A Nobel Prize for the future

The Nobel Prize is awarded for past achievements, but is mostly more interesting in the perspective of these achievements' applicability for the future. This is certainly true for all the categories, but, in a more general sense, is more valid for this years' award to the IPCC and Al Gore. Congratulations to both of them!

It is very appropriate that the Peace Prize is awarded to these individuals, since global warming may have a destabilising consequence. At the extreme, the impact on habitats and living conditions may even feed terrorism, as pointed out by a group of U.S. militaries! If the committee today (October 15th) also awarded Sir Nicholas Stern the prize for Economy, it would be a grand slam, but that would be too much to hope for.

The IPCC in the shadow

Most of the focus in the media has been on Al Gore, probably because the media in general is more focused on people than topics, but the achievements of the IPCC need more highlighting. The IPCC has been somewhat overshadowed in the media.

It is remarkable to bring so many scientists and their efforts together in a process to arrive at conclusions not only about effects, but also about remedies to solve the problem - not only for a narrow group of specialist and not only for a limited region, but truly general, and truly global - and then to make all this material accessible in layman's terms! If there were yet another prize available for communication of difficult matters to common people, the IPCC would surely be considered for it.

The IPCC seems to have cancelled Newtons law of forces when applied to experts! The one that says: "For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert."

The full report from the IPCC WG III is now available and contains very good overview material (see example picture above.)

The report also reiterates the message of the importance of energy efficiency and renewable fuels especially in the short-term.

The only risk now is that we (both public and leaders) may take too much comfort from the fact that there are solutions and will not understand that these involve ourselves. We need to act to earn the real prize, which is even more noble than a Nobel - a sustainable future!