Harold A. Mooney, a professor of biological sciences, has been named co-recipient of the 2002 Blue Planet Prize - an annual award presented by the Tokyo-based Asahi Glass Foundation in recognition of noteworthy scientific contributions to global environmental conservation.
Mooney shares this year's prize with Professor James Gustave Speth, dean of Yale University`s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Each man will receive a certificate of merit, a commemorative trophy and a supplementary award of $400,000 (50 million yen) at a ceremony in Tokyo on Nov. 14 - to be followed by a commemorative lecture delivered by both winners at United Nations University in Tokyo on Nov. 15.
Established in 1992, the Blue Planet Prize is given annually to two individuals or organizations for major contributions to solving environmental problems on a global scale. Past recipients include Stanford biologist Paul Ehrlich (1999) and the Washington, D.C.-based group, Conservation International (1997).
Mooney and Speth were chosen from a field of 132 candidates representing 39 countries. The foundation singled out Mooney for his pioneering work in plant physiological ecology, for providing objective measures of how plant ecologies are influenced by their environments and for his conservation efforts. Speth was chosen for a lifetime of creative and visionary leadership in the search for science-based solutions to global environmental problems and for pioneering efforts to bring these issues - including global climate change - to broad international attention.
When notified of the prize, Mooney expressed gratitude and praised the foundation`s efforts at raising international awareness about ecological issues.
"I hope that their example - a deep concern for the global environment - will be followed by all sectors of society as we move into a world with a human population that is predicted to reach as many as 10 billion people by the year 2050
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Contact: Mark Shwartz
mshwartz@stanford.edu
650-723-9296
Stanford University
13-Jun-2002