Nicely done, Al!
Along with the IPCC, he's been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change".
I'm proud of him and feel he deserves recognition for many of his efforts, not the least of which would be the work he's done recently to bring attention to environmental issues. However, part of me wonders why the Peace Prize is used almost as a "do-gooder" type of award some years instead of strictly being awarded to those who promote peace. I feel that the argument can be made that protecting the environment can, in a sense, be considered "making peace" with the planet, but it seems so abstract.
According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize should be awarded "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses".
Would it be more suitable to present the prize to a pacifist rather than an environmentalist? Is environmentalism a form of pacifism? Preserving the environment is crucial to all our endeavors, I understand, but does it promote peace?
