April's Climate Fool: Marc Morano

The most denying-est denier of all, Marc Morano, former flak to Senator James Inhofe launched a new denialist website this week called Climate Depot (and no, I won't link to it). It promises to give climate the ol' "fair and balanced" treatment, which apparently means the usual denialist dreck mixed in with headlines about Gywneth Paltrow, Hannah Montana, sheep farts, and, of course, lots of about the brave exploits of Mr. Morano himself (including a swashbuckling confrontation of Al Gore at 37,000' that Mr. Gore says he "has no memory of").

(A quick survey of the Green section on Huffington Post as I write this finds no items on sheep farts or Hannah Montana, though one does spy an item on PETA's sexiest vegetarians near the bottom of the page.)

Thankfully you and I, the taxpayers of this country, are no longer paying Morano $134,000 to spew his "lies, mistruths, and half-truths," as your correspondent recently called Morano's organized campaign of disinformation. Who is paying the bill for all of this (including an even bigger salary)? Why, "The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow." The New York Times notes that, like most other elements of the vast climate denial apparatus, CFACT has received funding from ExxonMobil and Richard Mellon Scaife, the living embodiment and progenitor of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. Morano himself is of course no stranger to vast right-wing conspiracies, having been the first "reporter" to give credence to the charges against John Kerry made by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

(I'll leave it to Joe Romm to discuss why today's New York Times profile of Morano, while exposing him as a huckster, is still outrageous.)

The new site promises to be "eco-news on steroids."

And what are some of the side effects of steroids? "Researchers report that users may suffer from paranoid jealousy, extreme irritability, delusions, and impaired judgment stemming from feelings of invincibility."

Sounds about right.

Comments

[Rhetticent]

Josh, I understand that as an environmental advocate and an officer of the Sierra Club, you bring a passion for the environment to this debate. My concern about this ongoing debate is the tendency of climate change supporters to simply attack anyone questioning the science as an idiot or Luddite or worse. Can you not understand that there can be sincere, honest disputes about this matter? We are talking about government action that will add an estimated $4,000 increase in the cost of living to the poorest of Americans, the ones who can least afford the increase. Government is smacking its lips at the thought of a massive new permanent income stream. And even if we enact stringent measures that damage our economy, there will be no meaningful impact on carbon. This is the source of my concern today, and having lived through the ice age scare of the '70's, the population bomb and DDT scares of the '60's, I am now very skeptical of the use of science by politicians.

I too love the outdoors. I praise what you and your organization do. But I worry about the ultimate disservice when the majority realizes they've been sold a bill of goods: do you consider the future financial effects of cap and trade?