Right Blogistan is abuzz today, quoting and riffing upon
this article by Peter Schweizer in yesterday's USA Today. Unable to refute the science of global warming, the anti-conservation right is hoping to kill the story by shooting the messenger. It doesn't matter much that he is one messenger among thousands of environmentalists and scientists. He is the one who has a movie - he is the one who has a name - and he is the one who is carrying the narrative right now. I fear that his credibility among those we are trying to reach may become damaged.
Our side has virtually nothing out to deflect Peter Schweizer's bullet. Over the coming weeks and months, his narrative will be replayed in every major media outlet that will have it - and that probably means all of them. And, unless something changes, it will be played without response from our side.
I think it is incumbent upon Gore and his camp to respond to the charges - to show what he is doing personally to lead on the issue: to show compellingly, if it is true, that on balance his personal behavior is environmentally responsible and holds to a very high standard. I think it is incumbent upon him to explain or deny the holes in his record that Schweizer has brought up. If there is no reasonable explanation or truthful denial, then he ought to apologize for his misdeeds and correct them. And all of this should be even more public than the other side's accusations. Gore's side of the narrative should
lead.
But, while Gore does or does not take up that challenge, it is incumbent upon the rest of us - especially those with media access - to remind the world that this isn't about Al Gore: it is about climate.
We must drive home the point that - whether or not Al Gore is a hypocrite - the science remains sound, and the danger continues to loom if we choose to turn our attention away from it and do nothing. There's plenty of evidence. There are plenty of real world examples, with more emerging all the time.
My challenge to the reality-based community: Make as much noise in the media in the coming weeks and months about climate change as the wingnuts are going to make about Al Gore. Scratch that: make more noise.
(Update: I found this diary, posted Friday (making a liar of my mistaken dating of the original article), with some decent discussion as well. For instance, one commenter notes that it is Gore's mother who holds the oil stocks. I didn't find this when I did a pre-search on Schweizer)