A few points:
1. In the comments on Shark Blog, Doug Sundseth pointed out that, while Maathai's Green Belt Movement planted 30 million trees since its creation in 1977, the timber industry planted 720 million trees in 1997 alone (and that's just in the U.S.). I'm all for tree planting, but it has nothing to do with peace.
2. Scientists don't usually win the Peace Prize. The past winners who were scientists are: Linus Pauling (1962), Norman Borlaug (1970) and Andrei Sakharov (1975). I don't know much about Borlaug, and Sakharov certainly deserved his prize (which he wasn't even allowed to collect). Pauling, however, was a "useful idiot" for the Soviets, and towards the end of his life promoted loony ideas about vitamin C being a cure for the common cold. But Maathai's belief is idiocy galaxies beyond Pauling's.
1. In the comments on Shark Blog, Doug Sundseth pointed out that, while Maathai's Green Belt Movement planted 30 million trees since its creation in 1977, the timber industry planted 720 million trees in 1997 alone (and that's just in the U.S.). I'm all for tree planting, but it has nothing to do with peace.
2. Scientists don't usually win the Peace Prize. The past winners who were scientists are: Linus Pauling (1962), Norman Borlaug (1970) and Andrei Sakharov (1975). I don't know much about Borlaug, and Sakharov certainly deserved his prize (which he wasn't even allowed to collect). Pauling, however, was a "useful idiot" for the Soviets, and towards the end of his life promoted loony ideas about vitamin C being a cure for the common cold. But Maathai's belief is idiocy galaxies beyond Pauling's.
3. AIDS is a very bad biological weapon. It a)takes years to act, b)is difficult to transmit, and c)is preventable. Anyone designing a weapon would make sure to make it the exact reverse.
4. The title of the post? While this prize is pretty low (even worse than the 2002 award to Jimmy Carter), it isn't quite the worst in history. What is? Two words: Yasser Arafat.
4. The title of the post? While this prize is pretty low (even worse than the 2002 award to Jimmy Carter), it isn't quite the worst in history. What is? Two words: Yasser Arafat.