Paul Driessen: Al Gore: Junk-science huckster

"Once again, Democrats refused to permit the Republicans' intended witness to testify. They knew Lord Christopher Monckton, former science adviser to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, would rubbish Gore's Doomsday scenarios. So Gore was allowed to mislead Congress and promote his unfounded assertion that humanity faces 'an irreparably damaged planet,' if we don't immediately slash fossil fuel use. He didn't face a single tough question over any of his false or misleading claims.

"Gore: The Arctic is warming at an unprecedented rate. Truth: The Arctic region warms and cools dramatically every few decades, due to shifting currents and winds. Arctic ice also melted significantly during the 1930s; it is now back to seasonally normal levels.

"Gore: If the Greenland and Western Antarctic Peninsula ice sheets were to melt and collapse into the ocean, sea levels would rise 40 feet. Truth: Snow and ice are increasing in interior Greenland and Antarctica. The peninsula ice is mostly unstable sea ice, and interior Antarctica temperatures would have to rise 85 degrees
(from an average annual minus 50) to cause Gore's fanciful cataclysm.

"Gore: The U.S. West and the Southeast are experiencing prolonged severe droughts. Truth: America also endured the Dust Bowl and a 25-year drought that forced Anasazi Indians to abandon their villages.

"Gore: Carbon dioxide 'pollution' is acidifying our oceans. Truth: Higher CO2 levels fertilize ocean algae and improve seashell growth. In some areas upwelling can acidify surface waters with carbon-rich water from deep ocean zones.

"Gore: Global warming is increasing the number of wildfires in U.S. forests. Truth: Fires continue to threaten habitats, wildlife and homes
because insects are killing trees and environmentalist legal actions prevent foresters from managing dense stands of brush and thin diseased and dead trees.

"Gore: Climate change is increasing the intensity of hurricanes. Truth: Hurricane numbers and intensity are on par with historic records and trends. Katrina was a large Category 3 hurricane when it hit a poorly prepared New Orleans.

"It's a good thing the committee didn't put Gore under oath. He'd be sanctioned for wanton and reckless disregard for the truth – if not perjury – in both his testimony and the movie he produced to terrify young children, so that they pressure their parents into demanding passage of cap-tax-and-trade legislation."