Al Gore calls "bullshit," quite literally, on climate change deniers.

(Adult language. Might not be safe for work, or to played around young children.)


Here is the link to Aspen Journalism who first reported on Gore's remarks:

"Former Vice President Al Gore spoke Thursday at a communications and society seminar at the Aspen Institute (FOCAS). 

He primarily addressed the subject of how citizens can exercise their democratic duties in the networked world, although he also gave a long overview of media and communications history. 

Gore spoke off-the-cuff for about an hour and then took questions from the seminar attendees.During the discussion, Gore addressed the issue of what happens when citizens are fed information that is meant to derail rational debate on complex issues."

Personally I do not blame Gore for expressing frustration at how the corporations have spent millions of dollars working to discredit him, and convincing the low hanging fruit that the evidence that they read about, or see out of their windows, every day is not reality.

It  is at times like this that I have to fight the urge to fantasize about how much different our country, and the world, would be if George Bush, the Supreme Court, and Fox News had not colluded to steal the 2000 election. Nothing to be gained by that kind of thinking, except to reignite that barely forgotten ember of anger that burned in the pit of my stomach and caused me so many sleepless nights lo those many years ago.

(H/T to Progressive Alaska.)

Perhaps all is not lost for Texas after all.

Courtesy of the National Center for Science Education:

Pop the champagne corks. The Texas Board of Education has unanimously come down on the side of evolution. In an 8-0 vote, the board today approved scientifically accurate high school biology textbook supplements from established mainstream publishers--and did not approve the creationist-backed supplements from International Databases, LLC.

"This is a huge victory for Texas students and teachers," said Josh Rosenau, NCSE programs and policy director, who testified at the hearings this week. In his testimony, Rosenau urged the board to approve the supplements--recommended by a review panel largely composed of scientists and science educators--without amendments, and to reject International Database's creationist submission. The board did just that, and asked for only minimal changes to the approved supplements.

In hearings yesterday, NCSE members and allies showed up in force. At least four times as many people testified in favor of the supplements as written, versus those opposing the supplements or demanding significant changes.

Ultimately, the board approved the Holt supplement, and directed Commissioner of Education Robert Scott to review the list of supposed errors, and to develop amended language for Holt to incorporate. NCSE and Texas education groups are confident Scott's revisions will reflect the current state of evolutionary biology, and not any creationist alternatives.

Dr. Eugenie Scott, NCSE's Executive Director is celebrating the decision. "These supplements reflect the overwhelming scientific consensus that evolution is the core of modern biology, and is a central and vital concept in any biology class. That these supplements were adopted unanimously reflects a long overdue change in the board. I commend the board for its refusal to politicize science education."

Well I guess this is a glimmer of sanity in a state which still has Rick Perry as it Governor and whose abstinence only sex education program causes it to have the highest teen birth rate in the nation.


Oh well, at least now that Texans understand that evolution is fact they might soon realize that Rick Perry is somewhat further down that evolutionary trail than one might expect for the Governor of their state.

I mean seriously, is this guy even able to use rudimentary stone tools yet?

Your moment of geek this Monday morning.

Seriously this is the COOLEST video you will see all day.

I promise.



What an amazing time to be alive.

Judge rules to protect Alaskan polar bears, choosing science over the objections of Sarah Palin.

From Think Progress:

In 2008, the U.S. government placed the polar bear on the threatened species list because of the rapid decline in Arctic sea ice, becoming “the first to be designated as threatened because of global warming.”

But in 2008, media mega-star Sarah Palin was still the governor of Alaska. Fearing that protecting the polar bear would “cripple oil and gas development” off Alaska’s coasts, Palin — a well-worn climate science denier — sued the government to remove the species from the list. Palin pointed to the high population of polar bears in 2008 and dismissed climate models that predict continued loss of sea ice as “unreliable,” “uncertain,” and “unproven.”

But U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan backed the government scientists’ finding this week “that global warming is threatening the survival of the polar bear.” In a 116-page opinion, Sullivan dismissed Palin and hunting groups’ arguments as “nothing more than competing views about policy and science” and ruled on the side of science:

"Notwithstanding a handful of references to uncertainty that appear in record documents, Joint Plaintiffs have failed to persuade this Court that FWS [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service] implemented the ESA [Endangered Species Act] “haphazardly.” Accordingly, the Court concludes that FWS did not act arbitrarily in relying on and drawing reasonable conclusions from the IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] reports and climate models in making its listing determination for the polar bear."

Hard to believe that almost two years to the day that the batshit crazy loon quit her job, we are still cleaning up after the mess she left behind. Gee, I wonder how much THIS frivolous lawsuit cost my state?

I am very glad that at least judges can understand basic science, even if politicians subsidized by the oil companies cannot.

(By the way, this case is actually rather historic here at IM, as it is over Palin's response to the Federal governments decision to put the polar bears on the Endangered Species List that angered me enough to write my first post criticising her.  And I have not looked back since.)

I'm a climate scientist.

Might not be safe for work.  Unless of course you're a climate scientist.



(H/T to Tina Dupuy.)