Comments on: Hot-Headed Gore Needs To Cool Off

Weekly Standard: Gore's Exaggerations Hurt Science And His Cause

[ws011]

Gordeaux, if global warming is as real and as urgent as Gore and other wealthy liberals would have us believe, then they should lead by example and get rid of their mansions, heated pools, limos and jets and live as simply as they possibly can. They probably waste more energy over a few years than most of us use in a lifetime.

[scott4261]

I've read posts from and have had dialogue with conservatives on the blogs that are essentially attacking Al Gore for his politics and nothing more. Then there are some who label global warming as "junk science." But the truth is that Gore frames the subject in a way that makes some in the scientific community uncomfortable and many on the right have tried to frame that as a denial of the existence of global warming.

But the disputes are really mainly over numbers rather than the data itself. For example: Are the sea levels going to rise 20 inches or 20 feet? The truth probably lies somewhere in between. Most scientists do believe global warming is a very real phenomenon, but the argument is on some of the finer points of how Gore is presenting it.

"An Inconvenient Truth" is an excellent, thought provoking documentary. Gore has done a great job of getting this subject front and center in discussion. And he has the background and visibility to get the governments attention.

Some conservatives argue that regulation will cost us more, but that point may well be moot as we go forward in the 21st century because green technology IS where money will be made in the future and if we continue to debate whether or not global warming exists (and I believe that it does), then this country is going to be left behind on the next technology wave which, ironically, could enhance the way we live in the future and actually make the world greener and less polluted.

[bmadeline-2009]

You Idiots! Why don't you neocons shut up because every word you speak is an evil lie!

[crater7]

Sounds like Jonathan V Last, is trying to get a job in the Bush Administration, maybe rewriting Scientist Reports on Global Warming? You can find many Scientist that work on the payroll of large corporations that would dispute any report that would suggest global warming.

[airmanc5]

Albert Gore was challenged to a debate on global warming by a noted British climatologist and has refused. This debate would be televised live. Since Big Al cannot control what is asked, like he did on Capitol Hill, he will not do this debate. I for 1 am very anxious to have a thorough debate on global warming. Now Al will not run for president for one reason, he would have to make his tax returns public, and as we all know what happened when he ran for president the last time his tax returns showed him making 6 figures not counting his enormous trust fund and he only gave $247 to charity. thats $247, a total embarrassment. you can't ask the common man to sacrifice and not do some sacrificing yourself. It time Big Al parked the Limos and parked the private planes and got around like us. Its like John Edwards saying he feels the poors pain as he makes Millions a year and builds a 28,000 sq ft house. It just hypocrisy.

[blahblahbla5]

This article is factually wrong. Gore has noted that some predict a 20 plus foot IF the ice shelves break off Greenland and Antarctica. The IPCC panel estimate is 23 inches based on the assumption that the ice shelves DO NOT BREAK OFF. But the IPCC is not saying that there is no risk that the ice shelves will break off. So to pretend that the IPCC contradicts the risks that Gore has reported is disingenuous at best.
Read more about this at:
www.dailyhowler.com

[jcgrim]

Why are some conservatives so desperate to disparage the phenomena of global warming that they crank out talking points that are based on a few dissenting views? Science has done so much to improve our lives & life span. Scientific conclusions are based on a BODY of evidence, replicated by independent researchers,using rigorous experimental designs. The UNIPCC represents a large number of studies which meet the criteria for rigor and in which data indicate the same conclusions- global warming is exacerbated by human behavior. Is it final? Nothing in science is considered final or "proven"-not even the theory of gravity. Gore did what Carl Sagan used to do for the public-they made science understandable and accessible. Jonathan Last has lowered the discussion to the level of pre-enlightenment arguments, those based on anecdotes & coincidence. Using one or 2 disagreements to disprove global warming in the face of the body of credible data is nonsense. Do the public a favor & stop giving him a place on the opinion page re: global warming.

[candyhandgre]

I am surprised at CBS, I thought CBS had at least a small amount of integrity, but judging by this...what would you call it, an OP-ED? Judging by this OP-ED CBS standards have gone way downhill.

I'm quite surprised that CBS would allow such misleading, scraggiest and insult laden piece on their respectable website.

AL Gore needs to cool off? Are you kidding? Are you from earth? Were you watching the same testimony that I was? I doubt it.

If anyone needed to cool off in that room it was Republican James Inhofe, who acted like a loud, obnoxious and ignorant child. But that's who your probably trying to defend isn't it, by trying to make Gore, the most level headed guy in the room, look like a hot-head?

"The Weekly Standard- Arguably the most influential opinion at the White House" It says... Judging by this rag, I'm not surprised, and if this guys opinion is influencing the White House, then I guess we know why it's so f*cked up there, hmm?


The more popular Al Gore get and the more people who become concerned about the environment, the more people like Jonathan V. Last get nasty, impudent and ;look like wild animals who have been cornered, scratching, hissing, looking for a way out.

Jonathan V. Last, you only hurt your own cause.

[gordeaoux]

I definately see how some scientists being uncertain about exactly how much worse the problem is getting means that there is no problem. /sarcasm

Why are you trying so hard to disprove global warming, Mr. Last? What motivation do you have to keep pumpin' out CO2? Why would it be so bad if we started saving energy and using sources that aren't oil? Wouldn't that mean we'd use less Middle Eastern oil like the President said he wanted to? That sounds pretty good to me, regardless of whether you agree with global warming or not. You're just a jerk.

[toast171]

Actually, if you go and read the paper from the Max Plank institute, you see they reach the *opposite* conclusion as suggested by Mr. last.

To quote,"They come to the conclusion that the variations on the Sun run parallel to climate changes for most of that time, indicating that the Sun has indeed influenced the climate in the past. Just how large this influence is, is subject to further investigation. However, it is also clear that since about 1980, while the total solar radiation, its ultraviolet component, and the cosmic ray intensity all exhibit the 11-year solar periodicity, there has otherwise been no significant increase in their values. In contrast, the Earth has warmed up considerably within this time period. This means that the Sun is not the cause of the present global warming."

Shameful.

[sthornton3]

According to Mr. Last, writing on his blog, "...my full-time job is part of the Murdoch-Fox-News Corp Empire." A quick "google" of his name reveals he is a well-established right-wing apologist with a host of essays defending one extremist viewpoint after another. He is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a scientist or one who appears to have more than a superficial knowledge of science. It's actually quite shocking that an established news outlet such as CBS would offer Mr. Last a platform without some much needed context.

[egalia]

What scientists question is the cold war relic called the Weekly Standard.

Scientists question the existence of the Weekly Standard since no one reads the leftover rag except for a few flat-earthers.