No, no. I’m not going to start questioning Starre’s seriousness about global warming – I think the picture is very cute. However, this video by Sarah Silverman is supposed to be humor about global warming. Maybe it’s because I don’t like Sarah Silverman, but I just don’t find the whole “global warming will be great because we’ll swim all year!” sort of joke to be very funny.
You know what else I don’t fine very funny? The fact that Al Gore was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Sure, Gore has done quite a bit for raising national, and international (only because Canada exists) awareness about global warming, which is… without a doubt the crisis facing this century and our generation but here is the problem. Gore has educated those that didn’t know anything with his movie, he also got everyone a bit more worked up for it – but what still hasn’t been done? The skeptic’s minds haven’t been changed.
Because of his ties as a large political figure he was able to talk to more people, but that isn’t enough. Some people devote their lives to living sustainably, to sustainable energy development and research… etc. it’s not really fair to look over that by handing out awards to the front man who really is just going around giving a first year Enviro Sci lecture to people.
Anyway, I actually like Gore, but I think there are people more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize and Sheila Watt Cloutier should be considered if Gore is being considered.
Lighten up, would you? Does it really matter who delivers a compelling vision of what is going on and gets the suburbanites to take notice? I say not. Let Al have the spotlight if it helps the cause.
I have had “normal” people tell me of the specific changes they are making in their lives because they watched Al’s movie. I think it is the start of mainstream America really taking this issue to heart. No offense intended, but Sheila Watt Cloutier could never have achieved such an impact, so fast.
02/06/07 » 5:05 pm »
I don’t really lighten up.
I guess what bothers me is that people like David Suzuki have never gotten one… and how much has he done for the environment?! It makes me sad.
I, personally, was disappointed with Al’s movie… but I too met a lot of people who had not previously cared about the environment making smaller changes.
Don’t get me wrong – there are worse choice that could and have been made, and he has done somethings to make a great impact, but I don’t like how his pre-celebrity status put him about people like Suzuki have have literally devoted everything they have to the environment, for their entire life.
02/06/07 » 5:20 pm »
Wendy–
It doesn’t seem like Kian is saying that Gore should be denied the spotlight. It seems to me that she is saying that the people more deserving of honors like the Peace Prize are those who push at the boundaries of our understanding, not those who introduce the Bewildered Herd to concepts that have been part of the scientific consensus for quite some time.
The way I look at it, Gore is just introducing people to some of the concepts that he himself ignored not so long ago, when he was in a much better position to do something about them. Think about how much more impact he would have had doing his PowerPoint presentation while he was Vice President of the United States.
02/06/07 » 5:26 pm »
While I think that Al Gore’s work of getting the word out is very admirable, I have to agree that it – by itself – doesn’t really seem Nobel Prize worthy.
02/06/07 » 5:29 pm »
It’s worth remembering that Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, so the award might not necessarily be the most accurate gauge of contributions to humanity.
02/06/07 » 9:27 pm »
I think Al’s worthy because he did something others haven’t been able to: reach the unconverted. So much of the environmental movement is talking to those who already “get it.” That said, I doubt the movie would have had as much impact if we hadn’t had such weird weather last summer and this winter. Thanks more to el Nino, but global warming does play a role. But whatever it takes…
02/07/07 » 1:29 pm »