Center for Health and the Global Environment

Events
Upcoming Events

Recent Events
Global Environmental Citizen
2008 Award
Tenth Anniversary Award
2005 Award
2004 Award
2003 Award
2002 Award
2001 Award

Blue Hill Dinner

Address:

Harvard Medical School
401 Park Drive, 2nd Floor East
Boston, MA 02215
Tel: 617.384.8530
Fax: 617.384.8585
General Email Address

Directions

Global Environmental Citizen Award

2005 Global Environmental Citizen: The Honorable Al Gore

October 21, 2005

The Global Environmental Citizen Award is presented annually by the Center for Health and the Global Environment to the citizen who does outstanding work towards protecting the global environment.

Former Vice President Al Gore was chosen as the recipient of the 2005 Global Environmental Citizen Award.

Center Board Member Meryl Streep presented him with the award at a ceremony held on Oct. 21 at the Carriage House Center for the Arts in New York City. Al Gore's acceptance remarks resonated with attendees and set the tone for the evening.

The event also featured local and environmentally sustainable food and cuisine perpared by award-winning master chefs Peter Hoffman, Michel Nischan, and Nora Pouillon. Eco-friendly fashion was also featured throughout the evening with Meryl Streep and Center staff modeling clothes made from sustainable material by designer Linda Loudermilk.

PRESS RELEASE

New York—October 21, 2005—Former Vice President Al Gore has been chosen as the recipient of the 2005 Global Environmental Citizen Award by the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School.

“Al Gore’s dedication to the environment has never wavered,” says Eric Chivian, MD, director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment and co-recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. “He is one of our nation’s most knowledgeable and passionate communicators about the urgent need to address global climate change.”

Gore’s commitment to the environment, and particularly global warming, is demonstrated through his pioneering efforts to protect and preserve the earth’s natural resources since his days in the House of Representatives. His efforts span nearly three decades and address the need for both public and policy action.

“Time and again, Al Gore has taken a stand for the environment,” says Center board member Meryl Streep, who will present Gore with the award. “He has never shied away from fighting to preserve it, for the sake of our own well-being, and that of future generations.”

While Vice President, Gore was responsible for a number of environmental initiatives. He worked with President Clinton and the Big Three automakers to begin research and development on alternate fuel and hybrid vehicles. He worked to combat global warming in a way that also creates new jobs, by helping America lead the estimated $400 billion worldwide market for new technologies that clean up the environment, and he was a central figure at the 1997 Climate Change Summit in Kyoto, Japan. His pioneering efforts to protect the earth’s ozone layer and to clean up toxic-waste dumps were outlined in his best-selling book, Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit (1992). Today, Gore is Chairman of Generation Investment Management, a new London-based fund management firm that plans to create environment-friendly portfolios. In addition, he makes frequent speeches on climate change to policy-makers, business leaders and public audiences around the world.

“It is an honor to receive this award from the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School,” says Gore. “The Center has led the way in providing critical evidence about how global environmental change threatens our health and the health of our children,” he said.

“It is now time for all of us to rise to the occasion of addressing global warming,” Gore added. “The warnings have been given clearly, and the time to act is now. We cannot afford to wait any longer.”

Al Gore serves as Chairman of Current TV, a new cable and satellite news and information network for young people. Gore is also a visiting professor at Middle Tennessee State University.

The Global Environmental Citizen Award is presented annually by the Center for Health and the Global Environment to the citizen who does outstanding work towards protecting the global environment. The Ceremony will be held Oct. 21, 2005, in New York City. The event will also feature eco-friendly fashion and cuisine. Award-winning master chefs Peter Hoffman, Michel Nischan, and Nora Pouillon will be serving local and environmentally sustainable food, and Meryl Streep, along with others, will be modeling clothes made from sustainable material by designer Linda Loudermilk.