Global Warming Deniers Blow Hot Air

Photo: NASA

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Seeking to tip the scales of public opinion in their direction, a group of scientists, free-market theorists and industry hacks are meeting in New York City to prove a point. There is some dissent to the consensus view that global warming is caused by human pollution, that it is a serious problem and that we ought to do something dramatic to stop it.

Predictably, the group spent a long time bashing Al Gore, who has done more to raise the level of conversation about climate change than anyone else, at least here in the United States.

But be skeptical when told to weigh the conclusions of Al Gore versus the conclusions this group, organized by the Heartland Institute, a free-market think tank that doesn't reveal its funding sources (though Exxon, which has been outed as a chief backer of climate change skeptics, has donated more than $500,000 over the years).

As we all know, Gore is a politician of a particular party, and that makes him an easy target. Choosing between his conclusions and the conclusions of this group of skeptics is a false choice.

Balance this group's conclusions against that of the International Panel on Climate Change. The United Nations has brought together every scientist in the world willing to give his or her time so that we can have a clear understanding of the state of climate science. It is this group and its conclusions that one should use to weigh against the Heartland Institute's.

Every major American scientific organization has added weight to the IPCC conclusions. On the side of the Heartland Institute is nothing but air. The scales have tipped. Now, let's move on.

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