Funny how some bloggers of the the right wing is so obsessed with party colors that they cannot see green. Clinging to their delusions in spite of scientific evidence, this past week we marveled as the right wing continued to plug its ears and start shouting wild accusations of pseudo-facts about individuals rather than see what is coming down upon us all: global warming. Gotta hand it to them: these folks are very effective at their GOP-stooge role, repeating anger points generated from Dittohead Command Headquarters. (Inconvenient truths are conveniently ignored.)

In response to my piece on Peter Schweizer's inane attempt to dismiss global warming because of unsubstantiated assertions about Al Gore's personal finances and business ties, I received this email from Lisa Wade Raasch of empowerchange.com that seems to shed new light on all this.

I'll just paste it here and let you read it:

This is yet another in the long string of tactics tied back to Exxon --
the CEI ads, the YouTube penguin video, the skeptic evangelical
response, etc. etc. Exxon gave $295,000 to the Hoover Institution where
Peter Schweizer is a research fellow.

It's amazing, on one hand the global warming skeptics call Gore an
environmental extremist, and on the other they say he isn't extreme
enough to be a credible spokesperson.

[contact info removed. -mg]

Exxon is at it again.
Setting the record straight on Peter Schweizer's misleading USA Today
piece

Peter Schweizer's ("Gore not quite as green.") piece that ran in USA
Today (August 10) was a grossly inaccurate misrepresentation of the
facts.

Unfortunately, Mr. Schweizer's op-ed is the latest in a string of
attacks from organizations receiving money from ExxonMobil-in this case
an attempt to attack the messenger to divert attention from the message
of the climate crisis. Mr. Schweizer is a research fellow at the Hoover
Institution, which has received $295,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998.
(http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=43)

PETER SCHWEIZER'S MISLEADING CLAIMS:

CLAIM: Schweizer claims that Gore receives royalties from a
zinc mine on his property.

FACT: This charge is false. Gore receives no royalties from the mine,
which shut down in 2003. Like many owners of small farms in Smith
County, Tennessee, the Gores received royalties on their mineral rights
when the mine operated. (A correction ran in USA Today on page 10A.)

CLAIM: Schweizer makes the false assertion that Gore controls stock in
Occidental Petroleum.

FACT: This claim is also false. Gore has never owned stock in
Occidental. His late father, Albert Gore Sr., did work for a number of
years at Occidental. At the time of his death, he owned stock in the
company, all of which was sold almost six years ago. The former Vice
President's mother had a small number of shares in her own name at the
time of her death; that stock was also disposed of by the trustee of her
estate. Mr. Gore is not the trustee.

CLAIM: Schweizer attacks Gore for not using green energy alternatives
at his home.

FACT: Gore was already in the process of adding photovoltaic solar
panels to his home before this scurrilous attack. The Gores have signed
up for every "green power" option their utilities make available.

CLAIM: Schweizer asserts that Gore does not offset his carbon
emissions because Paramount Classics pays for the offsets.
FACT: The Gore's personal carbon offsets are achieved independently of
and in addition to the carbon-neutral leadership shown by Paramount
Classics, Participant Productions and Rodale.
(more)
An Inconvenient Truth: "An Inconvenient Truth" is the first carbon
neutral documentary ever. Paramount Classics and Participant
Productions have worked with Native Energy to offset 100 percent of the
carbon dioxide emissions from air and ground transportation and hotels
for production and promotional activities associated with the
documentary (http://www.paramountvantage.com/blog/?p=35). In addition,
with the book "An Inconvenient Truth," Rodale became the first publisher
to produce a carbon-neutral book. The offsets for "An Inconvenient
Truth" will support New Native American and Alaskan Native wind turbines
and new family dairy farm methane energy projects will deliver clean,
renewable energy to the power grid and displacing power that would
otherwise come from burning fossil fuels.

Generation Investment Management: In addition, Gore co-founded
Generation Investment Management, which invests in companies that are
part of the climate solution. Not only does Generation offset the
carbon emissions of its London and DC offices and business travel
through purchases on the Chicago Climate Exchange to permanently retire
carbon credits, it also offsets the personal home and travel emissions
of all its employees through the CarbonNeutral Company. These offsets
support two projects: 1) a dam-less, "run-of-river" hydro power project
in Bulgaria forecast to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by as much as
10,000 - 13,000 tons per year, and 2) a rural solar electrification
project in India and Sri Lanka to replace the use of dangerous kerosene
lamps that produce high levels of CO2 emissions to light homes with
solar powered lighting systems that produce no CO2.

Current TV: Current TV (www.current.tv), an independent media company
co-founded by Gore that features viewer created content, approved going
carbon neutral at the beginning of 2006, while still in its first year
of operation, and will have completed the process by the end of the
fiscal year.

Reducing CO2 Emissions: Recognizing that we all inevitably emit CO2,
Gore sees offsets as one way to keep total global CO2 emissions in check
and to support alternative "green power" programs in the process. That
said, he believes that the first line of defense is to reduce carbon
emissions as much as possible. Gore works to reduce his overall energy
use by: switching to compact florescent light bulbs, driving a hybrid
vehicle, using green power, adjusting the thermostat a few degrees,
using clock thermostats to make sure no portions of the house are kept
warmer or cooler than needed throughout the day, installing sensors to
ensure that no lights are inadvertently left on in rooms that are not in
use, making a point of flying commercially whenever possible, and
telecommuting when he can.

Al Gore has worked for 30 years to raise awareness about global warming
and to advocate for meaningful solutions. In addition to the very
important role that government (at all levels) and companies must take
to cut emissions of pollution that cause global warming, he urges each
of us to take individual responsibility for our carbon dioxide
emissions. However, he has not asked more from the public than he is
willing to do himself.

Al and Tipper Gore are donating 100-percent of the profits from both the
"An Inconvenient Truth" book and movie to fight against global warming
pollution.

For a bit more context, I recommend David Roberts' post in Grist Magazine.

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