Apparently while scientists are applauding the attention Al Gore is bringing to the issue of global warming, they're (some of them) concerned about the little details and wish he would cool the hype. It's not clear whether this article is the typical bashing that's been aimed in the direction of Al Gore and his movie An Inconvenient Truth, bashing that says he's full of bunk or that there is a legitimate debate going on. The article is in the mold of cover the controversy which is the tactic used by, for example, those pushing the Intelligent Design concept to establish some credibility for themselves when very few scientists buy into those ideas. By covering the debate the news media helps to establish in the publics mind that a debate exists when the debate may not be very strong or well thought of.
The statements sound very nice ... that they're concerned Al Gore is going "beyond the science". That's a real and legitimate concern alright. Would Al Gore, in the quest for publicity, go to creating a controversy to help him ride the wave of publicity? I don't know about that, but what I do know is there's an alarming series of news articles I've seen about environmental problems. Problems that threaten the survival of all of us, and are scary enough in consequence that we should be thinking of solutions now rather than debating. The solutions for the problems unfolding before us will take years to have a serious effect, making time of the essence.
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