Newswise — The Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) is proud to name the former Prime Minister of Norway—Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland—as the 2013 recipient of the Lawrence S. Huntington Environmental Prize. The award ceremony will be held in New York City on February 7, 2013.
Dr. Brundtland was the Leader of the World Commission on Environment and Development, the forum that published the 1987 groundbreaking Report, Our Common Future, which led to the Rio Summit in 1992. Dr. Brundtland served three terms as Prime Minister of Norway – in 1981, from 1986 to 1989, and from 1990 to 1996. She has been Director General of the World Health Organization, is member of the Board of the United Nations Foundation and a member of The Elders, a group of global leaders called together by Nelson Mandela in 2007.
The Huntington Prize recognizes eminent leaders in the public or private sector who advance and promote research and communication on climate, earth sciences, and conservation. These pioneers understand the interrelationships of global systems and think on a planetary scale. The Woods Hole Research Center is honoring Dr. Brundtland with the Lawrence S. Huntington Environmental Prize, a presentation that includes a plaque with the inscription, “for her leadership in inspiring science and policy for the sustainability of the Earth.”
Dr. Brundtland will speak on the topic, ‘Rio +20 Report Card and Our Common Future’ following presentation of the award. Her speech stresses an urgent need to address energy, its sources and safe distribution for our common future and our combined common needs. Dr. Brundtland emphasizes, “we live in a world so badly affected by the consequences of human activities that we are already undermining the quality and sustainability of our natural resources. Safe and sustainable energy for all is a major agenda for global efforts in the short and medium term, both to improve human rights to life and dignity, and to protect the planet we all depend on.”
Lawrence S. Huntington—the first recipient of the prize— is a member of the Board of Directors of the Woods Hole Research Center and its former longtime chair. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Fiduciary Trust Company, a global financial firm specializing in institutional and private client investment management. Huntington is active in many civic and business organizations.
“Dr. Brundtland’s vision of sustainability has inspired a generation of science,” said WHRC President, Dr. Eric A. Davidson. “We are devoted to producing the scientific knowledge needed to help nourish people while maintaining wildlife habitat and stabilizing the climate in an increasingly crowded and resource-limited world. As visionaries, Brundtland and Huntington have demonstrated that we must merge natural science with economics to discover sustainable paths for human prosperity and stewardship of the Earth’s natural resources.”
The Woods Hole Research Center, located on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, is a private, non-profit research organization focusing on environmental sciences. WHRC scientists combine analysis of satellite images of the Earth with field studies to measure, model, and map changes in the world’s ecosystems, from the thawing permafrost in the Arctic to the expanding agriculture regions of the tropics.
The mission of the Woods Hole Research Center is to advance scientific discovery and seek science-based solutions for the world’s environmental and economic challenges through research and education on forests, soils, air, and water.
Information: [email protected] Ian Vorster, Director of Communications at the Woods Hole Research Center.
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