Taking some from many...
Recently, an arch-conservative publication, The New York Times, ran a story on how Al Gore is "poised to become the world’s first 'carbon billionaire,' profiteering from government policies he supports that would direct billions of dollars to the business ventures he has invested in."
The bottom line is that his M.O. is to alternately scare the bejeesus out of people on one pass, and then return to money off regulations and such…how’s that Global Warming working out for you now?
For the record, I’m big on the environment. I think we’ve got a holy mandate to be good stewards of the Earth and all its creatures…people who throw litter out their car windows really tick me off…and I think it’s great if you want to ride your bike to work/the store/the orthopedist. And here’s a little secret: I’ve got a certificate from the president that says I’m really good at taking care of the ecosystem. I’m big on swimming, diving and surfing (all in the ocean), so I feel like I have a stake in making sure our water – fresh and salt – is clean. I think businesses can financially benefit from things like energy savings, building smart buildings, and encouraging employees to telecommute. In addition, composting makes for a better garden, illegally dumping toxins should be punished - mightily, and I like saving on gas with my hybrid car.
But I’m no fan of Al Gore. I think he’s a liar, a hypocrite and when it comes to science…well, let’s just say calling it “junk” is being kind.
The latest example of Al’s “dumbed-down” approach to energy came a couple nights ago as he was book-flacking on "The Tonight Show" with Conan O'Brien. For your reading pleasure, I provide the following transcript (the video is here):
O'Brien: Now, what about ... you talk in the book about geothermal energy ...
Gore: Yeah, yeah.
O'Brien: and that is, as I understand it, using the heat that's generated from the core of the Earth ...
Gore: Yeah.
O'Brien: ... to create energy, and it sounds to me like an evil plan by Lex Luthor to defeat Superman. Can you, can you tell me, is this a viable solution, geothermal energy?
Gore: It definitely is, and it's a relatively new one. People think about geothermal energy -- when they think about it at all -- in terms of the hot water bubbling up in some places, but two kilometers or so down in most places there are these incredibly hot rocks, 'cause the interior of the earth is extremely hot, several million degrees, and the crust of the earth is hot ...
According to people schooled in this sort of thing, "The geothermal gradient is usually quoted as 25-50 degrees Celsius per mile of depth in normal terrain (not, e.g., in the crater of Kilauea). Two kilometers down, therefore, (that's a mile and a quarter) you'll have an average gain of 30-60 degrees -- exploitable for things like home heating, though not hot enough to make a nice pot of tea. The temperature at the earth's core, 4,000 miles down, is usually quoted as 5,000 degrees Celsius, though these guys claim it's much less, while some contrarian geophysicists have posted claims up to 9,000 degrees. The temperature at the surface of the Sun is around 6,000 degrees Celsius, while at the center, where nuclear fusion is going on bigtime, things get up over 10 million degrees." So, in short, if the temperature anywhere inside the earth - as per Al - was "several million degrees," we'd be, um, a star. (h/t: Power Line Blog)
And some people wonder why other people question/dispute what Al Gore has to say.
P.S. I wonder what would have happened if a GOPer/skeptic had said something that dumb?
An inconvenient truth - well, at least 35 of them...
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