Time Person of the Year: Putin, Not Gore

Despite rampant speculation that Al Gore, or perhaps the Earth itself, would be named Time Person of the Year, marking 2007 as the year that global warming finally captured the consciousness of the American public, Time chose Vladimir Putin, the Russian president.

Maybe Time recognized that its choice would be overshadowed by the Nobel Peace Prize, already given this year to Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for their work on studying and promoting action to counteract global warming.

"In a year when Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize and green became the new red, white and blue; when the combat in Iraq showed signs of cooling but Baghdad's politicians showed no signs of statesmanship; when China, the rising superpower, juggled its pride in hosting next summer's Olympic Games with its embarrassment at shipping toxic toys around the world; and when J.K. Rowling set millions of minds and hearts on fire with the final volume of her 17-year saga —" Time wrote, by way of explanation, "one nation that had fallen off our mental map, led by one steely and determined man, emerged as a critical linchpin of the 21st century."

Putin, certainly, is a huge figure on the world stage, having lifted Russia from its deflated post-Soviet state to a place of new power, fueled in large part by massive oil wealth. Time makes the point that, "if Russia fails, all bets are off for the 21st century." Given that the collapse of the Soviet states led to the most significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions the world has seen post-Kyoto, that its oil production is second only to Saudi Arabia and that it has not shown great leadership on the world stage when it comes to global warming, the way in which Russia succeeds are at least as important to the 21st century.

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