Convenient Untruths

In his recent “Short Takes” segment, Mark Hyman adds to greenhouse gas emissions with his own stinky emanations of fact-free flatulence.

First, he calls “An Inconvenient Truth” Al Gore’s “campaign film” (suggesting a propagandistic motive to undercut its ethos). In fact, Gore has said he doesn’t plan on running for president. Apparently winning one presidential election was enough for him.

Second, he says the film blames America for global warming. It does not. It suggests it is a world-wide problem, although Gore does point out that the U.S. contributes far more than its fair share of greenhouse gases.

Third, he says that Gore claims the global warming catastrophe is “right around the corner.” He does not. He shows, with hard facts, that the catastrophe is already happening.

Fourth, he says that Gore claims China leads the world in environmentalism. This is a lie. Gore makes no such claim. In fact, he points out that China is becoming a growing environmental problem.

What he *does* point out is that, ironically, China’s standards for automobile emissions are tighter than those in the U.S. While they still lag behind much of the rest of the world, they’re still ahead of us. In fact, the U.S. can’t sell its cars to much of the world because they don’t meet emissions standards even in countries which, like China, are hardly aggressive when it comes to environmental standards.

My guess is that Hyman hasn’t seen “An Inconvenient Truth.” He should. If you ever had any doubts about the reality or the seriousness of the global warming problem, the film uses straightforward and incontrovertible facts to lay out the case.

And that’s the Short Take Counterpoint.