Have we inhabited Mars yet? If so, can someone send up soon-to-be-presidential candidate Fred Thompson? Please.
As MediaMatters is reporting today, the Washington Post ran the following Thompson quote today:
It seems scientists have noticed recently that quite a few planets in our solar system seem to be heating up a bit, including Pluto. This has led some people, not necessarily scientists, to wonder if Mars and Jupiter, non signatories to the Kyoto Treaty, are actually inhabited by alien SUV-driving industrialists who run their air-conditioning at 60 degrees and refuse to recycle..."
Post writer John Solomon doesn't point out in the article that scientists have determined that the cause of current warming on Mars is something entirely different from what we're seeing on Earth.
But does he really have to?
Are Americans going to want a President that openly mocks the current scientific evidence for human-caused global warming? Probably not. While it may not be the biggest issue in the follow-up to the 2008 elections, it's on people's minds and they're concerned.
Maybe if science is proven wrong and there are in fact "SUV-driving industrialists" on Mars, Thompson could jump on his campaign rocket and run for President there. And by the looks of the other news out of the Thompson campaign today, it looks like members of the Bush family would pony up for the rocket fuel.
Democracy is utterly dependent upon an electorate that is accurately informed. In promoting climate change denial (and often denying their responsibility for doing so) industry has done more than endanger the environment. It has undermined democracy.
There is a vast difference between putting forth a point of view, honestly held, and intentionally sowing the seeds of confusion. Free speech does not include the right to deceive. Deception is not a point of view. And the right to disagree does not include a right to intentionally subvert the public awareness.
This post is the second of a two part series. Read the first installment, Unreported Emissions From Natural Gas Blow Up BC's Climate Action Plan.
Methane leaks from British Columbia's natural gas industry are likely at least 7 times greater than official numbers increasing the entire provinces' carbon footprint by nearly 25%. That's like putting 3 million more vehicles on BC's roads.
As...
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