Well, kudos to former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, who today won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for their work on climate change.

Must be a hard spin for the White House. Gore – who lost to President Bush in a still hotly contested presidential race in 2000 – has seen his approval rating rise since that time, while Bush’s numbers continue to decline.

And Gore is pushing for changes to the way we produce and consume energy, while Bush is adamant that he will not sign on to the Kyoto Protocol (which mandates fossil-fuel emission reductions) in favor of a voluntary program.

In a nation of SUVs, the voluntary program doesn’t look too promising.

Bush is mired in a no-end-in-site war in Iraq that has drawn the wrath and scorn of the world; Gore has just been handed one of the highest honors available on earth.

There has been talk of Gore joining the presidential race, and this win – to some – gives this possibility even more credence.

I don’t think so, but what do I know? I still can’t believe Bush was re-elected. But that’s me.

Good for Gore – good for the environment.