The Problems with Al Gore (Excellent!)

American Thinker ^ | May 09, 2010 | David Deming

[neverdem]

There are two problems with Al Gore.  First, he's a demagogue who lacks an appreciation for the ethics and methods of science.  Second, he's a not a scientist, but a celebrity and politician who does not understand the technical aspects of science.  Put succinctly, the man simply doesn't know what he's talking about.  But Gore is now advising the world on complex technical issues related to energy and climate.  That's a problem for the human race.

As described in my book, Science and Technology in World History, Vol. 1, what we know as modern science began in ancient Greece in the 6th century BC. The Greek philosophers embraced intellectual freedom, open discussion, and critical analysis.  Pupils were not only allowed to question and criticize their teachers, but were encouraged to do so.  Debate was elevated by Plato and his students to the science of dialectic.  In the Platonic Dialogue, Timaeus, it is noted that anyone who can present a better plan "shall carry off the palm, not as an enemy, but as a friend."

But Al Gore refuses to debate his critics.  He has repeatedly dodged a debate with Christopher Monckton.  Instead of engaging skeptics in reasoned discussions, Gore has relentlessly demonized those who disagree with him.  In a series of infamous character assassinations, he has stated that people who are skeptical of the hysterical global warming scenario he has been promoting (and profiting from) are comparable to the lunatic fringe that believes the Apollo Moon landings were filmed on a movie stage.  He has also compared global warming skeptics to people who believe the Earth is flat.

Scientific issues like climate change are not morality plays.  Scientists are objective and tentative.  To be a scientist is to be skeptical.  Science is never "settled," because there can be no finality in any empirical system of knowledge.  Only God has all the data.  Scientists employ multiple working hypotheses. They work together cooperatively, eager to have their mistakes pointed out to them, so as to advance a disinterested search for truth.

One of the finest examples of this ethic is found in a letter written by Robert Hooke to Isaac Newton on January 20, 1676.  Hooke told Newton, "I have a mind very desirous of and very ready to embrace any truth that shall be discovered though it may much thwart and contradict any opinions or notions I have formerly embraced."  Why was Hooke eager to have his errors pointed out?  Because, he explained, "my aim is the discovery of truth," therefore "I can endure to hear objections."

But Al Gore can endure no objections. His aim is not to find truth, but to tendentiously assemble and present information so as to mislead.  An example of Gore's dissembling is found in the film, An Inconvenient Truth.  One of the most memorable scenes in An Inconvenient Truth is the unveiling of a startling graph that shows a strong correlation between carbon dioxide and temperature over the last several hundred thousand years.  Gore then states "when there's more carbon dioxide the temperature gets warmer."  Because the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is now relatively high, the audience is led to believe that a drastic rise in global temperature is imminent.

But carbon dioxide does not determine temperature the way that Gore suggests.  On the contrary, temperature controls carbon dioxide by modulating its release and absorption from the oceans.  The temperature changes found in the ice core data cannot be caused by carbon dioxide changes, because the increases in atmospheric temperature precede increases in carbon dioxide by several hundred years.

The Earth's oceans contain more than fifty times the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.  Carbon dioxide is more soluble in cold water.  As the oceans warm, they release carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.  When the oceans cool, they absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.  The science is no more complex than noting that a warm coke has more fizz than a cold one.  Temperature controls carbon dioxide, not the other way around.

A film like An Inconvenient Truth is carefully scripted and checked for errors. Al Gore can be made to appear as if he knows the science. But a recent television interview [Video] was more revealing.  Promoting geothermal energy, Gore said that the temperature in the interior of the Earth is "several million degrees." But it isn't. It's not even close.

Since people first started lowering thermometers into boreholes in the nineteenth century, we have known that the temperature of the Earth's core is no more than several thousand degrees Celsius.  The temperature at the inner-outer core boundary is constrained by a phase transition to be in the neighborhood of 6000 °C.  More to the point, the temperature of near-surface rocks in geothermal areas is typically hundreds of °C.  At temperatures exceeding 1000 °C in the Earth's crust, rock begins to melt.  So Gore was wrong by at least a factor of a thousand, or by one-hundred-thousand percent.

Gore's blithe and erroneous characterization of the Earth's internal temperature was not an insignificant slip of the tongue.  Widespread development of geothermal energy is not feasible precisely because Earth's internal temperatures are not as high as Gore believes.  That is why the practical exploitation of geothermal energy is limited to areas like Iceland, a country that virtually sits on top of a volcano.

After declaring that temperatures inside the Earth are "several million degrees," Gore claimed that we have "new drill bits that don't melt in that heat."  How can anyone be so remarkably ignorant as to think we have metallurgical techniques capable of producing drill bits that don't melt in temperatures of "several million degrees?"

Gore then made the stunning assertion that geothermal resources in the US alone are so enormous that they could meet our entire energy needs for 35,000 years.  Is it not remarkable that we ignore such a vast, unexploited source of energy?  Is it not astonishing that generations of scientists and engineers have failed to recognize the potential for withdrawing virtually limitless amounts of free energy from the Earth?

If the promise of geothermal energy sounds too good to be true, the reason is that it's not true.  The United States gets less than one percent of its energy from geothermal sources.  Extracting geothermal energy is inherently an inefficient process because you have to work against the Second Law of Thermodynamics.  It's easy to turn mechanical energy into heat, but difficult to efficiently reverse the process.  Geothermal energy production is limited to exceptional areas like Iceland precisely because the high temperatures necessary are found only in a very few locations.

Al Gore may not know what he's talking about, but he's not alone.  The world is full of ignorant people. As a college professor, I interact constantly with students, many of whom are very concerned with global warming.  But in my interactions I have invariably found that the more science a student knows, the more skeptical they are of the standard global warming alarmist scenario.  Students majoring in engineering or physics have some appreciation for the scientific method and the uncertainties involved in understanding and predicting climate change.  Unlike Gore, they also understand that the ability to develop alternative energy sources is limited by the laws of physics and chemistry, not political willpower.

Students who buy into global warming alarmism are almost always from non-technical majors such as journalism.  They can't think quantitatively, critically, or analytically.  They have beliefs, but no interest in or appreciation for facts.  Accordingly, they are almost completely ignorant of any relevant facts. Their minds are immature and their thought processes undisciplined.  They don't understand the difference between fact and opinion.  One student recently told me that we have to stop using oil because global warming was caused by the heat given off by the combustion of fossil fuels.

Human beings must acquire some education and knowledge before they can begin to develop an appreciation for the extent of their own ignorance.  But these global warming alarmists know nothing, and therefore believe they understand everything.

If I have been too hard on Mr. Gore, I ought to close by noting that ignorance is the normal human condition, intelligence the exception.  Al Gore is not the only person who doesn't understand science.  US President Barack Obama takes advice from Gore. And a group of Norwegian politicians recently distinguished themselves by awarding Nobel Prizes to both Gore and Obama.  As Nobel Prize recipients, Gore and Obama have joined an elite group that includes Portuguese physician Egas Moniz.  In 1949, Moniz was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine for devising an innovative procedure known as the frontal lobotomy.  It seems fitting that Gore and Obama are grouped with Moniz, since their apparent goal is to lobotomize human civilization.

David Deming is a geophysicist and associate professor of arts and sciences at the University of Oklahoma.  He is the author of Science and Technology in World History, Volume 1.

[neverdem]

Human beings must acquire some education and knowledge before they can begin to develop an appreciation for the extent of their own ignorance. But these global warming alarmists know nothing, and therefore believe they understand everything.

Serial money quotes that could have closed the essay, although I liked the subsequent comparison with Dr. Moniz.

[Daveinyork]

Al Gore (Senior and Junior) was funded by Stlain’s man Armand Hammer. What else do we need to know?

[steelyourfaith]

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[Matchett-PI]

bttt

[Bhoy]

Gore in Monterey CA 5/17/10

Monterey - May 17 - 7:00pm - Stop the GoreBull - No Cap & Trade - Counter protest against Global Warming -Al Gore to speak at the Golden State Theatre. Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St, Monterey, CA 93940 (831) 372-4555

I’ll be there w/signs ..

[highlander_UW]

Al Gore is to science what the Taliban is to comparative religion studies.

[neverdem]

Liberty and the Supreme Court - What would the Founders make of a modern Supreme Court declaration that liberty is “the right to define one’s own concept of existence”?

The Marbury Myth - John Marshall’s famous decision does not support judicial supremacy.

The New Despotism of Bureaucracy: While the era of big government rages back, the tyranny of administration is just getting under way.

Mark Steyn: Faisal Shahzad, Subprime Terrorist?

Some noteworthy articles about politics, foreign or military affairs, IMHO, FReepmail me if you want on or off my list.

[bray]

egore gets a Frontal Libotomy, sweet!

Pray for America

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Al Gore is a fraud and as a direct result is a multimillionaire living a life beyond the wildest dreams of the rest of us. Let that be a lesson to your children teach them to get frequent media coverage, take a lie, make it big enough, repeat it often enough and people will believe them.

[MNJohnnie]

Al Gore is to science what the Taliban is to comparative religion studies.

Brilliant!

[BOBTHENAILER]

Multitudes of kudos to you. Protest that SOB.

Now we hear about his $9 million dollar ocean front mansion (what's he gonna do about living in luxury when the oceans rise 100 feet in 10 years?

[Liz]

Spotlight on Gore ‘s Dual Role As an Advocate and Investor
New York Times, Nov 3, 2009, By JOHN M. BRODER

Abstract: Al Gore finds himself in position of having to defend decision to invest, through his venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, in Silver Spring Networks, which produces hardware and software to make electricity grid more efficient.

Gore and his partners invested $75 million in Silver Spring, which wanted to expand its partnerships with utilities seeking to install millions of smart meters in home and businesses; deal appears to have paid off now that Energy Dept has announced $3.4 billion in smart grid grants, with $560 million going to Silver Spring.

Gore and his partners could reap great returns from investment and he is defending that investment against critics who say he stood to benefit personally from energy and climate policies he urged Congress to adopt. Gore contends his investment activities are consistent with his public advocacy. (snip)

Gore is a founder of Generation Investment Management, based in London and run by David Blood, a former head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management (the firm was quickly dubbed Blood and Gore).

Mr. Gore earns a partner’s salary at Kleiner Perkins. He has substantial personal finances invested at both firms, officials of the companies said. He also serves as an adviser to high-profile technology companies including Apple and Google, relationships that have paid him handsome dividends over the last eight years.

Mr. Gore‘s spokeswoman would not give a figure for his current net worth, but the scale of his wealth is evident in a single investment of $35 million in Capricorn Investment Group, a private equity fund started by his friend Jeffrey Skoll, the first president of eBay. Ion Yadigaroglu, a co-founder of Capricorn, said that Mr. Gore does not sit on the fund’s investment committee, but obviously agrees with the partners’ strategy of putting long-term money into promising ventures in energy, technology and health care around the globe.

“Aspirationally,” said Mr. Yadigaroglu, who holds a doctorate from Stanford in astrophysics, “we’re trying to make more money than others doing the same thing and do it in a way that is superior in ethics and impacts.”

Mr. Gore has said he invested in partnerships and funds that try to identify and support companies that are advancing cutting-edge green technologies and are paving the way toward a low-carbon economy.

He has a stake in the world’s pre-eminent carbon credit trading market and in an array of companies in bio-fuels, sustainable fish farming, electric vehicles and solar power.

Capricorn holds a major stake in Falcon Waterfree Technologies, the world’s leading maker of waterless urinals. Generation has holdings in Ausra, a solar energy company based in California, and Camco, a British firm that develops carbon dioxide emissions reduction projects.

Kleiner Perkins has a green ventures fund with nearly $1 billion invested in renewable energy and efficiency concerns.

Mr. Gore also has substantial interests in technology, media and biotechnology ventures that have no direct tie to his environmental advocacy, an aide said. (snip).

SOURCE http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/business/energy-environment/03gore.html

[The Duke]

Al Gore is the very definition of the word “buffoon”.

[newfreep]

OwlGore, inventor of such hits as Global Warming and the Internet, continues to do his best at putting the "hip" in hypocrite. Owl's new oceanfront $9M home...I guess the oceans' will not be rising soon.

[ripley]

Mr. Gore is so brilliant that he has only to devote one nano-second of his tremendous intellectual power to a problem and it is solved.

All that the world has to do is trust in his absolute and total genius and everything will be perfect.

Now, the the congress to pass cap-and-trade, which is his brilliant brainchild, and the world will be made safe for eternal rule by progressives.

amen.

/s/

IMHO

[Chode]

listen... warming, cooling, it was 50/50. so i took a shot!!!

Ohh WOE is me... whys everybody always pickin on me???

[Logic n' Reason]

Make no mistake; I really liked reading this post!!!!!

However, I have a few large problems with it.

1. Posting it on here doesn't do "the left" any good at all. They'll never read it. (However, even if they did read it, I'm pretty sure that it wouldn't change any mindsets.)
Those who use belief in the place of logical arguement or scientific fact do not and will not THINK.

2. This article should be blazened across the front pages of all major newspapers. The front page, because it is news; it is not opinion and does not belong on the oped page where it can be dismissed.

3. A debate challenge should be issued by the scientific community for the purpose of debating the issue of "mankind caused climate change", "global warming" and other present day scientific hoaxes. This debate should be televised worldwide. algore, m. moore, obammer, and others of this ilk should be invited to attend either as participants, or hopefully, as learners.

4. The folks who offer the Nobel prizes should recall those given to the two undeserving idiots (gore and obammer). Of course, the money isn't the issue. But the re-establishment of credibility of the Nobel committee certainly is, because right now, they have none.

[truthguy]

Al Gorlioni!

This information about the fraud Al Gore will come as no surprise to most of us. What the writer in this article says, I've said myself to friends and colleagues. So there's nothing new here for me. I've posted these things on FR and on other sites. This writer has 10X the writing ability that I have and this article is excellent. I'd encourage all freepers to send this article to your friends and family members who just might put some credence in what Gorlioni says.

[RandallFlagg]

Bookmarking

[layman]

I’m going to cut Algore some slack here because I think he can’t help himself .... I honestly believe he is insane.