Gore wins the Nobel Peace Prize

And the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize goes to...Al Gore!  And to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and its 2,000 climate scientists. Watch the stunning live Nobel Prize Announcement here in a Norwegian accent.

Why Gore?  In their words, "Al Gore has for a long time been one of the world’s leading environmentalist politicians. He became aware at an early stage of the climatic challenges the world is facing.  His strong commitment, reflecting in political activity, lectures, films and books, has strengthened the struggle against climate change.  He is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted." 

This global honor bestowed on these noble crusaders signifies the importance of global warming to world peace. Slowing down global warming will lessen the resource wars and environmental refugees that could result from a warming planet. In short, going green will lead to a more peaceful and stable world. This gives a whole new meaning to the words Green Peace.

Take water for example. If a region's water source (like melting snow) dries up or a region becomes flooded, the residents have to migrate elsewhere. In the developing world, there are hundreds of millions of people who face such a potential reality. Fighting wars over oil is another example. As easy oil supplies peak, we can generate our energy renewably, locally and more peacefully from wind, solar, geothermal, and tidal power.

The Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee is also emphasizing action on man-made climate change.  Its announcement forcefully concluded with "action is necessary now before climate change moves beyond man's control." 

Al Gore is an inspiration to me personally. He recovered from the devastating blow of not being named President and went on to rediscover his passion for an Earth in balance. He became a man on a green mission, sounding the warning bell about global warming via 1,000+ presentations. No audience was too small or too big. But to reach the largest audience of all in the age of image, Hollywood turned the Vice President into a movie star. Consider that the climatic movie premiere of An Inconvenient Truth occurred in May 2006. Since then, Al Gore has received some of the highest honors in the land - an Oscar, an Emmy, and now the Nobel Peace Prize.

Thank you Al Gore for performing an invaluable service to humanity and for being an inspiration to all. 

For more Al, please see the Alliance for Climate Protection and Current TV.

Side Notes:

The last American to win the Nobel Peace Prize was former President Jimmy Carter in 2002. There is a movie coming out from Participant and Sony called Jimmy Carter Man From Plains. It has already won three awards from the Venice Film Festival and is apparently anything but plain.

Last weekend was the Feast of St. Francis, the day when the animals supposedly talk. Wink. St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals and the environment. He also authored the famous Peace Prayer which begins with "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace." Regardless of one's spiritual orientation, we can appreciate the universal call to be a source of peace and a steward of the planet.

In San Francisco, Angela Alioto is remarkably building an exact replica of St. Francis' famous Assisi chapel, the Porziuncola, right in the heart of North Beach. It will be an Italian architectural gem and green to boot. Che bello. Visit Renaissance Project. 

On October 7, Jane Goodall was in town, honoring the animals and speaking on living in harmony with the planet. The dogs and their owners came out to meet her in droves. She seemed happy to see them, even though they weren't chimps. Visit the Jane Goodall Institute and Roots and Shoots.