One Prize Fits Al

Al Gore and IPCC awarded Nobel Peace Prize

Posted at 7:51 AM on 10 Dec 2007

Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change received their Nobel Peace Prizes this morning in Oslo, Norway. In his acceptance speech, Gore emphasized humanity's role in the climate crisis, saying, "We are what is wrong, and we must make it right ... We never intended to cause all this destruction, just as Alfred Nobel never intended that dynamite be used for waging war. He had hoped his invention would promote human progress. We shared that same worthy goal when we began burning massive quantities of coal, then oil and methane." Gore called for a moratorium on coal-burning power plants that don't sequester their emissions and stressed the need for a carbon tax. In his own speech, R. K. Pachauri, chair of the IPCC, spoke of science and peace. "Peace can be defined as security and the secure access to resources that are essential for living. A disruption in such access could prove disruptive of peace," he said. "In this regard, climate change will have several implications, as numerous adverse impacts are expected for some populations in terms of access to clean water, access to sufficient food, stable health conditions, ecosystem resources, [and] security of settlements."

source: Aftenposten
straight to the speeches: Al Gore's Nobel lecture, R. K. Pachauri's Nobel lecture

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Comments: (3 comments)

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GreenTax shifting

When Al Gore mentioned in his Noble Prize acceptance speech the need for taxing carbon (and not the system of "cap and charade" for corporations to sell our air!) while lowing payroll taxes he is highlighting a more general philosophy and public policy some call Green Tax Shifting, Geonomics, or Earthrights Democracy.

The idea is simple enough to put onto bumpers: Tax Waste, Not Work; Tax Bads, Not Goods; Tax Pollution, Not Production; Tax what we take, not what we make; Tax Human Entropy, Not Human Effort. (Yes this last one may require a bit of research for some).

Green tax shifters believe that if we are to make real progress toward a sustainable planet, we must focus on our tax system. The tax system is our economic DNA. If we can change this by instituting the general philosophy of Earthrights Democracy and adopting specific tax reforms that Al Gore has been referring to, then we have a good shot at creating an ecologically viable planet for all.

by geoark at 6:47 AM on 11 Dec 2007

Al Gore

Funny that Gore did not mention anything about cattle's current effect on the ecological crisis. Oh wait a minute his family owns a bunch of cattle farms and he wouldn't want to make enemies there.

Just food for thought.

by jareddame at 11:01 AM on 11 Dec 2007

Too Late For Gore

I guess Al Gore's current campaign against global warming is nice, but it comes far too late. Why didn't he say these things when he was in office and could have done something meaningful about them? If he would have said these things when campaigning for president, I would not only have voted for him, I would have worked for his campaign.

Politicians often say good things once they're out of office. For example, I remember LBJ saying that the Vietnam war was a mistake long after Richard Nixon was president. It might assuage their guilt to publicly admit that they were wrong or should have taken some action while they had a chance, but it's relatively meaningless once they're out of office. Al Gore is no hero of mine (for this and other reasons, like his conspicuous consumption).

by Wolverine at 2:02 PM on 11 Dec 2007

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