If you've been paying attention to Rush, Glenn, Sarah Palin, or any of the other shit talkers from the overflowing swamp of right wing punditry lately, you may have heard the good news: The glaciers aren't melting! The oceans aren't rising! Human beings are not the least bit responsible for climate change! Hallelujah! Thanks to the courageous act of an anonymous hacker who stole a few emails from some of the world´s leading climate scientists, we now know that this whole global warming thing was just another elaborate hoax perpetuated by Al Gore and the dirty ol liberal media to make us all give up our freedom to burn, pollute, and destroy!
This would all be laughable if it wasn't so disturbing. And effective, as the message that climate change is fabricated has been packaged as "ClimateGate" and amplified throughout the mediasphere. However, as with much of the other nonsensical frothing of the far right, after a closer look at this conveniently timed public relations meme, nothing really holds up. The "smoking gun" being used to whip up the confusion is a few sloppy phrases taken out of context and repeated over and over until it passes as undisputed fact. Sound familiar? Check it out:
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The truth is, these leaked "hacked emails" are nothing more than a timely media stunt by those intent on derailing any productive negotiations at the Copenhagen Climate Summit by adding pressure from a confused populace with a quick and cheap disinformation campaign. These "climate skeptics" have been at it for years and have been repeatedly outed as being funded by the fossil fuel lobby and companies like Exxon-Mobil and those who stand to lose the most from substantial cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Their continued success in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence is a testament that doubt is easy to sell.
The International Climate Change Summit taking place next week in Copenhagen has the potential to be the most significant international gathering in history. World leaders are attempting to act upon the scientific fact that Anthropomorphic Climate Change is changing the world and devise a complex agreement to cut global greenhouse gas production. Activists from around the world are descending on the city to push for a truly binding treaty on carbon emissions and to remind those in power that market-based solutions to market-based problems simply don´t work.
This writer will be there on the scene in the streets of Copenhagen next week. I´ll let you know how it goes.
