrified of anyone challenging the warming-denial consensus on here. Why is that? Why can’t we have a proper discussion?
Tagline: time to wise up?
It's not the message, it's the medium.
tessalu wrote: “If the world gets too much water, just move to higher ground.”
Stop with the common sense solutions!
IF the seas rise a couple feet over the next hundred years or so, it does seem the most obvious solution would be to move to higher ground.
“The Nobel prize will go a long way in legitimizing Al Gore’s crass agenda of making billions of dollars through his fear mongering of chicken-little citizens who swallow his unscientific bullshit”.-Clink
BRAVO! I like your quote best!
I suggest investing in all companies offering carbon indulgences. Profits should continue to increase as hypocrites around the world seek forgiveness from their carbon sins.
I'm beyond impressed...to the point that I've just pulled my billfold out and am going to seek out that dastardly FReepathon thread and do my duty...
Ah! A “retread”!
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