As congratulations for Al Gore, 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner, pour in from the TED community, we asked people who saw Gore’s TED2006 presentations to talk about the impact his talks had on them. This is the first in a series, to be posted throughout the day.

Al Gore’s talk at TED 2006 was a turning point in my life. — David S. Rose

I was actually crying for most of it; I could not believe I didn’t know that our world was in jeopardy, I couldn’t believe how much had already gone wrong without me knowing about it. — Will Shipley

Al Gore’s talk at TED opened my eyes to what I needed to do for my grandchildren’s generation, and I now consider the impact we have on our earth in every venture we undertake. — Howard L. Morgan

Gore’s TED presentation on the climate crisis was at once riveting and inspiring — his passion was so evident — it prompted me to share the talk with our children, and our eldest, Charlie, now 11, has become a one-man global warming marketing machine. Charlie has created his own PowerPoint presentation, which he shares with virtually everyone he meets. — Jeff Levy

Al Gore was the first to complement our work on Stormblade at his breakfast meeting, which was hugely encouraging and that really spurred me on to persevere, as a result of which we eventually got funding to continue the project which will in the end play a huge role in reducing global carbon emissions. — Viktor A. Jovanovic

Al Gore’s passion for spreading the word about man-made climate change is a signal that humanity still has a chance. — Ann Willoughby

No one instance in my previous 53 years has clarified my thinking and simultaneously called me both to action and to an appreciation of the momentous importance of an issue like the TED night two years ago when Al Gore gave his Inconvenient Truth presentation. — Jeff Studley