The Nobel Prizes

At this point, most people know that Albert Gore, Jr. and the IPCC won the Nobel Peace Prize today for "their efforts to build up and disseminate knowledge about man-made climate change". The rumors swirling around the announcement were that the committee intended to focus on climate change this year, since many emerging and future conflicts will probably have their roots in evolving local climates. I'm pretty sure that many people with much more to lose (like their lives) have been engaged in this conversation for a long time. Rachel Carlson, Lois Gibbs, the Sierra Club, countless missionaries and priests in South America, Asia, and Africa, the Chipko movement, and lobbies in North America and Europe who have worked on debt relief for poor nations so they have the option of saying "No" to lumber and mining companies. Thus, it strikes me that this year's award has more to do with visibility than results. They might have well given it to Bono. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, as Gore is proving to be an effective spokesperson who has a long reach, and he is probably capable of pulling more money and political clout towards this cause than anyone else alive.

I'm not sure, but this may be the first time that the prize has been awarded in anticipation of results, kind of like a Power-up for the protagonist in a video game. So, will Gore, brimming with glowing energy, do some damage with this advantage, or will he run around fruitlessly, wasting money and time until the power blinks out, and he's just another shmoe again.

The answer? None of the above. I was just enjoying my analogy a little too much. Environmentalism starts with you, Mr. Gas-powered lawnmower, and you, Dr. Leaves-all-the-lights-on-all-the-time (that's me), and YOU, Mrs. Throw-your-damn-cigarette-butts-out-the-window!

As far as the other awards go, I was pleasantly surprised that I had some rudimentary knowledge of them (conceptually) before they were announced. Medicine: Gene targeting is an essential biological tool that provided me with important reagents for my thesis work. Physics: Clearly, if you're reading this, you get that improving the efficiency and storage capacity of hard disks is important. Chemistry: The surface chemistry work laid the groundwork for modern superconductors and many industrial catalysis applications. Literature: I have no idea, however, who Doris Lessing is, or if I need to read anything by her. Economics: To be announced on Monday, but I predict that I will (a) never have heard of the winner, and (b) not grasp the importance of the celebrated work/findings.