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Next year’s Nobel Peace Prize should be awarded to the Moon

The committee of Norwegians (that already sounds kind of funny, doesn’t it?) which decides who or what deserves the Nobel Peace Prize has this year given the prestigious award to a political and geographic entity known as the European Union.

It was confusing enough when the Norskies gave the prize to President Barack Obama before he had even done anything (a criticism that some would contend still stands…). It seems even more Odd (which, I should note, is a common male name in Norway along with Radar, Gunner, Dog, Bizarre and Gloom) to give the Nobel Peace Prize to Europe. We’re all sympathetic to the EU’s troubles, of course, but really.

What would people think if Obama gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to, I don’t know, Minnesota?

Putting all that aside and accepting this new trend, I would like to nominate the Moon for next year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

If it wasn’t for the Moon orbiting Earth, all hell would break loose. (Jupiter should also be considered, in all fairness). The case for the Moon:

  • The tidal cycles of our oceans are produced by the Moon.
  • The Moon’s has a critical stabilizing influence on Earth’s rotational tilt — which creates our growing seasons and also dictates how we orbit the sun.
  • If not for the Moon’s gravitational pull, some scientists believe there would be no tectonic forces, no dynamism for change, on the planet — which some say we can credit for the very evolution of life on Earth.

So I say let’s nominate the Moon for the Nobel. No peace without lunatics.

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About Author

Tom Paulson

Tom Paulson is founder and lead journalist at Humanosphere. Prior to operating this online news site, he reported on science,  medicine, health policy, aid and development for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Contact him at tom[at]humanosphere.org or follow him on Twitter @tompaulson.