Al Gore's Global Warming Campaign Gains Another Detractor

The Heartland Institute on Monday announced that Dennis Avery is the next prominent figure to challenge the facts Al Gore is promoting related to global warming. Avery is the co-author of a book titled "Unstoppable Global Warming Every 1,500 Years." In this book, he reached conclusions that are opposite to those Al Gore reaches concerning the consequences of global warming.

Al Gore and Dennis Avery both have books that are featured as New York Times best-sellers. The authors, however, disagree about the causes and consequences of global warming. Al Gore has gained many supporters over the last several years as he has promoted behavioral change to prevent a global disaster that he argues is sure to come. Avery and other Gore detractors disagree. Many prominent figures disagree with Gore, including Lord Christopher Monckton (former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher advisor), Bjorn Lomborg (Danish economist), author Michael Crichton, Prof. S. Fred Singer (former director of the U.S. National Weather Service), Tim Ball, Ph.D. (historical climatologist), Prof. Ian Clark (University of Ottawa), and Prof. Richard Lindzen (MIT).

These scientists, economists, and other researchers have argued that Gore's claims are faulty. In Avery's book, he reports on the analysis of physical evidence from past warming/cooling cycles and experimental evidence demonstrating variations in solar activity that affects our planet's varying temperatures.

Avery states, "My book says our warming is natural, unstoppable-and not very dangerous anyway." He further says concerning his book and Gore's book, "These books represent the two leading explanations for the Earth's recent temperature changes-and they conflict. If global warming truly is the most important public policy issue of our day, then it is high time the public got to hear the arguments from both sides matched up against each other."

So, there is not worldwide agreement concerning the consequences of global warming. Al Gore has refused a debate challenge to date. There have been several requests to date for a debate of these issues. President of the Heartland Institute, Joseph Bast, stated, "Maybe it's because climate alarmists tend to lose when they debate climate realists. Or because most scientists do not support climate alarmism." The Heartland Institute is a Chicago based think tank that promotes various public policies.

The disagreement about global warming will certainly rage on over the coming months and years. Gore's campaign for societal energy changes seems to be gaining steam of late, adding several celebrities to his list of supporters. However, the list of detractors has grown as well. For us, hopefully the facts will eventually be clear.

Sources:

PR Newswire Press Release, http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/includes/contents/printable.jsp?resourceid=3529880

The Heartland Institute Website, http://www.heartland.org/