Way back in 2006, Al Gore released his block-buster film “An Inconvenient Truth.” The film issued two major forecasts for the year 2016. One was that the world climate would reach a “tipping point” of no return, and that the Arctic ice would completely melt during some summer months.
A year later, the Nobel Peace Prize committee was so impressed with Gore’s 10-year forecasts that he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (which he shared with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change council).
And then … in the year 2016 … with great anticipation, we all anxiously waited for world climate to reach its point of no return and the epic North Pole melt down — and finally — world peace. But alas, neither happened, and world peace has again evaded humanity.
As a highly-trained, government-educated meteorologist, I only got awards for issuing accurate forecasts, all of which were intended to help protect life and property. Next time, however, I’ll know better. Make outrageous 10-year forecasts intended to scare people, and then get rich off the book and movie royalties.
But before engaging in fantasy forecasting, let’s see what happens with this year’s Nobel prize. Remember, last year Gore released his “An Inconvenient Sequel” movie. So let’s see if Gore gets the prize again this year — or will fact versus fiction trump this year’s prize.
John Shewchuk is a resident of the Village of Calumet Grove.
