spare_change
10-25-2007, 02:48 AM
(CNN) -- Former Vice President Al Gore and the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their work to raise awareness about global warming.
CNN.com asked readers to share their thoughts on the Nobel Prize, global warming and Gore's selection. The response was overwhelming.
Below is a selection of those responses, some of which have been edited for length and clarity:
Roy Woodcock of Rochester, Washington
What a disgraceful choice. Al Gore has promoted bad science and dishonesty, but done nothing to promote peace. I must conclude that his selection is based on pure politics.
George Burns of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts
I can only imagine how upset Bill "looking for my legacy" Clinton is that he didn't win it. Mr. Clinton really thought he had a chance at it when he tried to broker peace between [Yasser] Arafat and [Ehud] Barak. Arafat, another Nobel Peace Prize winner, rejected Barak's offer of everything Arafat wanted. ... Jimmy Carter, another Nobel Peace Prize winner, got North Korea to "promise" to terminate their nuclear weapons program. How'd that work out?
Subhojit Roy of Marietta, Georgia
This is as deserving an award as one can be. Al Gore is the undisputed champion of raising awareness about global warming and other environmental hazards. Visionary Al is always on the right side of issues from global warming to his opposition of the devastating Iraq war.
Rob Edwards of Woodbridge, Connecticut
It is a sad world in which we live when bad science (and even a lack of any data at all on many points) leads to so much hype or accolades, especially the award of the Nobel Peace Prize. The IPCC is a farce. View the CBC documentary from 2005, which is backed up by clear and reproducible science, to understand how wrong the IPCC and Al Gore actually are.
Wanting things to be so does not make them so. And with so many other deserving nominees once again it seems that politics is playing a role on too many fronts. When more science is actually researched on the [global warming] issue and it shows that Al was a buffoon, one would hope to see his gold medal stripped from him in a Marion Jones fashion. This is a disgrace.
Chris Smith of Bexley, Ohio
Al Gore? Nobel Peace Prize? Wow, that really degrades my image of that prize. Why not give it to Michael Moore while we're at it? How sad.
Robert Singleton of Wakefield, Massachusetts
I think it's a good thing Al Gore won the peace prize. People like my English teacher try to downplay the significance of global warming. Maybe this will help give him the respect he needs to push this issue.
John Gruber of Bremerton, Washington
There is going to be a lot of controversy over whether Al Gore should win the Nobel Peace Prize. Regardless of what the critics might say, or the political pundits trying to gauge whether he is going to run for president or not, he is still an extraordinary man.
He took the defeat of the 2000 election and rechanneled that energy into a cause that he feels passionately for. He has raised the awareness of a growing global issue, and regardless of whether those changes affect us in 50 years or 100 years, he has shown courage for pointing out things that others don't want to acknowledge.
Finally, I think that we as Americans should be proud of Al Gore. There is a certain national pride that should occur when someone wins the Nobel Peace Prize, and rather than condensing this award into a 30-second sound bite, and analyzing it, we should take a moment to reflect on ourselves and our nation.
Seung Kim of Fort Wayne, Indiana
What Mr. Gore achieved is noble and good for us, but I have to wonder if he is the right person for Nobel Peace Prize. Several past Nobel Peace Prize winners, such as ... Arafat from PLO, may not have been the best choices either.
Marla Adams of New Salisbury, Indiana
I am very pleased for Al Gore. I have been an admirer of his ever since I saw him speak at Lanesville, Indiana, during the Clinton/Gore bus tour before Clinton's first presidential victory. He has worked tirelessly to inform, not just the citizens of the U.S., but the citizens of the world of the environmental crisis. It is simply inexcusable for world leaders to not pay attention to the evidence of this crisis. Score one for Al Gore that Florida cannot take away.
Phillip Bernard of La Grange, Illinois
The peace prize should be reserved for furthering peace in our world. The work Mr. Gore has done is conjectured quasi-science. His research does not employ a scientific method, otherwise it would have been considered for the prize for science.
Robert Ellis of Columbus, Ohio
Well-deserved award. If Al Gore had been president, the world would be a far more peaceful place, and America would be admired. Instead we have oil wars and worldwide hatred of America. For more than 30 years, Gore has been one of the planet's truly enlightened thinkers. I hope he gives this country another chance by running for president again.
Matthew Joyce of New York
Regarding Al Gore's recent Nobel Peace Prize acquisition, I find this to be absolutely deplorable. First off, choosing an opportunistic politician who has damaged the good name of global climate research, and a man that is responsible in no small part for having further diminished the powers of the EPA during his term in office is downright absurd.
The Nobel Peace Prize used to mean something. As of today they are all now worthless. And I mourn the passing of this once great humanitarian honor. Video Watch as the Nobel committee chairman explains why Gore, U.N. panel won »
Reynolds Jones of Schenectady, New York
Political and religious ideology has never caused or stopped a natural disaster or plague. It won't do so now. There are serious problems with climate change going on, right now. The most dangerous possibility is that of runaway global warming -- while I don't think that will happen, I don't (nor does anyone else) know that it won't happen.
Al Gore is correct about climate change. We can only hope that conservative ideologues, both religious and political will stop obstructing reasonable efforts to save the planet, and thus to save the race that we belong to.
Matthew Whitley of Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Over the last decades, the Nobel Peace Prize has increasingly become a laughingstock. That Al Gore of all people should be honored this year is another nail in the Nobel Peace Prize's coffin of legitimacy and relevance. Much like the prize for literature, the peace prize is becoming nothing more than a political bauble awarded to some political insider advocating the cause of the week.
Al Gore has been "working" for climate change for an enormous period of four whole years, coincidentally discovering this new passion right when his political career was slouching to its end. The Nobel Committee actually expects us to believe that, out of all human organizations working for peace and the improvement of the human condition, Al Gore's paltry four-year media circus of climate change advocacy is the most significant achievement we have to show for ourselves?
How ridiculous. I'm embarrassed for the legacy of the Nobel Prizes, I'm embarrassed for my country, and, if I were Al Gore, I'd be embarrassed to stand in front of the world claiming to be a worthy, legitimate recipient of the peace prize.
Mark McCord of New Richmond, Wisconsin
This just means the Nobel Peace Prize no longer stands for peace, it stands for propaganda, fear and political agendas.
Linda Witt of Bemidji, Minnesota
It is wonderful Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize. I can only wonder how different our country would be now if he had been our president. I'm proud of him and his work and intelligence. He alone has done more for raising awareness of global warming than our current president has with all the power he has at his disposal. As Americans we should take his lead in fighting the global warming crisis.
Ryan Kiblinger of Temple, Texas
My heart just broke today. The Nobel Prize went to an individual who consumes many times more than the average person in the world, and more than the average person in the first world. Yet he wins an award for his propaganda with regards to global warming. Al Gore has no scientific expertise for his film and congressional testimony. He is a mere puppet and speculator. The Nobel Peace Prize has lost all credibility today, and for that my heart breaks.
Chris Beggio of Albuquerque, New Mexico
The Nobel Foundation has now lost significant credibility for placing politics before science. There is little to no long-term data to suggest that Al Gore's claims that humans contribute significantly to climate change. Furthermore, Al Gore has conducted no actual science to support those claims. The film Al Gore has produced is a work of propaganda that the Nobel Foundation has mistakenly bought into.
Colleen Smith of Kingston, Washington
Al Gore cannot possibly be the best candidate for the Nobel peace prize, not even if what he is trying to sell us were credible, which it is not. It is just one more outrage for those of us who take the time to know what is really going on. It sickens me to see such rampant deceit.
Marjorie Nation of Rockton, Illinois
Al Gore does not deserve the Noble Peace Prize. Not only are the facts and figures he presents in his lectures viewed as incorrect by some scientists, but Al's personal life is opposite of what he preaches. I believe if Al was deserving of this award, he would really show the world he cares by practicing what he preaches!
CNN.com asked readers to share their thoughts on the Nobel Prize, global warming and Gore's selection. The response was overwhelming.
Below is a selection of those responses, some of which have been edited for length and clarity:
Roy Woodcock of Rochester, Washington
What a disgraceful choice. Al Gore has promoted bad science and dishonesty, but done nothing to promote peace. I must conclude that his selection is based on pure politics.
George Burns of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts
I can only imagine how upset Bill "looking for my legacy" Clinton is that he didn't win it. Mr. Clinton really thought he had a chance at it when he tried to broker peace between [Yasser] Arafat and [Ehud] Barak. Arafat, another Nobel Peace Prize winner, rejected Barak's offer of everything Arafat wanted. ... Jimmy Carter, another Nobel Peace Prize winner, got North Korea to "promise" to terminate their nuclear weapons program. How'd that work out?
Subhojit Roy of Marietta, Georgia
This is as deserving an award as one can be. Al Gore is the undisputed champion of raising awareness about global warming and other environmental hazards. Visionary Al is always on the right side of issues from global warming to his opposition of the devastating Iraq war.
Rob Edwards of Woodbridge, Connecticut
It is a sad world in which we live when bad science (and even a lack of any data at all on many points) leads to so much hype or accolades, especially the award of the Nobel Peace Prize. The IPCC is a farce. View the CBC documentary from 2005, which is backed up by clear and reproducible science, to understand how wrong the IPCC and Al Gore actually are.
Wanting things to be so does not make them so. And with so many other deserving nominees once again it seems that politics is playing a role on too many fronts. When more science is actually researched on the [global warming] issue and it shows that Al was a buffoon, one would hope to see his gold medal stripped from him in a Marion Jones fashion. This is a disgrace.
Chris Smith of Bexley, Ohio
Al Gore? Nobel Peace Prize? Wow, that really degrades my image of that prize. Why not give it to Michael Moore while we're at it? How sad.
Robert Singleton of Wakefield, Massachusetts
I think it's a good thing Al Gore won the peace prize. People like my English teacher try to downplay the significance of global warming. Maybe this will help give him the respect he needs to push this issue.
John Gruber of Bremerton, Washington
There is going to be a lot of controversy over whether Al Gore should win the Nobel Peace Prize. Regardless of what the critics might say, or the political pundits trying to gauge whether he is going to run for president or not, he is still an extraordinary man.
He took the defeat of the 2000 election and rechanneled that energy into a cause that he feels passionately for. He has raised the awareness of a growing global issue, and regardless of whether those changes affect us in 50 years or 100 years, he has shown courage for pointing out things that others don't want to acknowledge.
Finally, I think that we as Americans should be proud of Al Gore. There is a certain national pride that should occur when someone wins the Nobel Peace Prize, and rather than condensing this award into a 30-second sound bite, and analyzing it, we should take a moment to reflect on ourselves and our nation.
Seung Kim of Fort Wayne, Indiana
What Mr. Gore achieved is noble and good for us, but I have to wonder if he is the right person for Nobel Peace Prize. Several past Nobel Peace Prize winners, such as ... Arafat from PLO, may not have been the best choices either.
Marla Adams of New Salisbury, Indiana
I am very pleased for Al Gore. I have been an admirer of his ever since I saw him speak at Lanesville, Indiana, during the Clinton/Gore bus tour before Clinton's first presidential victory. He has worked tirelessly to inform, not just the citizens of the U.S., but the citizens of the world of the environmental crisis. It is simply inexcusable for world leaders to not pay attention to the evidence of this crisis. Score one for Al Gore that Florida cannot take away.
Phillip Bernard of La Grange, Illinois
The peace prize should be reserved for furthering peace in our world. The work Mr. Gore has done is conjectured quasi-science. His research does not employ a scientific method, otherwise it would have been considered for the prize for science.
Robert Ellis of Columbus, Ohio
Well-deserved award. If Al Gore had been president, the world would be a far more peaceful place, and America would be admired. Instead we have oil wars and worldwide hatred of America. For more than 30 years, Gore has been one of the planet's truly enlightened thinkers. I hope he gives this country another chance by running for president again.
Matthew Joyce of New York
Regarding Al Gore's recent Nobel Peace Prize acquisition, I find this to be absolutely deplorable. First off, choosing an opportunistic politician who has damaged the good name of global climate research, and a man that is responsible in no small part for having further diminished the powers of the EPA during his term in office is downright absurd.
The Nobel Peace Prize used to mean something. As of today they are all now worthless. And I mourn the passing of this once great humanitarian honor. Video Watch as the Nobel committee chairman explains why Gore, U.N. panel won »
Reynolds Jones of Schenectady, New York
Political and religious ideology has never caused or stopped a natural disaster or plague. It won't do so now. There are serious problems with climate change going on, right now. The most dangerous possibility is that of runaway global warming -- while I don't think that will happen, I don't (nor does anyone else) know that it won't happen.
Al Gore is correct about climate change. We can only hope that conservative ideologues, both religious and political will stop obstructing reasonable efforts to save the planet, and thus to save the race that we belong to.
Matthew Whitley of Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Over the last decades, the Nobel Peace Prize has increasingly become a laughingstock. That Al Gore of all people should be honored this year is another nail in the Nobel Peace Prize's coffin of legitimacy and relevance. Much like the prize for literature, the peace prize is becoming nothing more than a political bauble awarded to some political insider advocating the cause of the week.
Al Gore has been "working" for climate change for an enormous period of four whole years, coincidentally discovering this new passion right when his political career was slouching to its end. The Nobel Committee actually expects us to believe that, out of all human organizations working for peace and the improvement of the human condition, Al Gore's paltry four-year media circus of climate change advocacy is the most significant achievement we have to show for ourselves?
How ridiculous. I'm embarrassed for the legacy of the Nobel Prizes, I'm embarrassed for my country, and, if I were Al Gore, I'd be embarrassed to stand in front of the world claiming to be a worthy, legitimate recipient of the peace prize.
Mark McCord of New Richmond, Wisconsin
This just means the Nobel Peace Prize no longer stands for peace, it stands for propaganda, fear and political agendas.
Linda Witt of Bemidji, Minnesota
It is wonderful Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize. I can only wonder how different our country would be now if he had been our president. I'm proud of him and his work and intelligence. He alone has done more for raising awareness of global warming than our current president has with all the power he has at his disposal. As Americans we should take his lead in fighting the global warming crisis.
Ryan Kiblinger of Temple, Texas
My heart just broke today. The Nobel Prize went to an individual who consumes many times more than the average person in the world, and more than the average person in the first world. Yet he wins an award for his propaganda with regards to global warming. Al Gore has no scientific expertise for his film and congressional testimony. He is a mere puppet and speculator. The Nobel Peace Prize has lost all credibility today, and for that my heart breaks.
Chris Beggio of Albuquerque, New Mexico
The Nobel Foundation has now lost significant credibility for placing politics before science. There is little to no long-term data to suggest that Al Gore's claims that humans contribute significantly to climate change. Furthermore, Al Gore has conducted no actual science to support those claims. The film Al Gore has produced is a work of propaganda that the Nobel Foundation has mistakenly bought into.
Colleen Smith of Kingston, Washington
Al Gore cannot possibly be the best candidate for the Nobel peace prize, not even if what he is trying to sell us were credible, which it is not. It is just one more outrage for those of us who take the time to know what is really going on. It sickens me to see such rampant deceit.
Marjorie Nation of Rockton, Illinois
Al Gore does not deserve the Noble Peace Prize. Not only are the facts and figures he presents in his lectures viewed as incorrect by some scientists, but Al's personal life is opposite of what he preaches. I believe if Al was deserving of this award, he would really show the world he cares by practicing what he preaches!