... at the first sign a winter's inevitable quickening, climate change denialists just can't help themselves. This year is no different:
Lou Dobbs said during the introduction of his CNN show: "And tonight, unusual winter storms are dumping snow in unusual places across Western states, and a huge snowstorm is headed toward the Northeast. This is global warming?"
Dobbs then hosted a so called scientific expert, Jay Lehr, who had an awfully confusing set of "explanations" ready. First, he stated that the last ten years have actually been quite cool! Lehr followed that whopper up with the classic wingnut suggestion that the sun is responsible for increased warming.
Well, shit Jay, which is it? Have the last ten years been cooler than normal, or do we need to explain away the recent increases in global temperature with changes in the sun?
Tick question. In reality, Lehr lied on national television in both cases. The last ten years have been the warmest on record. The sun, the most studied body in the universe outside of earth, shows no significant change in brightness. But then Jay is not a climate change researcher or a solar astronomer. He's a professional liar employed by the conservative, free market fundamentalist Heartland Institute. The usual sloppy Dobbs forgot to mention that pesky fact to his viewers, too.