George Monbiot, the Guardian’s straight-shooting environmental columnist, today unveiled the winner of the second annual (and final, if Monbiot can resist the urge to dole it out next year) Christopher Booker prize, given to the “journalist” who most flagrantly ignores facts in favor of cramming the greatest number of thoroughly debunked climate denier claims into a single entry.
This year’s winner, John Tomlinson, a columnist for the Flint Journal in Michigan, managed to cram an impressive 38 misleading statements into a piece only 805 words long, a rate of one misleading statement per 21 words. All in direct response to Monbiot's earlier criticism of Tomlinson's distorted columns.
Tomlinson managed to beat “his own provisional world record for density: the ratio of falsehoods to words,” by cramming more climate denial into one piece than his previous effort earlier in the year which contained 18 errors in just 486 words, a rate of one error per 26 words.
Monbiot writes:
"No one now had a hope of beating him. Or, to be more accurate, I wasn't prepared to go through all that again. Recording and rebutting 38 falsehoods was so time-consuming and soul-destroying that I didn't want to find another challenger. I'd had no idea what I was letting myself in for.
How did he manage it? By cobbling together just about every well-trodden climate change myth he could find on the web and compressing them into the smallest possible space; rather like those people who try to write a book on a postage stamp."
And what does Mr. Tomlinson win along with this dubious distinction?
The trophy pictured above - a truly magnificent piece of art made of recycled materials - and three bars of Kendal mint cake, a sugary British candy used on many expeditions around the world as a source of energy.
Why the candy? Well, in his typically irreverent style, Monbiot urges the winner of the Booker prize to “embark on the holiday of a lifetime” via “a one-way solo kayak trip to the north pole, to see for him or herself the full extent of the Arctic ice melt.”
“With the help of this amazing prize, a fabulous career of even greater obscurity awaits him,” Monbiot predicts.
No word yet on whether Tomlinson will take up the holiday offer.
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.
You don't see this every day. President Barack Obama used Twitter today to call out climate deniers in Congress who are blocking political action to address climate change. 
The tweet links to this video released by Organizing for Action, the 501(c)(4) campaign group that promotes the President's national agenda.
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Comments
How Tomlinson won something....
He robbed more time from Monbiot. He distracted and delayed. Verbal smoke and mirrors. Shameful.