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“During my service in the United States Congress I took the initiative in creating the internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country’s economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.”

This  above statement made by Al Gore, then Vice-president of USA during a 1999 CNN interview on Wolf Blitzer’s show was twisted by a journalist (any surprises) to mean that he claimed to have “invented” the Internet.

This is what two of the pioneers of the Internet Vint Cerf and Bob kahn had to say on the controversy.

[A]s the two people who designed the basic architecture and the core protocols that make the Internet work, we would like to acknowledge VP Gore’s contributions as a Congressman, Senator and as Vice President. No other elected official, to our knowledge, has made a greater contribution over a longer period of time. Last year the Vice President made a straightforward statement on his role. He said: “During my service in the United States Congress I took the initiative in creating the Internet.” We don’t think, as some people have argued, that Gore intended to claim he “invented” the Internet. Moreover, there is no question in our minds that while serving as Senator, Gore’s initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still-evolving Internet. The fact of the matter is that Gore was talking about and promoting the Internet long before most people were listening. We feel it is timely to offer our perspective. As far back as the 1970s Congressman Gore promoted the idea of high speed telecommunications as an engine for both economic growth and the improvement of our educational system. He was the first elected official to grasp the potential of computer communications to have a broader impact than just improving the conduct of science and scholarship. Though easily forgotten, now, at the time this was an unproven and controversial concept.[source]

And yet again at a time when few people were concerned about the issue of Global Warming. It was again Al Gore who took the lead in raising awareness on the issue. He may be right or he might be wrong.only time and more research will tell. But one great contribution of his is raising AWARENESS on a pressing issue- Environmental degradation and its consequences.

The Catapult congratulates Al Gore on his much deserved Nobel Prize Win.