Ritter honors Colorado’s Nobel Peace Prize winners

By John C. Ensslin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Monday, November 26, 2007

The Colorado scientists whose organization won a share of this year's Nobel Peace Prize for work on global warming don't just talk the talk on climate change.

They've made adjustments in their personal lives as well, ranging from where they choose to live, the kind of house they live in and the car they drive (or don't drive) to get around.

On Monday, Gov. Bill Ritter met with 30 of the 42 climate scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder to applaud their accomplishment.

"You've created an irrefutable body of scientific evidence," Ritter told the scientists, who work in Colorado for 14 different agencies including the National Ice and Snow Data Center, the National Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University and the University of Colorado.

He added that while meeting with fellow western governors, he didn't hear questions doubting the existence of global warming that were common from elected officials two or three years ago.

"I believe people are really beginning to understand the magnitude of this problem," Ritter said, citing polls that show a growing number of Americans are concerned about global warming. "We, of course, have a lot to lose if we don't take this issue seriously."

The 42 scientists are all members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations network that shared the peace prize with former Vice President Al Gore for their efforts on alerting the world to the problems posed by climate change.

Gore was honored at the White House on Monday. Ritter joked that the scientists in Colorado would have to settle for a governor's proclamation, declaring Monday to be "Colorado 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Day."

"It's nothing like the Nobel Peace Prize itself," he quipped, drawing laughter.

Ritter got a warm greeting from the scientists, who praised his recent proposal to cut Colorado's greenhouse-gas emissions from 20 percent below the 2005 level by 2020 and by 80 percent by 2050.

The plan also calls for examining tougher emission standards for new vehicles, drastically reducing the state's electricity use and reducing the number of miles Coloradans drive on their commutes.

"We're pleased to see how our science factored into your plan," Daniel Albritton, a retired scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told Ritter.