Fact checking climate change statements
A few years ago I signed up to receive emails from FactCheck.org. (fact). I find them to be interesting and useful. (fact). The most recent one I received was on distortions in climate change statements made by former VP Al Gore and former VP candidate Sarah Palin (fact).
He is the body of the email (fact).
"On Dec. 9, an op-ed by Sarah Palin on climate change ran in the Washington Post. Al Gore responded to Palin's piece and made some fresh claims of his own later that day in an interview with MSNBC. We find that both engaged in some distortions and have been rightly called out by experts in the field.
* Gore said that 40 percent of the polar ice cap is already gone. That's an outdated figure -- it has recovered in the last two years, and is now about 24 percent smaller than the 1979-2000 average.
* Gore's claim that all Arctic ice would 'go completely' over the next decade is greatly exaggerated. The scientist he is citing was actually talking about nearly ice-free conditions, and only in the summer months.
* Gore and Palin both left out information when discussing the economic impact of climate legislation. Gore dodged a question about job losses, and Palin ignored the potentially severe effects of doing nothing.
* Palin misrepresented the contents of the leaked e-mails from the Climate Research Unit, saying that they show 'fraudulent scientific practices.' That's not the case."
Here is my problem (opinion). Gore was responding to Sarah Palin's Washington Post editorial (fact). Her editorial is well-reasoned (opinion - read it yourself). FactCheck.org finds three factual problems with Gore's response (fact) and two factual problems with Sarah Palin's editorial (fact).
Gore is supposed to be a climate change expert (fact). Palin is supposed to be a lightweight politician (fact verging on opinion). The left's response to Palin's well-reasoned editorial is that it was "ghost-written" and that Palin doesn't understand climate change (fact (maybe "the left" is a generalization). Most politicians editorials, books, statements are "ghost-written" (fact). I would challenge FactCheck.org's final claim against Palin's editorial (opinion). I believe that Palin's claims that the Climate Research Unit show 'fraudulent scientific practices" is a pretty solid claim (opinion).
Gore comes off looking pretty weak (opinion).
Here is the full FactCheck.org report (fact).
He is the body of the email (fact).
"On Dec. 9, an op-ed by Sarah Palin on climate change ran in the Washington Post. Al Gore responded to Palin's piece and made some fresh claims of his own later that day in an interview with MSNBC. We find that both engaged in some distortions and have been rightly called out by experts in the field.
* Gore said that 40 percent of the polar ice cap is already gone. That's an outdated figure -- it has recovered in the last two years, and is now about 24 percent smaller than the 1979-2000 average.
* Gore's claim that all Arctic ice would 'go completely' over the next decade is greatly exaggerated. The scientist he is citing was actually talking about nearly ice-free conditions, and only in the summer months.
* Gore and Palin both left out information when discussing the economic impact of climate legislation. Gore dodged a question about job losses, and Palin ignored the potentially severe effects of doing nothing.
* Palin misrepresented the contents of the leaked e-mails from the Climate Research Unit, saying that they show 'fraudulent scientific practices.' That's not the case."
Here is my problem (opinion). Gore was responding to Sarah Palin's Washington Post editorial (fact). Her editorial is well-reasoned (opinion - read it yourself). FactCheck.org finds three factual problems with Gore's response (fact) and two factual problems with Sarah Palin's editorial (fact).
Gore is supposed to be a climate change expert (fact). Palin is supposed to be a lightweight politician (fact verging on opinion). The left's response to Palin's well-reasoned editorial is that it was "ghost-written" and that Palin doesn't understand climate change (fact (maybe "the left" is a generalization). Most politicians editorials, books, statements are "ghost-written" (fact). I would challenge FactCheck.org's final claim against Palin's editorial (opinion). I believe that Palin's claims that the Climate Research Unit show 'fraudulent scientific practices" is a pretty solid claim (opinion).
Gore comes off looking pretty weak (opinion).
Here is the full FactCheck.org report (fact).
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