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One Planet: 08/10/2009

Factual: Science & Nature

08/10/2009

BBC World Service - One Planet, 08/10/2009

Mike hears quiet voices on climate change, mulls a Nobel Prize and gets down with the kids

When One Planet wins a Nobel Peace Prize, I wonder where we’ll hang our well deserved award. I only ask because this week we popped round to see a man who has his hanging in the lounge, underneath a faux candle light bulb.

Professor Sir John Houghton received the award for his part in the setting up of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But what’s climate change got to do with a peace prize? Well, Sir John tells Mike that it’s already causing conflicts, and if we don’t tackle the problem, more bloodshed lay ahead.

In the interview, we also hear Sir John’s views on those who are sceptical of man made-climate change, and ask how his belief in God has shaped his views on environmental protection. 

By the way, if you’d like to see a picture of a Nobel Peace Prize (just so you can ponder whether it goes with the colour scheme in your house), have a look at the photos taken during the production of our latest show. You can find them on our Flickr album – the link’s below.

Also in this week’s programme, we take a moment to hear those voices that are unlikely to get heard at the Copenhagen summit in December. A Kenyan tribesman; a Bolivian farmer; and a resident of Micronesia are among those we speak to. 

And there’s a very large group of people who won’t get directly represented at Copenhagen, but who will feel the effects of any decisions taken far longer than most – the world’s two billion people aged 18 and under. Mike hooks up with some of our high school listeners in New Hampshire, America to ask what they want from the summit. 

Many thanks to all of you who sent in ideas of what an electric car should sound like, we’ve put some of your suggestions into this week’s show. As ever, tune in and let us know what you think – oneplanet@bbc.com. And you can always join in the debate on our Facebook page, the link’s below. If there’s no conversation, Mike’s just talking to himself, and that’s no good for anyone.

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