Funny you should mention this...a couple of weeks ago someone was talking on the radio about how the concept of the Nobel Peace Prize has evolved--at first it was given to people who helped those who suffered during conflicts, later to people who helped to prevent conflict; now, the woman on the radio said, the committee understand that 'trees=peace'--if you map out the areas of the world with the most conflict, you'll find that they match the areas with the most fragile environments. Wars now are ultimately wars for access to basic resources.
Someone wrote the following to the NYTimes this morning--it offers another answer your question.
'Those who claim, oddly, that the environment has nothing to do with “peace” should look at the award another way; Al Gore defeated George W. Bush in 2000, and he knew it (as did most of this Republic and most of the international community). Rather than allow the nation to be plunged into a growing constitutional crisis for which there seemed to be no imminent and peaceful resolution, Al Gore accepted the peculiar ruling of the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore and allowed the nation to begin to “heal” itself.
'Al Gore placed the safety and security of the nation above his own political ambition. That’s the second inconvenient truth that many of his critics hesitate to discuss.
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'Those who claim, oddly, that the environment has nothing to do with “peace” should look at the award another way; Al Gore defeated George W. Bush in 2000, and he knew it (as did most of this Republic and most of the international community). Rather than allow the nation to be plunged into a growing constitutional crisis for which there seemed to be no imminent and peaceful resolution, Al Gore accepted the peculiar ruling of the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore and allowed the nation to begin to “heal” itself.
'Al Gore placed the safety and security of the nation above his own political ambition. That’s the second inconvenient truth that many of his critics hesitate to discuss.
'Carlton Long
'Quincy, Mass., Oct. 12, 2007'
Oh for what might have been,
--Flourish
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