Many of the recent attempts to discredit the science of human-induced climate change have come in the form of challenging Vice-President Al Gore to a public debate. This, of course, is a big red herring when you consider that it is not "Al Gore's science," but instead the conclusion drawn through years of research by thousands of experts.

However, by tagging the scientific evidence that human activity in the form of burning fossil fuels (oil, coal and gas) is causing global warming as "Al Gore's science," right-wing think tanks and fossil fuel friendly front groups have effectively politicized an issue of science (at least in the United States).

The most recent is being mounted former tobacco company lobbyist Steve "the Junkman" Milloy and the fossil-fuel industry backed Business and Media Institute (BMI).

Galling though it is to admit, Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe appears to be having wonderful success in redefining the media conversation about global cooling - I mean, global warming.

As this echo on the Business and Media Institute (BMI) website illustrates, major media are rising to address Inhofe's charge that the current concern over climate change is just another scare story from a media that loves scare stories.

This is a home run for those who seek to confuse people about the science behind climate change. There is no sense of perspective in any of the current coverage, no clear illustration that the global cooling stories of the 1970s were one-off flights of fancy from a clutch of over-eager reporters. There are only big headlines saying, in effect, that this scare story is different from the last scare story - the logical response to which may be to dismiss the whole affair.