Global-Warming Deniers

Taking issue with Newsweek for plying "the worst kind of advocacy journalism," The National Ledger claims:

The extremists committed to the man-made global warming theory―that humans are causing the world to get hotter and that we have to drastically raise taxes and/or ration energy in response―are on the run. How else does one explain the sensational Newsweek cover story with the provocative headline, "Global Warming is a Hoax,*" over a photo of a boiling sun?

I'm not sure that I would agree that they are on the run, nor would I necessarily call them extremists, but they are right when they say:

"In fact, while most observers and experts agree that the climate is changing and may even be warming over the long term, the real debate is over whether human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, are responsible, and whether we can do anything about it. The critics of the theory cast doubt on that connection, noting the lack of definitive evidence of a cause and effect."

Hitting back against the Newsweek claim that it is only "well-funded naysayers"† who still reject the "overwhelming evidence" of anthropogenic global warming, the National Ledger also notes:

"While those skeptical of the man-made global warming theory have received some $19 million, the forces favored by Newsweek have taken in closer to $50 billion, much of it from American taxpayers and channeled through federal and global agencies. This figure, of course, doesn’t include the dollar value of all of the media coverage in support of the theory ... The well-funded lobby, in truth, is financed by U.S. taxpayers. This is the story Newsweek won’t tell."

It also has an interesting anecdote about how carbon offsetting is promoting the manufacture in China of large quantities of HFC-23, "a greenhouse gas that scientists say is thousands of times more potent than CO2 and that is a byproduct of the manufacture of a common refrigerant, HCFC-22."

Have a read of the two articles, and let us know what you think.

† For the record, this "naysayer" is most definitely not well-funded by anyone, but is always open to offers!