RSS
| Britain's No.1 quality newspaper website | Make us your homepage
Friday 12 October 2007

Home News Sport Business Travel Jobs Motoring Property | SEARCH Our siteWeb SEARCH Our siteWeb

|  | # What has Al Gore done for world peace? Damian Thompson Last Updated: 1:01pm BST 12/10/2007 Have your say Read comments
So Al Gore is the joint winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Admittedly, he has to share it with the United Nations’ climate change panel - but, even so, I think we need to declare an international smugness alert. Damian Thompson: Cheap stunt by Muslims is rumbled Damian Thompson: I declare a jihad http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/10/11/scigore111.xml Your View: Should Al Gore's film be banned from schools? The former US Vice-President has already taken over from Michael Moore as the most sanctimonious lardbutt Yank on the planet. Can you imagine what he'll be like now that the Norwegian Nobel committee has given him the prize? advertisement More to the point, can you imagine how enormous his already massive carbon footprint will become once he starts jetting around the world bragging about his new title? Just after Gore won an Oscar for his global warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth - in which he asked American households to cut their use of electricity - the Tennessee Centre for Policy Research took a look at Al's energy bills. It reckoned that his 20-room, eight-bathroom mansion in Nashville sometimes uses twice the energy in one month that the average American household gets through in a year. The combined energy and gas bills for his estate came to nearly $30,000 in 2006. Ah, say his defenders, but he uses rainwater to flush his lavatories. Is there enough rainwater in the world, I wonder? There are so many reasons why Gore shouldn't have won the peace prize for his preachiness. Alas, it is too late to influence their decision, but I'd have liked to refer the judges to a ruling by Mr Justice Burton, a High Court judge who has criticised the Government for sending out An Inconvenient Truth to schools without a health warning. The reason? It's full of errors and unsubstantiated claims. The judge is not saying that Gore's basic thesis is wrong (and nor am I). In a way, his findings are more damning than that. Gore claims that the rises in carbon dioxide and temperature over 650,000 years show an "exact fit". That's wrong, says Mr Justice Burton: there is a connection, but not a precise correlation. Earth: your planet, your home EnNobeled Al Gore the 2008 kingmaker? Doris Lessing wins Nobel prize for literature Three cheers for Al Gore Gore predicts sea levels rising by up to 20ft in the near future. Not so, according to the judge: that will happen only after millions of years. Those low-lying Pacific atolls that Gore claims have been evacuated? No evidence. Polar bears who drowned swimming to look for ice? Again, no evidence: four bears have drowned - but because of a storm. None of which will surprise seasoned Gore-watchers. The man is not, as his enemies maintained when he ran against George W. Bush in 2000, a pants-on-fire liar. He's an exaggerator and a braggart. He never claimed to have invented the internet; he said he "took the initiative in creating the internet", which is about a quarter true - he was among the first congressmen to support the invention. In 1999, he boasted about having uncovered the most famous toxic waste site in America ("I found a little place in upstate New York called Love Canal"). Yes, but Love Canal was already notorious by the time Gore "found" it. That's typical of his arrogance, says the non-partisan US politics website Skeleton Closet: "When he says the words 'little place', you can feel him struggling to contain his pleasure with his good deeds." Gore struggles with his memory, too. "I certainly learnt a lot from 3,000 town hall meetings across …Tennessee over a 16-year period," he told National Public Radio. And so he would have, had he actually attended 187 town hall meetings a year, which is what it works out as: he might even have managed to hold his home state in 2000. But my favourite Gore memory lapse is his account of being sung to sleep with the lullaby Look for the Union Label, written in 1975. How sweet: being sung to sleep by your parents at the age of 27. Then there's his evasiveness on the subject of alleged ethical violations. He resorts to "legalisms", says Skeleton Closet: although he might technically be in the right, "he has such a tin ear for the way normal people talk that he sounds like a mafia don". But there is a more fundamental objection to awarding Gore the peace prize that goes beyond issues of character. Climate change is a threat to the environment, not to "peace" and international order. The prize has gone to some sleazy recipients in the past, but at least you can make a case that their actions staved off bloodshed. Lumping together global warming and terrorism, as David Cameron did in his conference speech, is a rhetorical sleight of hand typical of opportunistic politicians who are trying to hoover up liberal and conservative votes at the same time. I don't think that description applies to the Tory leader, but it sure as hell fits Albert Gore, Jr.
Have your say Post this story to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit Comments This is why I will never take the Nobel Peace Prize seriously anymore. Posted by Tammy, USA on October 12, 2007 6:59 PM Report this comment Any right thinking conservative knows the Nobel Peace Prize should have gone to American radio spewer Rush Limbaugh. Posted by kar on October 12, 2007 6:58 PM Report this comment That's the Nobel Peace Prize totally devalued for everyone else who has ever won it then. Posted by Andy Moore on October 12, 2007 6:45 PM Report this comment Thanks GOD someone "over there" gets it!!! Thank you, Damian, for re-exposing this blow hard for what he truly is...never could've said it better myself. Tom S. A frustrated, conservative Yank. Posted by Tom Sierak on October 12, 2007 5:42 PM Report this comment What on earth is the Nobel Committee going to do when it doesn't have George Bush to kick around any more? One more silly Season, Nobelites, and then you have to think of someone serious. One more failed Democrat in 2008, then it is (I hope) back to the real world. Posted by Michael Mates on October 12, 2007 5:29 PM Report this comment Ah well I suppose they have got to choose someone. What do they do - place the names of a number of outspoken people in a hat and then pull one out? Posted by Malcolm on October 12, 2007 5:27 PM Report this comment Al Gore is a total idiot. He historically takes a very small bit of realty to a ridicilous and technically incorrect conclusion. After all, he is the same person who has claimed to have invented the Internet. He is a legend in his own mind! Also - what does his global warming issues have to do with world peace anyway? His Nobel Peace Prize is supported by the same type of feel good mentality idiots that take his warped conclusions for fact. Posted by jd on October 12, 2007 5:26 PM Report this comment I'm not suprised the Nobel gang gave Al Gore their award, he's green on the outside and red under the skin with a yellow streak up his back. Just another excuse to attack America. Posted by Borough Freedman on October 12, 2007 5:19 PM Report this comment Please, please stop perpetuating the myth that Algore won an Oscar. He didn't - the producer did. This is simply further validation that the Nobel prize is worthless. Posted by Vito on October 12, 2007 5:16 PM Report this comment The real danger mankind faces is Man Bear Pig, half man, half bear and half pig. I am super serial! Posted by M Sorken on October 12, 2007 4:58 PM Report this comment I thought the Nobel Peace Prize was for someone or some organisation which had promoted and even brought lasting peace somewhere in the world -- the prize to Al Gore and the UN Panel should have been awarded (if at all) in another category. Perhaps someone should explain the word Peace to the Norwegians!!!! Posted by Chips Westwood on October 12, 2007 4:55 PM Report this comment Who on earth is Al Gore? Posted by Peter, Cambridge on October 12, 2007 4:47 PM Report this comment I wonder what the effects of implementing Gore's solutions would be on international peace: drastically reducing economic productivity, stunted capital investment in developing countries, relapses into an era where the whole world is the third world... Global warming may be an issue, but we need some more creative solutions than Gore posits. Bjorn Lomborg is worth a read. Posted by Sam on October 12, 2007 4:47 PM Report this comment I'd have more respect for Al Gore if he would downsize his extreme life of luxury. I would be more open-minded to the manmade global warming "THEORY" if liberals would acknowledge the extreme carbon footprint their "Nobel" leaders blatantly display. A Hypocrite Prize anyone? Posted by John OLeary on October 12, 2007 4:37 PM Report this comment The only consolation is that there are no meaningless, overhyped prizes left for Gore to win. I was going to say "unless the Brits knight him," but I still consider having the elderly and politically powerless Queen touch some 60-year-old's well-padded shoulders with a sword to be a meaningful prize in comparison to the Oscar and the Nobel. Arise, Sir Lardbutt! Posted by Miss Orange on October 12, 2007 4:37 PM Report this comment OH MY! The postings offer an outlet for all right-wing nutjobs to bash Gore. Now, go back to drooling over your pin up of Anne Coulter. Drooooool! Pant pant pant. Posted by Benny Waller on October 12, 2007 4:35 PM Report this comment When I heard the news, the first question occured to me: Why him? He's a bloody politic-n involved in power games!!! What has he done to stop war in Iraq? He's never been in strong confrontation with US government as Michal Moore's been? Prince Charles was speaking about Global Warming and climate change for ages, why wouldn't they pick him? It is a really strange choice ... Posted by Olga on October 12, 2007 4:27 PM Report this comment What in the name of all that's holy has eco-mentalist campaigning got to do with world peace? Posted by O Zangado on October 12, 2007 4:21 PM Report this comment Wow, you were able to work in the "Al Gore is fat!!1!!!!1!" motif in your third sentence. That's good, but a true wingnut would have found a way to lead off with it. Keep trying. Posted by Anthony Cartouche on October 12, 2007 4:15 PM Report this comment Tony Blair must be a shoe in for next year, unless he's elected Pope first. Posted by Percy on October 12, 2007 4:13 PM Report this comment Beautifully done Nobel Prize committee ! Thak you so much for confirming the existence of the global socialist control plan that masquerades as the Global Warming Scare. Run for President Al, please, please please. Get the nomination and then choose Hillary as your running mate. Please, please, please. Posted by pablo an ex pat on October 12, 2007 4:06 PM Report this comment I was amused by reading many of the comments about Gore from individuals who obviously have no scientific background. Reminds me of the idiots from the not too distant past who were convinced that the earth was flat. The vast majority of scientists agree with the basic points asserted by Gore in his book. Furthermore, undisputable evidence from satellite photographs demonstrate that the ice in polar regions and other areas is melting at unprecedented rates. Notwithstanding all of this evidence, it is obvious that many will keep their heads stuck in the sand. Does Gore have all of the answers? Of course, not. However, at least he has helped bring global attention to a global crisis. Posted by Ted Theus on October 12, 2007 3:54 PM Report this comment Every so often a new religion emerges. The new belief system is called 'climate change'. Population growth will ensure that this will run and run! Posted by Robert on October 12, 2007 3:52 PM Report this comment Should've been in the science category. link Posted by Left-wing Infidel on October 12, 2007 3:50 PM Report this comment What's with you Euros anyway? Just when we think the Nobel comittee couldn't sink any lower than giving the peace prize to Carter and Arafat you inflict this self serving blowhard on the world with what used to be a prestigious award. At least you can ship him home...we're stuck with him. Posted by Steve, Colorado on October 12, 2007 3:49 PM Report this comment The award is correct but the press got the spelling wrong. The prize is the Nobel Piece Prize and is awarded for the biggest most unadulterated piece of crap ever espoused. I'm sure most of you agree that this is fully justified and that Al deserves the recognition. Posted by Geoff Turner on October 12, 2007 3:43 PM Report this comment R.I.P. Here lays the once prestigious Nobel Prize - brought low by the political machinations of a 'snake-oil' charlatan proving, once and for all that, any and all foolishness will be believed by a large number of similarly foolish people! Modern advertising and 'spin' can make anything believable - while, all the time, truth lays bleeding to death in the corner! Posted by Roy Anderson on October 12, 2007 3:42 PM Report this comment Climate change allows lazy underachievers to claim the moral high ground, by explaining their lack of achievement as a moral decision to avoid any activity which would create a large carbon footprint. Hilarious last paragraph about Cameron. Yeah, just because Cameron uses the tools of opportunistic political scum does not rule out the possibility he is a nice guy. Hmmm. Posted by Eric Worrall on October 12, 2007 3:42 PM Report this comment From the perspectives of many of us on the western shores of the Atlantic, Al Gore joins John Kerry as being an empty suit, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Posted by Dennis Eagan on October 12, 2007 3:37 PM Report this comment Sure beats the alternative of Tony Bliar being awarded the Nobel Peasce Prize for crafting the Northern Ireland peace accord - but stay tuned on that one, Cherie and his financial backers may buy it for him yet! Posted by MikeW on October 12, 2007 3:30 PM Report this comment Heaven help us all if Gore gets a Nobel peace prize. Climate change is the latest "Hobgoblin" which, according to Mencken is a fear factor developed by politicians to scare their electorate and it comes with the rider that only they (politicians) can save us from it!! Posted by George Lindsay on October 12, 2007 3:27 PM Report this comment "...lardbut..." This yank loved your column. I fear that both of our countries are paying for the abysmal education system which those of the babbling persuation have fosted upon us. Hopefully, logic will prevail. Currently, it does not. Posted by Mike G on October 12, 2007 3:20 PM Report this comment Another disgraceful wasye of a prestigeous award. A repeat of the Jimmy Carter fiasco. One, the worst Vice President, and the other the VERY worst President of the United States in the history of the country. Posted by Dr. H. William Winstanley on October 12, 2007 3:10 PM Report this comment The Nobel Peace Prize was given for raising awareness of Global Warming. It would be ludicrous if the Nobel commission withheld prizes based on smugness or political banter. And Gore would probably do more good worldwide, realistically, by continuing to raise awareness even by maintaining the carbon footprint that all celebrities and politicians share, while working to reduce it in the mainstream where the difference would be enormous. This article seems petty and immature. Posted by Bill on October 12, 2007 3:07 PM Report this comment Certainly the attack is mean-spirited. But the Nobel prize going to Gore is absolute proof that the prizes are given for political reasons, not merit. Brien Comerford, sometimes other people have other causes that are just as important as yours. Posted by Bu on u on October 12, 2007 3:05 PM Report this comment Al Gore just won the the Great Politically Correct award - given to all the best "PC" people. The Nobel Prize is becoming a joke. Please tell me how a life-long politician riding the latest fad contributes to world peace? Posted by Paul, New York on October 12, 2007 3:02 PM Report this comment How nice to be reminded that you have smug, clueless right-wing fools over there, just like we do! Thanks for that, chaps. Posted by Ben W. Dickinson on October 12, 2007 2:55 PM Report this comment The world is one big public relations exercise - nothing is sacred. It's all about 'who's story do you buy?' not facts. Posted by Cayrob on October 12, 2007 2:55 PM Report this comment For those of you complaining that the Nobel Prizes are Swedish and not Norewegian - you are right! Except..... From the Nobel Prize official website:- Send Us Your Questions about the Nobel Peace Prize If you have ever wanted to know anything about the Nobel Peace Prize, then now is your chance to ask a member of the Prize-Awarding Committee. Professor Geir Lundestad, Secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, has kindly agreed to answer any question you might have on the Peace Prize. Posted by flook1 on October 12, 2007 2:49 PM Report this comment It is good Gore is on top of global warming. He will weed out the suckers for us all. I have made a lot of money off suckers. So have Blair/Brown. Posted by Pam on October 12, 2007 2:49 PM Report this comment To Alan Braggins 10.18 am. Are you implying that the theory of man-made global warming has been * tested *? If so, where was the control group? Posted by Brenda on October 12, 2007 2:48 PM Report this comment "The former US Vice-President has already taken over from Michael Moore as the most sanctimonious lardbutt Yank on the planet." Only because Jimmy Carter isn't a lardbutt. On behalf of all Yanks everywhere, I'd like to apologize for Algore. The Nobel Peace Prize is a joke, and it has been at least since Yasser Arafat won it. Posted by JB on October 12, 2007 2:45 PM Report this comment They should start calling the prizes 'Nobel Prize A' and 'Nobel Prize B' or something if they're going to hand out the 'peace' price for whatever the hot political topic of the day is (no pun intended). Perhaps they meant 'piece' prize as Al only got a piece of it and had to share. It's a shame that the peace prize every year takes all the limelight and the other prizes, most of which are actually handed out according to the name of the price, get little mention. As the Nobel Institute continues to do this it will only devalue itself. Posted by warm and toasty on October 12, 2007 2:38 PM Report this comment As a sanctimonious lardbutt Yank, I resent being linked with Al Gore. Even we sanctimonious lardbutt Yanks have our standards. Posted by B. Lane on October 12, 2007 2:36 PM Report this comment If it wasn't already obvious (after Jimmy Carter was give one solely to slam Bush): The Nobel Prize is now a complete joke. Posted by Napolean Dynamite on October 12, 2007 2:36 PM Report this comment Sour Grapes! Who cares who gets the credit as long as the messages gets out and gets everyone on board! Posted by John chapman on October 12, 2007 2:28 PM Report this comment Adrian Kent Various university & media groups did their own recounts, Gore still lost, get over it. Posted by Stan (Expat) on October 12, 2007 2:23 PM Report this comment Well it's a done deal, who next T Blair? Posted by Conkeyron on October 12, 2007 2:19 PM Report this comment link Seems that for once, The Guardian makes more sense than the Telegraph on this one. Why is it that global warming deniers flock to The Telegraph? Admittedly, no British newspaper has much coverage of scientific issues, but the Telegraph is not as bad as most. Posted by Alex, Tunbridge Wells on October 12, 2007 2:18 PM Report this comment How many folks here who are dissing global warming as a leftist conspiracy are actually climate scientists? Posted by Taoa on October 12, 2007 2:13 PM Report this comment Yes - What has Al Gore done for world peace? A Politician supported by the United Nations climate change panel, more politicians. Just living in this country should suggest the reliability of any politician is not up there with the true believers in peace. As for world peace? Posted by Ian on October 12, 2007 2:00 PM Report this comment Global warming believers WANT to believe that evil man is killing the planet. Tells you something about their empty and weak minds. They want everybody to be as miserable as they are. Posted by Jeff on October 12, 2007 1:57 PM Report this comment Judge, expert in Law not Science. Posted by Brian on October 12, 2007 1:56 PM Report this comment After last year awarding the literature prize to that nutbag Harold Pinter, this award shows just how barmy the whole Nobel racket has become. Next year, Michael Moore? Bono? Sheryl Crowe? Basil Brush? Posted by jonathan anthony on October 12, 2007 1:51 PM Report this comment First the religious terrorist then the socialist terrorists.... Posted by Freeman on October 12, 2007 1:49 PM Report this comment When I heard he had won a Nobel Prize I assumed it was for Science Fiction. He seems to have a somewhat erroneous memory like another politician who liked to ingratiate himself Big Time over here. Posted by Nick R on October 12, 2007 1:44 PM Report this comment This just proves there are human-hating, screwball socialists on the Nobel commitee. Arafat anyone? Posted by Judith on October 12, 2007 1:42 PM Report this comment It seems that the Nobel Peace Committee doesn't think that resolution of conflicts is peace, but th new definition of peace is a lot of waffle about how much hot air an overpopulated planet is producing. Al Gore, a millionaire whose personal carbon footprint is many times the average American's, is getting another few millions for "saving the planet from war". I don't recall what war he has stopped. I don't understand how he has made the world more peaceful. It's completely crazy. Posted by Peter Canterbury on October 12, 2007 1:39 PM Report this comment Westerners are retarded. What's government putting in the water? Posted by Charles on October 12, 2007 1:38 PM Report this comment Listen up! If global warming continues then some pretty basic things are going to be in short supply. Drinking water, for instance. Good arable land for instance. You do know what this would mean, don't you? Clue: "Resource wars". So here is your very tight connection between global warming and war. Help prevent one and you prevent the other. Got it now? Posted by Bill Again on October 12, 2007 1:37 PM Report this comment A theme that should ring true, and close to home, for all the Yankee cowboys here (suitably simplified to match the level of intelligence on this forum). Try, if you can, to wrap your minds around this - 1. An important driver of human conflict is intense competition over scarce (or highly desired resources) 2. Climate change entails a change in the distribution of some highly valuable natural resources - like freshwater. 3. The resulting poverty is likely to drive areas of scarcity (Africa, parts of Asia, etc.,) into further socio-political unrest. 4. Therefore, an important driver PREVENTING unrest is the mitigation of climate change, or at least adaptation to it. 5. Education is the first step towards changing policies, since we (and by we, I do not mean the United States) live in a (supposedly) democracy-loving world. Therefore the link between education and peace. Therefore the conspicuous lack of peace within America and American 'foreign policy'. Therefore the Peace Prize for an environmental educator. Geddit? Posted by Zareen P. Bharucha on October 12, 2007 1:37 PM Report this comment I would have alot more respect for Gore if he didn't use 20 times the energy (at only ONE of his homes) than the average American (those numbers came right off his elec bill). He buys carbon credits from a company he part-owns. They even caught him lat month sneaking onto a private jet. Limousine liberalism at it's best. Posted by harkin on October 12, 2007 1:34 PM Report this comment Gunnar Berge, the then Chairman of the Nobel Prize committee that awarded the Peace Prize to Jimmy Carter, stated in essence that award was a "Kick in the leg" to George Bush. Perhaps the current award is another "Kick in the leg"? So much for objectivity. Posted by Rosario on October 12, 2007 1:29 PM Report this comment Is this writer beset by an overwhelming sense of inadequacy and purposelessness? It would seem. Posted by hdhouse on October 12, 2007 1:25 PM Report this comment The Pro Gore brigade are desperate to believe in 'Climate Change' as a man-made phenomenon in order to justify the sad lifestyles they wish to lead wearing home-made sandals and crapping in holes in the ground (mustn't use water) while at the same time giving them the opportunty to wring their hands and rail at the rest of us. And the rest of us know it is all Total Hooey. And what exactly is our caring government doing with the millions it raises from the £10-each-way Green Tax it gleefully slapped on air-travellers. Can the Greenies answer this? Posted by rhubarb on October 12, 2007 1:24 PM Report this comment It has been known for yonks that volcanoes shove more greenhouse gas into the atmosphere in a day than industry does in a year. The last century saw a significant increase in volcanic activity. I think we're being conned by the likes of Al (ok then I'll be more important than the president) Gore Posted by John Ledbury on October 12, 2007 1:22 PM Report this comment There's an old scouse word for the likes of Al Gore which is "gob****". Goebbels had the same idea about propagande - if you say anything loud enough and often enough it will be seen as the truth - it was not true thanand itis not true now. Why are we so gullible? Posted by Peter Yarwood on October 12, 2007 1:14 PM Report this comment Is it April 1st already? A Noble Peace prize is given to a failed politician for purveying fashionable propeganda; it is a joke. Posted by ClimateChangeIsPropaganda on October 12, 2007 1:01 PM Report this comment Nobel Peace Prize, who is next? I agree with Herb Cohen book "Everything is Negotiable" Posted by Arvind Mishra in India on October 12, 2007 12:54 PM Report this comment I think, given the circumstances, that he would have lost, regardless of who voted for who. And in that case, I would think that the verse "and having done all, to stand" is precisely what I wanted to refer to. Posted by Mark Grindell on October 12, 2007 12:51 PM Report this comment "This just serves as further confirmation that we are indeed living in the 'Age of Stupidity'" RE should have made it clear that he was referring to Damian Thompson's ludicrous article. Posted by John Rennie on October 12, 2007 12:35 PM Report this comment "A Channel Four documentary with heavyweight contributions ridiculed man made global warming - the culprit is the sun strange as it may seem. How a "peace"prize can be given for a scientific theory is worthy of Monty Python. Posted by Tony on October 12, 2007 10:17 AM If you can't figure out that the global warming hoax is about robbing us of more of our income, then I hope you look good in chains. Posted by Tammy on October 12, 2007 10:11 AM" Couldn't have put it better myself. Bravo. Posted by Andrew on October 12, 2007 12:34 PM Report this comment Pray that Gore does not get the Nobel prize. He's done nothing to earn it. He's just another politician telling us don't do what I do just do as I say. Most people don't want to destroy the planet and are doing their bit but nobody seems interested any more in "Natural Cycles" Just in buzz words like "Global Warming" and "Climate Change" because of course these are the things that sell papers. Global warming isn't happening anytime soon or climate change either. I repeat natural cycles are responsible for hotter/wetter summers than usual and colder/milder winters. Al Gore should put his own house in order before preaching to the rest of world. Posted by Gina Myrie on October 12, 2007 12:31 PM Report this comment Well now there is no doubt that the Nobel Peace prize is completely politicised. What a waste of time. At least last year's winner Muhammad Yunus achieved something practical making a direct difference in people's lives. It is so easy for Gore to switch his already high profile to whichever cause will deliver him some political capital. Posted by Andrew on October 12, 2007 12:21 PM Report this comment What the journalist does not seem to understand is that the Nobel prize is used to highlight issues - by choosing AlGore its about saying that its about time the world took the environment seriouslY. Posted by franglais75 on October 12, 2007 12:16 PM Report this comment Nobel prize for Peace for bringing to our attention something scores had already brought to our attention without so much self-righteous publicity. Unbelievable. Posted by Joe Jackson. on October 12, 2007 12:13 PM Report this comment He probably will win it after all another unlikely candidate Henry Kissenger won it!! Posted by Freedom on October 12, 2007 12:12 PM Report this comment Mark said "Global warming has everything to do with peace. Wars are already being fought, at least in part, over water and scarce arable land. It's all tied together. Might want to read up on this." Oh really Mark- where? I cant recall a single war in the last hundred years that had anything to do with lack of water or arable land. Politics yes, Religion yes, border disputes yes but water? The nearest I can think of is Egypt and Sudan having a dust up about the water supplies for the Aswan damn - but that was about hydro-electric power supplies and was solved diplomatically, with out a shot fired. Arable or not people have always fought over land, Hitler was the biggest culprit, but I dont remember Global Warming being part of the Nazi rationale for invading Poland! Global warming has nothing to do with world peace, Gore and the IPCC winning this award is farcical. People here have poo-pooed Carter and Arafat winning it, Begin was the other winner that year for their work on trying to find a solution to the Israeli-Palistinian problem, a very real and ongoing terrorist war. They didnt succeed but the commitee recognised their efforts! I fail to see what a man who makes a fictional hollywood film has to do with world peace, they may as well have given it the makers for Independance Day for warning the world of the dangers of alien invasion! This is a sad day for the credibility and stature the Nobel peace prize. Personally I would rather it went to the peacefulty protesting monks of Burma, or Kofi Annan in recognition of his efforts at the UN, or anyone but Al Bore and his climate twaddle! Posted by David C on October 12, 2007 12:11 PM Report this comment Only Nobel prize committee can justify this! Al Gore was a boring democratic candidate, who lost to Bush, Jr. Well, then you can imagine the caliber of this Aaal Gooore! Regards, Posted by Krishna R. Kumar on October 12, 2007 12:05 PM Report this comment Mark Grindell: "There is at least one fantastic thing that Al Gore did, that the world will thank him for forever; He stood against George W Bush." And lost! Posted by Frederick Davies on October 12, 2007 11:55 AM Report this comment This just serves as further confirmation that we are indeed living in the 'Age of Stupidity'. Posted by RE on October 12, 2007 11:54 AM Report this comment I am struck by the pettiness and sheer sordid mean-spiritedness of Gore's critics here. As Orwell used to say, you know a cause is worth supporting by taking a look at its enemies. What a crew they seem to be ! Gore's film struck me as extremely thought-provoking and wonderfully executed, even if there could be mistakes in tackling such a big subject. But it showed a concerned and serious and humorous man explaining life-and -death issues. I like Al. He is serious, and that is a disadvantage in most political systems, especially the current US one. But he is a great man in his dignity and idealism. I do hope he runs for President. Posted by Ganpat Ram on October 12, 2007 11:49 AM Report this comment I had the impression the americans came into this game rather late. How curious one of their leaders should be awarded the Nobel prize. Posted by Freddie on October 12, 2007 11:49 AM Report this comment Imagine how much more peaceful the world would be had Gore simply had the courage to fly to Florida and say "I'm not leaving until you've counted all the votes" back in 2000. It's pathetic that simply making an essentially sound, but overstated, film can give someone the chance of the Nobel gong. Posted by Adrian Kent on October 12, 2007 11:49 AM Report this comment The whole idea of climate change lost credibility as soon as the government used it as an excuse to exert more control over us and impose more taxes on us. Posted by ian bitter on October 12, 2007 11:42 AM Report this comment The nobel prize put Mr. Gore in the company of other buffoons like Mr. Arafat and is the deservedly final blow to his reputation. I would be curious to know whether he still thinks that he has invented the Internet, though.... Thank God for Dubya... Posted by Oracle of Knightsbridge on October 12, 2007 11:41 AM Report this comment There is at least one fantastic thing that Al Gore did, that the world will thank him for forever; He stood against George W Bush. Posted by Mark Grindell on October 12, 2007 11:39 AM Report this comment Oh please not the Stern report Alex. This was a plitically skewed interpretation of various scientists' findings,mostly taken out of context and often with objections from those same scientists being ignored. Stern was/is politically motivated to fit the report to the answers he was already told to find. It is hugely discredited by anyone who has bothered to read a critique of it by independent scientists. If you want to win the argument about global warming, whether you are Stern ot Gore, you should make sure your facts are correct. Posted by Stephen Rothbart on October 12, 2007 11:39 AM Report this comment Al Gore is a great man. It saddens me to see how people are trying to tarnish his image. This man has done everyone a big favour by bringing climate change to the forefront of dangers facing mankind. Me and my friends admire Al Gore and applaud the Nobel foundation for awarding him for his work. Posted by Brian Armstrong on October 12, 2007 11:29 AM Report this comment An American receiving an award for being green? C'mon guys. Posted by EX-BRAT on October 12, 2007 11:22 AM Report this comment Gore should not get this, it would be very wrong. The cause for global warming/climete change has not beeen proven. Posted by emma corry on October 12, 2007 11:22 AM Report this comment Perhaps Mr Thompson thinks the "Norwegian?" peace prize should go to George Bush? Posted by Frank Rutter on October 12, 2007 11:19 AM Report this comment Well! ...... if Al Gore got 'done' out of being the US President by the 'Scrub' .. then he must given something ! But .. Al Gore joins less dubious recipients..... such as Nelson Mandela ( Freedom Fighter ? .. Terrorist ? ) .. and who knows ? .. Al Gore may even have a statue of him placed in Parliament Square ? .... Sadly... with this Labour Government ... anyone these days can have statues put up in London in their honour ! .... Robert Mugabe? ... Idi Amin ? ... ( shall I continue ? ) ........ Posted by An ex-Rhodesian on October 12, 2007 11:18 AM Report this comment The Nobel Peace prize is a big joke especially if a serial incompetent like Gore wins it. Wonder what he will do with the money ? Posted by andrew cramb on October 12, 2007 11:17 AM Report this comment Well done Mr.Gore - you've managed to degrade Nobel Prizes to the level of Oscars, Emmy's and MTV awards! Posted by peterj on October 12, 2007 11:12 AM Report this comment When global warming really gets going in the next 50 years chaos and wars will break out across the world in an unpredictable manner. By highlighting the coming danger Al Gore is making a big contribution to world peace. That is why he got the prize Posted by jack marshall on October 12, 2007 11:12 AM Report this comment I think this is the nirvana of PC hype in the case of Mr Gore. He rehashed a decade of speeches into a film full of flaws and highly slanted in approach - one which incidentally Britain's schools may show to our children without a health warning or any balancing alternatives - and gets an Oscar and now a share of the Nobel Piece Prize (thought it didn't come easily judging by the late decision). I fail to link Global Warming with World Peace per se. Posted by simon coulter on October 12, 2007 11:08 AM Report this comment Al "Armageddon" Gore's theories are entirely speculative and hypothetical, not based on scientific facts. Those who want to keep the world (and everything that's living on it) exactly the same as it is now, are wasting their time- and our money, under the guise of "green taxes". No-one can outdo Mother Nature. The world has been undergoing changes since the day it came into existence. It is not going to stop changing now just to please Al Gore supporters and the Green movement. Posted by Rob Crosbie on October 12, 2007 11:02 AM Report this comment The first (that I've seen, anyway) International award for effort to save the planet - rubbish! rubbish! rubbish! Nature is creating climate change, has done so before, and will do so again. Politicians just jump on the bandwaggon. They don't miss a chance. Posted by Brough on October 12, 2007 10:53 AM Report this comment Well, that proves it. The Nobel peace committee is entirely predictable, unlike the earth's climate. Posted by John B on October 12, 2007 10:52 AM Report this comment It is a paradox that many who hold the Nobel Peace prize in contempt as being awarded by a panel of pinko subverts still allow themselves to be outraged by the the fact that pinko subverts almost inevitably win. Posted by Guy Thornton on October 12, 2007 10:52 AM Report this comment Good to see some 'Climate Change' fanatics posting here. I note that the theory has amended its title from Global warming to Climate Change. This is an interesting play on words as now any change in temperature can be used as a justification for ever-increasing state interference in people's lives, leading to a profusion of North Korean style communities across the globe, no doubt all fronted by climate change advocates! In fact, it could be argued that in 2000 the Nobel Peace Prize could legitimately have been awarded to Kim Jong-il, when it was given to his South Korean counterpart, Kim Dae-Jung. Certainly he'd be a more worthy recipient than Al Gore, a preposterous epitome of everything that is wrong with the American left! In response to Alex of Tunbridge Wells, the most sensible response to the Stern Report came from the OPEC minister who desrcibed it as 'founded on a series of unproven assertions', and I think he was being generous. Climate Change is a profitable racket and an excuse for leftists to intervene in people's private affairs. Were Gore to win the Nobel Peace prize it would merely confirm how entrenched these people are in the global establishment, and how urgent the need is to remove them! Posted by T Dan Smith on October 12, 2007 10:29 AM Report this comment The Nobel peace prize has gone to some weird people in the past, such as Kissinger and Arafat. Accept the fact that, unlike with scientific prizes, it is not awarded on the basis of excellence, but often for political reasons. I don't think much of Gore's views or how he presents them, but he's not the biggest freak out there. Posted by Clothilde Simon on October 12, 2007 10:21 AM Report this comment It is depressing how many people believe this rubbish about man-made global warming! It is like a new religion. And while naive, criminally obtuse and well-meaning citizens tremble at the prospect of doom, politicians have an excuse to raise taxes while "scientists" and campaigners (vide Al Gore) enjoy media coverage, funding and enhanced job security. Posted by Alex Koller on October 12, 2007 10:20 AM Report this comment "some people believe that it's unscientific to base future predictions on the past" Making predictions based on past observation and testing them is the whole point of the scientific method. The alternative is to make predictions based on unsupported faith (or to give up caring what might happen in the future). Of course if you don't believe in science, that it has generally worked well so far won't mean anything, but that doesn't excuse not knowing what it is. Posted by Alan Braggins on October 12, 2007 10:18 AM Report this comment A Channel Four documentary with heavyweight contributions ridiculed man made global warming - the culprit is the sun strange as it may seem. How a "peace"prize can be given for a scientific theory is worthy of Monty Python. Posted by Tony on October 12, 2007 10:17 AM Report this comment If you can't figure out that the global warming hoax is about robbing us of more of our income, then I hope you look good in chains. Posted by Tammy on October 12, 2007 10:11 AM Report this comment One of the effects of Global Warming will be more wars. As the world's land masses shrink because of the projected water level rising, people will become displaced. Food and clean drinking water will become more scarce which will lead to fighting over resources. This is why Global Warming is tied to the Peace Prize. I enjoy reading the hate filled writings of people who can not stand the thought of Al Gore being awarded such an prize. It fills me with great joy to know the discomfort they must feel knowing that people of the world respect him while despising the current American President. It appears they continue to attempt to hide their own shame for following a callous and arrogant human being as GW Bush by continually attacking former Vice President Gore. Thanks for the laughs. Posted by Gabrielle on October 12, 2007 10:01 AM Report this comment Hey, if that buffoon Carter, and the late unlamented terrorist Arafat, can win Peace Prizes then the things are already devalued; giving one to Al Bore would just throw another shovel of dirt into the grave. Posted by Eric on October 12, 2007 10:00 AM Report this comment About as much as the International Atomic Energy Agency did in their "their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes" two years ago. Posted by Alan Black on October 12, 2007 9:59 AM Report this comment Global warming certainly exists; man-made global warming almost certainly exists, if in nothing like the quantities peddled by the climate scare lobby. But if a prize is deserved for man-made global warming it should be for the scientific scandal of the 20th/21st century, of how so many "scientists" have prostituted their calling in the service of grants, influence and fame by jumping on the "how can I come up with a higher/scarier prediction than anyone else" bandwagon. (Yes there is a consensus amongst "climate scientists" that catastrophic man-made global warming exists. But then there's also a pretty firm consensus in the College of Cardinals (theological experts all) that God exists. And I don't believe in him either!) Posted by Phil on October 12, 2007 9:57 AM Report this comment People who believe Al Gore's global warming crap are just envy-ridden losers. Posted by Tim on October 12, 2007 9:48 AM Report this comment "I am unconvinced by lying politicians, over-zealous doomsters, axe-grinding vegetarians, America -haters, motorphobes, - and lefties. " How about giving the international climatology community a try then. Every major and minor scientific organization is a part of this concensus. link The rest of the world impatiently awaits you (and the FoxNews viewers here in the US) in reality. See you soon I hope. Posted by Mark on October 12, 2007 9:47 AM Report this comment Nils (and others) - read the article again. Your points are valid but they in no way relate to peace. This is the crux of the article (underneath the character assassination bits). I am sure there are awards which would be suitable for a man who may have 'won' a disputed election and then flew around the world with the laudible aim of helping his fellow man (whilst making a good living from him) but I agree with the Mr Thompson that The Nobel Prize for Peace is perhaps not one of them. Posted by Simon Moore on October 12, 2007 9:46 AM Report this comment Saving Greenland? From thawing? I blew my coffee all over my screen. Maybe when greenland thaws, all thinking non-parasites can form a governmentless society. We can call it evil-selfish-people-land. We can hire Al Gore for comic relief. Posted by Terry on October 12, 2007 9:43 AM Report this comment To various posters: Mr Gore's is a public figure and what he says and does in public is open for debate and comment. Just because you think the sun shines from his posterior does not make his public persona immune to scutiny. Live with it - its called liberal Western democracy. Posted by Peter Burke on October 12, 2007 9:43 AM Report this comment Peace Scholar Picks Thich Quang Do As 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient San Francisco, CA – October 11, 2007 -- “If I had to pick who will win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, I’d go with Vietnamese monk Thich Quang Do,” declares Scott A. Hunt, peace scholar and author of the award-winning book The Future of Peace: On the Front Lines with the World’s Great Peacemakers. “He’s the real deal -- a courageous, steadfast, peacemaker who, against seemingly insurmountable odds, has spent decades advocating for peace, justice, and religious freedom. He’s been imprisoned, interrogated, threatened, denounced, banished, and placed under house arrest, and still he has continued his struggle. ” Posted by Joe on October 12, 2007 9:41 AM Report this comment Neil Jones, all the following is from memory! I didn't even have to look up Wikipedia (which I recommend). The hypertext transfer protocol and hypertext markup language were invented by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN (on NeXT hardware and software, the company Steve Jobs ran between leaving Apple and rejoining it). The internet arose from the ARPANet, where a few _US_ defence establishments and universities were connected in a packet-switched network designed to be resilient to node failure. The UK and Europe have made important contributions to the development of modern communications, but it was the US that invented the Internet. In fact, Berners-Lee's HTTP built on the work of Vint Cerf and Robert Kahn, Americans, who invented TCP/IP, though Cerf on TV acknowledge that he built on the groundwork of UK scientists. Posted by John Ferguson on October 12, 2007 9:41 AM Report this comment The bears did not drown...They were pushed. Of course AlGore will win the prize. The Establishment terrorists will see to it. Posted by John on October 12, 2007 9:37 AM Report this comment Global warming has everything to do with peace. Wars are already being fought, at least in part, over water and scarce arable land. It's all tied together. Might want to read up on this. As for the internet, DARPA had nothing to do with commercializing the interconnected networks that became the WWW. It was/is a military endeavor. I have no doubt though that CERN played a huge part in the internet's development too. It was by definition a collective worldwide effort. However Gore's championing it in the US Congress was a huge boost back when few outside of the military and scientific communities even knew about it. Posted by Mark on October 12, 2007 9:36 AM Report this comment Neil Jones has got it the wrong way round. The Americans invented the Internet and the CERN laboratory (or more specifically Sir Tim) invented the web. Posted by Jez B on October 12, 2007 9:30 AM Report this comment The Nobel prize is awarded by the Swedish Academy. Posted by Colette McIntyre on October 12, 2007 9:28 AM Report this comment The theory of man-made global warming is a prediction about the future based on the interpretation of 'evidence' about the past. Some people dispute the 'evidence', some people dispute the interpretation, and some people believe that it's unscientific to base future predictions on the past. If the theory proves to be incorrect - and only time will tell - then the Nobel Peace Prize will fall into disrepute if it was shown to have been awarded to a political opportunist. Posted by Brenda on October 12, 2007 9:09 AM Report this comment No Neil Jomnes - 6:26 Americans didn't invent the Word Wide web either. A British scientist, Tim Berners-Lee did that in 1989. Posted by Nick Meredith on October 12, 2007 9:03 AM Report this comment You really don't like Gore do you? This isn't the first time the Telegraph has published vitriol against him in the name of "Comment". Global warming is at the centre of politicians agendas worldwide. Countries are working together to try and solve the problem. So from that perspective it has been useful for World Peace, let alone saving Pieces of the Earth (like Greenland). Gore has won an emmy & an oscar for leading a campaign that has brought a vital issue to the forefront of the world's mind. He deserves praise, not a spiteful attack from someone so pitiful & jealous that they inspire pity (as well as anger) from the reader. Posted by Jonathan on October 12, 2007 9:01 AM Report this comment Amusing responses, but almost invariably from folk with entrenched views. I was unaware that the government had pushed the Al Gore film at schools; looks like Stalinism to me. What on earth is going on here? Global warming may be a fact (witness rising temperatures on Mars), probably occasioned by cyclic solar activity. But the casual link with carbon emissions is unproven, although unquestioningly accepted by politicians. If it is indeed solar activity, our feeble attempts to change our light bulbs is as nothing compared to the release of methane from the permafrost. Incidentally, why have those low-lying Pacific islands not disappeared? I am unconvinced by lying politicians, over-zealous doomsters, axe-grinding vegetarians, America -haters, motorphobes, - and lefties. When is the DT going to give us some balanced, authorititive, scientific findings on this matter. If Mars is warming - by how much and how does it compare with Earth. If the Pacific islands have failed to inundate, where has all the melt-water gone? As a respected national newspaper, you have a duty to provide a respected forum on this subject and let's get it sorted. As for Al Gore, pass the sick-bag. Posted by Graham King on October 12, 2007 8:57 AM Report this comment Neil Jones: "Just for your future reference no-one in America invented the Internet. It was invented by British scientists working at the CERN Laboratories in the middle of Europe." The internet was invented in America (though British inventors have a good claim on packet switching, the technology on which it is based). One of the uses of the Internet, the world-web web, was invented at CERN by Tim Berners-Lee. Posted by Neil McEvoy on October 12, 2007 8:16 AM Report this comment Read the Stern report. This highlights the economic and human cost that global warming will occur, and predicts that these costs will outweigh the mitigation costs. By bringing global warming to the attention of the public, and hence the politicians, Al Gore has made action on this more likely. This will bring major benefits in future, quite worthy of a nobel prize. Posted by Alex, Tunbridge Wells on October 12, 2007 7:42 AM Report this comment Errr... Neil Jones, I think that you have it the wrong way round. The Internet did, in fact, result from DARPA funded research in the USA. Later, Tim Berners Lee et al at CERN invented the World Wide Web. Or, to put it another way, Internet =/= WWW. Posted by Rob on October 12, 2007 7:20 AM Report this comment Just for your future reference no-one in America invented the Internet. It was invented by British scientists working at the CERN Laboratories in the middle of Europe. What the USA (Al Gore included) did was work out a way of making money from the technology by creating the World Wide Web on it. It's what he's good at, lining his pockets with other peoples inventions. Posted by Neil Jones on October 12, 2007 6:26 AM Report this comment What a mean-spirited personal attack on your part. Al Gore has achieved a lot more in his life than you have. He has gone from having won the popular vote for U.S. President to trying to help all of humankind with his message about global warming. I hope he does win the Peace prize. Posted by Nils Greger Olsson on October 12, 2007 4:57 AM Report this comment This paper has spent much of the last decade allying itself with climate change deniers, including some incredibly dishonest sorts. Whether or not Al Gore deserves any prize at all is besides the point. Perhaps the Telegraph will fiddle while Rome burns. Posted by Aaron Clausen on October 12, 2007 4:39 AM Report this comment Wow. Talk about reaching for criticisms. This editorial takes the cake. Did you even see the documentary, Damian? Gore didn't "predict" a 20-foot sea level rise, he merely stated that that is what we would see if 100% of the current ice melted. Unlikely in our lifetime, but not impossible. If you have any appreciation for the behavior that non-linear positive feedback systems (of which melting ice and the concomitant raising of polar albedo can be said to be one) can exhibit, you cannot rule it out as a possibility. A remote one still at this stage, but we're doing our best to muck things up so who knows what 20 years from now will hold. The complaint about the "exact fit" line is pretty desperate. This was a documentary for widespread layperson consumption. If he had started quoting correlation coefficients and modelling parameters he would have quickly lost 99% of the intended audience. Of course virtually no real-world correlations ever give an r = 1.0 - the universe is simply too noisy. The carbon-temperature linkage in recent history is about as "exact" as you ever get in science. It is startling, in fact. The beef about Gore's statements about his very real role in cultivating the agency (DARPA) that largely made the early internet happen is simply thin and tired. Ditto for his quoted # of town hall meetings. As for the carbon footprint mantra we're hearing about him, I don't know the details but I highly suspect they are exaggerated for the purposes of political attack. Like the Swift Boat BS in 2004 against John Kerry. Unfortunately there are Republican operatives in this country who will stop at nothing to tar and smear their opponents by inventing any manner of garbage (rubbish). Sadly, many of my fellow American readers simply lack the sophistication to know when they are being manipulated (see the 2004 election of a man who so clearly lied to them about the most important matters a Commander-in-chief is entrusted with). Posted by Mark on October 12, 2007 2:03 AM Report this comment I admire Al Gore but his film does not even mention that the inhumane beef, pork, poultry lamb and fishing industries cause more pollution and global warming than all the emissions produced by cars, trains, plains and boats. Jane Goodall merits a Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work to protect endangered species, wildlife habitas and marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Posted by Brien Comerford on October 12, 2007 1:44 AM Report this comment I went to see Al Gore speak last Tuesday, and someone there mentioned that he was up for the Nobel Peace Prize. One question immediately popped into my head. What did Al Gore ever do for world peace? I mean preaching the evils of global warming is nice and all, but the Nobel Prize? That's kind of a stretch. I'm surprised that more people in the media aren't asking this question. They just seem to be speculating on whether receiving the prize will cause him to run for president. Posted by Thomas Stephenson on October 12, 2007 1:08 AM Report this comment Post a comment Please remember that the submission of any material to telegraph.co.uk is governed by our Terms and Conditions (clause 5 in particular) and by submitting material you confirm your agreement to these Terms and Conditions. Your name: * Your email address: * (We won't publish this.) Your site's URL: (If you have one.) Please click the post button only once - your comment will not be published immediately. * = Required information
TELEGRAPH TV TV News Now Video news as you want it, when you want it. |  | TRAVEL Heaven and hell Kelly Brook talks about her best and worst holidays. |  | FILM Gone Baby Gone Ben Affleck delays the UK release of his 'Madeleine' film. |  | MOTORING Win a Bentley T2 Your chance to drive away in James May's classic car.

You are here: Telegraph >

## Opinion

About us | Contact us | Forgotten your password? | Advertising | Press office | Promotions | Archive | Today's news
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2007. | Terms & Conditions of reading. | Commercial information. | Privacy and Cookie Policy.