Al Gore Discusses Misinformation Campaign on Climate Change

Following the recent cover story in Newsweek regarding global warming deniers, Al Gore has addressed the topic again today:

Research aimed at disputing the scientific consensus on global warming is part of a huge public misinformation campaign funded by some of the world’s largest carbon polluters, former Vice President Al Gore said Tuesday.

“There has been an organized campaign, financed to the tune of about $10 million a year from some of the largest carbon polluters, to create the impression that there is disagreement in the scientific community,” Gore said at a forum in Singapore. “In actuality, there is very little disagreement.”

Gore likened the campaign to the millions of dollars spent by U.S. tobacco companies years ago on creating the appearance of scientific debate on smoking’s harmful effects.

“This is one of the strongest of scientific consensus views in the history of science,” Gore said. “We live in a world where what used to be called propaganda now has a major role to play in shaping public opinion.”

The misinformation campaign from the energy industry fits in well with other misinformation campaigns from the right wing. The anti-science right is easily deceived into ignoring the scientific consensus as conservatives have become adept at ignoring facts which contradict their beliefs. It is no coincidence that there is such a tremendous overlap between the people who believe the claims of the global warming deniers and those who believe in iintelligent design, that there was WMD in Iraq at the onset of the war, or that Saddam was involved in the 9/11 attacks.

2 Comments

  1. 1
    Sly1 says:

    If you wanted evidence of the oil and energy industry’s influence of the White House’s (and the Republican Party’s) policies. One need look no further than the years of GWB denying the science of global warming. Now that the evidence is overwhelming, we hear them saying things like “global warming might be good for some people,” and “we need much more study before we can begin to identify changes that will be effective in combatting the warming” and even “The world is getting warmer, but it’s all part of a natural cycle and it’s not clear that man is contributing or how much man is contributing.” All designed to stall any potential action that might interfere with the quarter to quarter earnings growth of the largest carbon contributors…

  2. 2
    Ron Chusid says:

    Sly1,

    To the list of nonsense replies along the lines of it being a natural cycle, there’s always to one that Mars is getting warmer.

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