Al Gore’s lifestyle is a test case for the credibility of his gospel — and it fails. The tolerance of Al Gore’s lifestyle by the environmental leadership is a further test — and that test, too, the greens fail.

The average citizen is all too likely to conclude that if Mr. Gore can keep his lifestyle, the average American family can keep its SUV and incandescent bulbs.  If Gore can take a charter flight, I don’t have to take the bus.  If Gore can have many mansions, I can use the old fashioned kind of shower heads that actually clean and toilets that actually flush.  Al Gore looks to the average American the way American greens look to poor people in the third world: hypocritically demanding that others accept permanently lower standards of living than those the activists propose for themselves.

Or, as Glenn Reynolds (H/T, by the way) likes to put it, “I’ll believe that this is a problem when the people me telling me that it’s a problem start acting like it’s a problem.”  – Only, if you’re going to wait for that to happen then I suggest that you pack a lunch.

Moe Lane

What may be the science story of the century is breaking this evening, as heavyweight US solar physicists announce that the Sun appears to be headed into a lengthy spell of low activity, which could mean that the Earth – far from facing a global warming problem – is actually headed into a mini Ice Age.

[snip]

The Sun normally follows an 11-year cycle of activity. The current cycle, Cycle 24, is now supposed to be ramping up towards maximum strength. Increased numbers of sunspots and other indications ought to be happening: but in fact results so far are most disappointing. Scientists at the NSO now suspect, based on data showing decades-long trends leading to this point, that Cycle 25 may not happen at all.

The magic phrase ‘Maunder Minimum’ was used – which suggests that we might be looking at another Little Ice Age.  Which, depending on who you ask, either: caused a bunch of wars; made a bunch of wars much worse than they would have been otherwise; or is not to be mentioned in polite company.  Personally, I was hoping that we’d avoid this: after all, cold is death and heat is life.  Better to be warm and wet, than cold and dry.  But then, I have kids, and I worry that the current short-sighted, willful denial of science by our self-appointed elites may be condemning my children – and everybody else’s – to a future of poverty and dearth.

On the bright side, a colleague of mine suggested that the perfect name for a hypothetical new period of decreased sunspot activity would be the “Gore Minimum.”  In terms of irony alone, that would be perfect.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

The Cubslayer could not be reached for comment.

Moe Lane

*Well, except for pandas.  I’ve long taken the position that that particular species just wants to die.

Isn’t that right, Al Gore?

“It is not a good policy to have these massive subsidies for (U.S.) first generation ethanol,” said Gore, speaking at a green energy business conference in Athens sponsored by Marfin Popular Bank.

The whole thing is fascinating reading: so much so that you have to wonder whether Gore has either been replaced with his Evil Twin, or (more likely) he’s simply heavily invested in second-generation biofuels, which are not made from corn.  If the latter, well, it’d make a certain amount of sense for him to publicly and explicitly no longer care about farmers in Tennessee and Iowa, given that Al Gore is never, ever going to be able to become President ever again…

Moe Lane

PS: If the market can produce a profitable, cost-effective biofuel without government interference, I see no real reason why we cannot put it in our gas tanks.  Note all the qualifiers, there: I have a problem with raising food prices on poor foreigners just so that rich American liberals can feel slightly less sour about automobiles.

PPS: I swear to God, this is the second time today Ed’s hit something that I’ve had hanging out in my drafts folder.  Freaky-deaky.

Moe Lane

PS: He doesn’t get his reputation back.  Yes, it’s quite tragic.  Moving along, Mass Effect 2: do I want this game?  I’ve been resistant. More accurately, my wife has been resistant on my behalf.

And my, but how the media hungry have fallen.  The newspaper calls this speech to a crowd of HR people a ‘rare public appearance’ for the C.S.P.:

Little has been seen of Gore in the past several weeks since confirmed reports of a split with his wife, Tipper, and after allegations surfaced that a 54-year-old masseuse in Oregon reported Gore made unwanted sexual advances toward her in 2006 and accused him of being “a crazed sex poodle.

“While 10News cameras were ushered out of the Convention Center by members of Gore’s camp prior to his speech…

Bolding mine (and as soon as I remember where I saw this first, I’ll H/T it).  Used to be that the most dangerous place in the world to be was to be between the Cubslayer and a video camera.  But one report of begging to have one’s second chakra released, and all of a sudden Al Gore’s imitating Howard Hughes… yeah, I know:  “All of a sudden?”  I mean to say, he’s more public about it now, if you’ll pardon the irony.  Or is that sarcasm?

Moe Lane.

That is precisely the question that the Washington Times is asking at the end of this piece:

Rumors of former Vice President Al Gore’s extramarital affairs have been whispered in D.C. for many years, but fondness for Tipper and loyalty to Gore has protected him. So, the public has been shocked – with many still in denial – by tabloid reports of his infidelities.

The National Enquirer, which gained respect from its breaking the news of John Edwards’ cheating, reported that the Gore divorce was caused by Tipper’s jealousy over other women including “an environmentalist named to a prominent cabinet position by Gore when he was vice president, a sexy Hollywood actress, a gorgeous massage therapist” and “a Tennessee Titans cheerleader.”

Now, it should of course be noted that there is no proof that the Cubslayer has left carbon footprints at any of those habitats.  Yet.  But if you don’t think that the National Enquirer – still smarting over their completely unjustified passing over for a Pulitzer Prize for their John Edwards reporting – isn’t doing its level best to rectify that gap in the fossil record, you don’t know tabloid journalism very well.  Meanwhile, I’m waiting to see what Deceiver.com has to say on the subject: based on past reactions, I presume that it’ll be epic.

Moe Lane

PS: As Emily Miller notes in the Washington Times article above; if this was going on while Al Gore was Vice President, then there was possibly federal money being dedicated to helping the man experience biodiversity.  Which is, ah, kind of illegal.

Crossposted to RedState.

Gore takes cash for water campaign from chemical firm

Al Gore, the self-styled squeakiest-clean and deepest-green politician in American history, has some explaining to do this weekend. His environmental organisation has taken money to raise awareness about the need for clean water from a controversial chemicals company involved in the aftermath of one of the world’s worst pollution disasters.

Dow Chemical, the US firm which now owns the leaking pesticides factory responsible for thousands of deaths in Bhopal, India, is sponsoring Life Earth events in 150 cities today. The event aims to raise money for clean water programmes. Research by environmental organisations has found dangerous levels of highly toxic chemicals in rivers, lakes and other water supplies close to several other factories owned by Dow and its subsidiaries in countries including the United States, Brazil and South Africa.

Or maybe ‘protection.’ Dow Chemical gives Gore money; Gore purifies Dow Chemical with the light of his countenance and his status as head of that strange little sect that he’s created over the last decade. It’s less money than Dow Chemical would need to spend to be in compliance with environmental demands, so everybody wins.

Well, everybody who isn’t simultaneously: in the environmental movement; and, a rube.  Those sorry sad sacks get to stew in silence again while their betters enjoy the good life.  Which is not a particularly attractive a lifestyle to me, but then I’m not a religious fanatic.

Moe Lane

PS: Actually, no, Al Gore will have to do no explaining at all.  Explanations are for those who do not Speak For The Trees.

Crossposted to RedState.

Stupid Al Gore.

Getting snowed in, apparently.

As if on cue with former Vice President Al Gore’s arrival in Copenhagen, the site of the United Nation’s climate summit is expected to receive heavy snowfall and bitter cold temperatures. With a bit of amusement some have pointed to the arrival of the cold weather as an example of the ‘Gore Effect’.

In recent years, the term ‘Gore Effect’ has come to take note of unseasonable weather that seems to accompany the Nobel Laureate or when a significant global warming event is held. Since 2004 these coincidences occur with uncanny frequency.

Well, at least this way Al Gore’s killing less polar bears.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

His financial and psychological investment in this crap is way too deep for him to acknowledge such, ahem, inconvenient truths. The only way to deal with such a massive blow to his ego is to just bull through it. Pretend it’s not happening. He is, to borrow a phrase, a Climategate denier.

Perfect.

Moe Lane

PS: Having listened to Gore, I’m reminded: dag. Triple-digit IQ people believe in this guy? And how long will the CNN guy last at his job?

Crossposted to RedState.

Ace of Spades HQ has the full text of this poem, for those who can’t quite make out my deliberately overwrought screeching. Suffice it to say, this has been one heck of a midlife crisis for Mister Gore.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.