Save the planet, win cash prizes

The following is from a New York Times editorial:

At a time when elected officials appear stymied by the challenge of climate change, or even in denial about it, it is heartening to see a royal prince pitch in with a good initiative.

The Earthshot Prize announced Thursday by Prince William, second in line to the British throne, along with the venerable English broadcaster and natural historian Sir David Attenborough, proposes to award five 1 million pound prizes every year for the next 10 years toward five environmental goals (“earthshots”) — fixing the climate, cleaning the air, protecting and restoring nature, reviving oceans and tackling waste.

Any person, group or corporation around the world is eligible, and any suggestion — even those that “may sound crackpot,” said Attenborough — is welcome, so long as it is applicable on a global scale. It could be a new technology, a new approach, a new governmental policy or any other “insights, flashes of genius and ideas.” The goal is “to repair our planet by 2030.”

The purpose is to generate excitement and what William called “a bit of a catalyst, a bit of hope, a bit of positivity” into an endeavor more often pushed by doomsday scenarios.

The announcement comes at a time when a dose of positivity is sorely needed, with the coronavirus raging through the world and symptoms of global warming, like the wildfires in California and the melting Arctic ice, becoming ever more acute and dangerous.

A million pounds — roughly $1.3 million — is significantly more than a Nobel Prize and should inspire some serious and creative thinking about the plight of Planet Earth. Unlike the Nobel Prize money, moreover, the Earthshot money is supposed to be spent on the winning project.