Eddie Ricard
Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize last week and sparked headline news broadcasts to spend several days debating the event. The controversy was over whether Gore deserves the Nobel Peace Prize at all. On the days that preceded the announcement, opponents of Al Gore said that he hadn’t done anything to deserve such a highly esteemed award. Once he did win however, opponents said that Al Gore should give it back because the award was tainted by a terrorist (referring to Yasser Arafat’s winning of the award in 1994). I find it interesting that no matter what the outcome had been, people who don’t like Al Gore and namely his crusade against global warming will turn to any means to taint his image and his cause.
I personally don’t find Al Gore to be that bad of a guy. Although he’s a little reserved at times, I find a lot of value in what he has managed to bring to the forefront of the media in terms of global warming and the environment. What I don’t understand is why people get so bent out of shape about global warming. Critics say that the theory is wrong and exaggerated, but if you watch how mad these people get over a movement to better our planet’s environment, you would think there were ulterior motives for their contest of the issue. Even if global warming isn’t as eminent a threat as we think, what is so bad about limiting the amounts of pollutants and waste we throw into the air everyday. I do not entirely discredit alternative scenarios to global warming such as the Earth is warming naturally and will eventually throw us into the next Ice Age in a few hundred years. But, natural or not, the fact that our pollutants are in any way contributing to global warming (debatable as to what degree) is enough cause for action. It’s not like all the gases we have been pumping into the air for years have ever been considered “good” for the environment anyway. In the end it comes down to dollars, and unfortunately saving the world is a bit pricey for the American taxpayer. Well, at least when it’s the environment, going to war is entirely different. I apologize for the confusion.
5 comments so far
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Tye Chang
In response to your blog post, I must say that I stand in the same position in regards to how undermining the media is nowadays. It’s quite saddening how there seems to be this need today, for the media to deliver mainly bad news or some harsh critique of some accomplishment, in this case Al Gore’s accolade. In a sense it seems like the media has become quite immature in recent times, and news is no longer news?
What happened to those days when you could turn on the TV and watch some “worth-while” news, like those that are important? If the headline doesn’t involve some sort of celebrity crap, it seems like it has to be some sort of chastisement of something. Simply put, news is devoid of positive things. Whether it be global warming or Britney Spears’ performance, the news today is unnecessary . And what I think contributes to this is the media’s growth/transformation into an entertainment source. And, thus entertainment is prioritized before value and meaningfulness. And one more thing, I also think Al Gore is a cool guy.
Faith Putans
Your post made me laugh a little, as it does seem kinda ridiculous how opposed and against this idea of global warming people are. The other day my sister told me that her friend still doesn’t believe in global warming and it shocked me just a little. It seems ignorant to dismiss the trouble our world is heading in.
And i agree, even if people don’t believe in global warming you would think they could still display some sort of concern for the environment. That energy they put into trying to discredit this idea could probably be put to better use somewhere else.
Jen Noborikawa
I think this is actually a fun topic to discuss. I think its f*#@ing ridiculous…hell—I think it’s fucking ridiculous that people would try to argue that Al Gore doesn’t deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. He has worked so hard, and has accomplished so much in his fight against global warming. Through his book, movie, presentations, etc, he has opened so many eyes to “the biggest issue of our generation.” He may not have solved the problem of global warming, but he has greatly weakened what I believe to be his biggest enemy: apathy.
I must agree with your last point too— “in the end it comes down to dollars.” Many times, “living green” costs more. From the factories that refuse to change their age-old ways, to the consumers that simply want the best deals, nobody is willing to change. I suppose that the-entire-earth-as-we-know-it just is not worth that extra investment.
Chinthaka Weerappuli
I actually agree with you. I’ve never thought Al Gore was a bad guy. You can’t hate on someone for being a little boring, or having a dry personality. The truth is his political and environmental background is at the very least “clean.”Meaning he has never really been the focus of a huge scandal, has never been in the middle of something so controversial that you question him as a person. Having said all that, the whole global warming cause that he has put on his shoulders is something that clearly does need to be addressed. From the evidence he shows, clearly the globe isn’t exactly in great shape right now, and if we can spend literally trillions of dollars on national security and other causes, how can we not spare a few dollars globally for this cause. This shouldn’t be just America trying to save the world, but rather the world trying to save the planet. As far as I know China is responsible for the most pollution in the world, so an onis should be put on them to get their act together when it comes to pollution as well. Overall the attention Gore received byh receiving the Nobel Prize is well deserved. I have no problem with him winning be3cause the cause that he is being recognized for is one that needs attention.
Chris Chaisson
I haven’t seen the movie yet, so my knowledge on global warming is rather limited. However, I think there are a couple of reasons that people hate on Al Gore for calling attention to it. The first reason is that people are in denial because it’s a scary thing to think that the world is coming to an end soon due to our own carelessness. When people are in denial, they can get pretty defensive. Also, some people are mad at Al Gore for demanding a recount (Republicans), and some are mad at him for not running again (Democrats). Finally, Al Gore is challenging us to take some initiative and be accountable for the condition of earth. People resent that because it suggests a slight change in lifestyle, being more cautious and responsible and less wasteful.
I think the media should take it easy on Al Gore. After all, he did win a presidential election