Gore's Rolling Stone Denier Diatribe

This hasn’t hit the newstands yet, but thanks to the propaganda arm of Gore Inc. aka “Repower America” I’ve been given a link to the advance online copy which you too can read in full. First let’s start with the email. Like any good flock herder, there’s a big button where you can give to the cause:

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Dear [name deleted],

Our Chairman Al Gore just published a major article in a special summer issue of Rolling Stone.

The magazine hits the stands on Friday, June 24, but you can read it here:

http://acp.repoweramerica.org/rollingstone

Turn on the news or look out the window: Every day, we see the impacts of climate change in the form of historic droughts, floods, storms and other extreme weather events. Yet despite what scientists have been telling us for decades and what we can see with our own eyes, powerful interests continue to deny this crisis is even happening.

Vice President Gore’s essay is important — and I know it will be discussed far and wide.

Take a minute and read this article, then leave a comment on the piece and share it with your friends.

http://acp.repoweramerica.org/rollingstone

Thanks,

Maggie L. Fox

President and CEO

Alliance for Climate Protection

P.S. As you read this email, lies and misinformation are being spread about the climate crisis. We need you to change the conversation and speak up for reality. Leave a comment on Rolling Stone’s website here. Share this article on Twitter, and when you do, use the hashtag #reality. You are our voice.

DONATE

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Gore has gone full bore on “deniers”, and starts off with comparisons to WWF (no not the NGO, yes, the wrestlers) with the piece entitled:

Climate of Denial

Can science and the truth withstand the merchants of poison?

By Al Gore
June 22, 2011 7:45 AM ET

The first time I remember hearing the question “is it real?” was when I went as a young boy to see a traveling show put on by “professional wrestlers” one summer evening in the gym of the Forks River Elementary School in Elmwood, Tennessee.

The evidence that it was real was palpable: “They’re really hurting each other! That’s real blood! Look a’there! They can’t fake that!” On the other hand, there was clearly a script (or in today’s language, a “narrative”), with good guys to cheer and bad guys to boo.

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Great stuff huh? It has the usual talking points, such as the long debunked climate to severe weather link which even NOAA says does not exist in the data. Even the Daily Kos is telling people to give up on that idea. But here we have the “weather is climate when we say it is” image gallery to bolster Gore’s weakest point:

Photo Gallery: 11 extreme-weather signs the climate crisis is real

Gore wants to take the battle to the streets, mainly because he’s losing the battle, big time. For example, here’s his advice on how to harass your hometown media:

Fourth, contact your local newspapers and television stations when they put out claptrap on climate — and let them know you’re fed up with their stubborn and cowardly resistance to reporting the facts of this issue. One of the main reasons they are so wimpy and irresponsible about global warming is that they’re frightened of the reaction they get from the deniers when they report the science objectively. So let them know that deniers are not the only ones in town with game. Stay on them! Don’t let up! It’s true that some media outlets are getting instructions from their owners on this issue, and that others are influenced by big advertisers, but many of them are surprisingly responsive to a genuine outpouring of opinion from their viewers and readers. It is way past time for the ref to do his job.

And there’s the other usual and expected talking points, like that oft cited “97% survey”.

This time, the scientific consensus is even stronger. It has been endorsed by every National Academy of science of every major country on the planet, every major professional scientific society related to the study of global warming and 98 percent of climate scientists throughout the world. In the latest and most authoritative study by 3,000 of the very best scientific experts in the world, the evidence was judged “unequivocal.”

Of course Gore never tells readers that only 5% of the original sample responses were climate scientists. See why here.

The study/survey paper is behind a pay wall but there is a comprehensive summary here.

We find that they originally contacted 10,257 scientists, of whom 3,146 responded, less than a 31% response rate. “Impending Planetary Doom” was obviously not uppermost in the minds of over two thirds of their target population. Of that number, only 5% described themselves as climate scientists, numbering 157. The authors reduce that by half by only counting those who they classed as “specialists”.

“In our survey, the most specialized and knowledgeable respondents (with regard to climate change) are those who listed climate science as their area of expertise and who also have published more than 50% of their recent peer-reviewed papers on the subject of climate change (79 individuals in total). Of these specialists, 96.2% (76 of 79) answered “risen” to question 1 and 97.4% (75 of 77) answered yes to question 2.”

So just 75 climate scientists out of people 3000 surveyed, that works out to 2.5%. No mention of the OSI survey with 30,000 people that responded of course.

On the plus side, he disses Obama on his non-existent (but sensible) climate policy:

Yet President Obama has never presented to the American people the magnitude of the climate crisis,…

He has simply not made the case for action. He has not defended the science against the ongoing, withering and dishonest attacks. Nor has he provided a presidential venue for the scientific community — including our own National Academy — to bring the reality of the science before the public.

Here’s what Gore says about Climategate:

But wait! The good guys transgressed the rules of decorum, as evidenced in their private e-mails that were stolen and put on the Internet. The referee is all over it: Penalty! Go to your corner! And in their 3,000-page report, the scientists made some mistakes! Another penalty!

An alternate title for Gore’s piece might be Perp Fiction.

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D. King
June 22, 2011 6:51 pm

With all the crazies viciously coming out from under their rocks, don’t they think we notice the timing? Their pathetic gasps are deafening.
Here’s tingle leg:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697//vp/43501430#43501430

ShrNfr
June 22, 2011 6:53 pm

Just think. We almost had this barking mad bleep as our Present Dunce. Bush may have been no bargain and I won’t get into politics, but this guy needs a long stay at McLean in Belmont, MA. He is really going someplace described in the DSM IVR.

JJB MKI
June 22, 2011 6:54 pm

In the upside down, nest feathering world of Gore and fellow doom-fetishists, you can be guilty of spreading ‘disinformation’ simply by asking difficult questions of the AGW doctrine. Much as I agree with Mr Watts’ take on the self-defeating Monckton presentation, I can kind of see where he’s coming from.
Don’t ask questions. Don’t think for yourself. Don’t look too closely at our claims, just believe what we want you to believe, or you will be smeared, denigrated, characatured and ostracised. And for god’s sake don’t make us talk about the actual science, you know we can’t deal with that. Look! The ice is melting again!

Amino Acids in Meteorites
June 22, 2011 7:02 pm

Sorry, but Al Gore is a fascist. And it’s coerced on people in the name of doing good.

JPeden
June 22, 2011 7:07 pm

“Our Chairman Al Gore”, eh? Dark brown Mao suits, socks and shoes, soon to replace even speedos, and empower and educate Women everywhere!

Al Gored
June 22, 2011 7:14 pm

CRS, Dr.P.H. says:
June 22, 2011 at 5:01 pm
“Oh, puh-lease!! In one corner, rent-seeking academic research whores…”
Please. Not nice to call climatutes “whores.” That sounds cheap, and they are not.

John Brookes
June 22, 2011 7:15 pm

Good on you, Al Gore!
It was reading “An Inconvenient Truth” that convinced me (hyperbolic predictions of sea levels notwithstanding) that AGW is a serious problem.
Still, I guess the salt-of-the-earth people on this blog might be right, (well they are right-wing, but you know what I mean), and we may be slipping into an ice age. Maybe we can have a post with a firm prediction on our future frostiness?

June 22, 2011 7:17 pm

Algore Immortalized by Paul Shanklin (circa 1999) as “Dull Drab Man” (takeoff on the ZZTop tune “Well Dressed Man”)
Audio sample (can’t find a full length cut anywhere on the web yet):
http://www.allmusic.com/song/dull-drab-man-t2979056
.

H.R.
June 22, 2011 7:20 pm

@Joshua
June 22, 2011 at 6:20 pm
Political discourse is persuasive; logic optional. Ask Al if you don’t waqnt to take my word for it.

ImranCan
June 22, 2011 7:25 pm

I feel very sorry for Gore. Here is a guy for whom things haven’t gone very well over the last decade or so …he lost preisdential race he should have won hands down (all he had to do was put his arm around Clinton) ….. then his wife left him, and now his pet theory is disintegrating in front of his eyes.
The future can’t look too great. Maybe we need to show him some compassion.

B-737
June 22, 2011 7:36 pm

“They see a clash of equals, like two armies facing off over a battlefield. When in reality, it’s just a bunch of unconnected, unorganised individuals saying ‘you know what? I think you’re full of BS’. So they snipe and swipe at shadows, wondering why they cannot have any effect on the rising tide of public opinion that is self-reinforcing and impossible to eliminate…”
Well said. This is an elephant v. ants battle. We’re the ants and my money is on us.

Peter George
June 22, 2011 7:38 pm

This is not a serious scientific debate. There are, of course, serious debates concerning a variety of topics in climate science. But, THE debate is just the latest device to push an agenda aimed at centralizing power – getting the serfs back under control.
As I’ve commented before, I think this “debate” will end only if and when CO2 capture and sequestration ( CCS ) is the cheapest and most environmentally friendly way to stabilize atmospheric CO2 levels. Because that doesn’t serve their agenda. We won’t even have to actually do it ( stabilize CO2 levels ) because this phoney, agenda driven debate will simply stop.
Then, my guess is they’ll move on to automation and AI being the great threat that requires centralizing control over the global economy.

Tom_R
June 22, 2011 7:43 pm

I can concede that most of the alarmists are true believers, but Gore can’t possibly believe what he says and still live a lifestyle that generates as much CO2 as he does. No one could live with that guilt.
He KNOWS that what he says isn’t true.

u.k.(us)
June 22, 2011 7:44 pm

Doug in Seattle says:
June 22, 2011 at 6:21 pm
Al Gore is NOT the vice president of the US. He’s a former vice president.
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I know, it was just a lazy cut & paste.
Sorry all.

Paul R
June 22, 2011 7:47 pm

So whats the deal, is wrestling fake or not?

Peter Brunson
June 22, 2011 7:47 pm

To test the validity of the claim that 98% of climate scientists in agreement one must publish the list of names of the climate scientists who make up the 100%.

Graham
June 22, 2011 7:50 pm

“We find that they originally contacted 10,257 scientists, of whom 3,146 responded, less than a 31% response rate.”
Furthermore, and underscoring their contempt for the survey, 7,111 scientists could not be bothered even lifting a finger to respond to the alarmist exercise. Essentially that’s all it needed:
“To maximize the response rate, the survey was designed to take less than 2 minutes to complete, and it was administered by a professional online survey site… that allowed one-time participation by those who received the invitation.”
So what the survey did show is that, at the very least, 7,111/10,257 (about 70%) of scientists regard AGW as a whole load of bullcrap.

June 22, 2011 8:18 pm

LibertFreedomPatriot says:
June 22, 2011 at 7:36 pm
Dear moderators, why do you allow this kind of dirt on this usually clean site?
[Deleted, thanks. ~dbs, mod.]

R. de Haan
June 22, 2011 8:23 pm
Hilary Ostrov (aka hro001)
June 22, 2011 8:24 pm

Ray Boorman June 22, 2011 at 6:51 pm:

I loved the bit where he said a few mistakes were found in a 3000 page report – so what? In the same paragraph he also said it was created by 3000 of the best scientists in the world! […]

Good grief! Such laughable claims make one wonder how Gore ever got as far as he did on the US political scene. He probably been paying far too much attention to the words of his buddy, Rajendra K. Pachauri, for his own good (and/or credibility).
But speaking of the IPCC, that 3000 page report and all those “best scientists in the world” …
While I’m here … readers might be interested in an analysis I’ve done which demonstrates the pervasiveness of “the practice of scientists responsible for writing IPCC assessments reviewing their own work.”:
Is the IPCC conflicted? Let us count the ways

theduke
June 22, 2011 8:25 pm

What is truly scary is that this guy came within a few votes of being elected President. I shudder to think what the country would look like if Gore had been President from 2001 – 2009.

June 22, 2011 8:28 pm

LibertFreedomPatriot says on June 22, 2011 at 7:36 pm
Hilarious comments from a hilarious web site. I’m not familiar with WattsUpWithThat.com, but I assume it’s like “The Onion,” right? …

Kinda muffed your nic, didn’t you?
And here’s to hoping you can do more than ‘muff’ your future posts!
Cheers.
.

June 22, 2011 8:41 pm

Physics Major says on June 22, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Very sad. Does anyone pay attention to his ravings?

As a matter of fact, Algore’s specific (mental) illness(es) may be getting a downgrade/being removed/re-categorized as we speak from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) as we speak :
Personality Disorders Shakeup in DSM-5

Narcissistic personality disorder is slated for removal from the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, to be published in 2013. So notes Charles Zanor in yesterday’s New York Times.
But for some reason, Zanor glossed over the loss of four other personality disorders in the shakeup too — Paranoid, Schizoid, Histrionic and Dependent Personality Disorders. (Schizotypal, Antisocial, Borderline, Avoidant and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorders will remain in the new revision.)

MORE – see link above.
.

June 22, 2011 8:43 pm

It’s really sad – all skeptics are saying is do science the way it has always been done & you have Gore & all the rest of the AGW camp saying we are fundamentally bad people. Sorry, they have it completely backwards.

jonjermey
June 22, 2011 8:43 pm

It’s always amusing when two once-great institutions come together to try and revive each other’s credibility: who’s doing mouth-to-mouth on who?