Molly Ivins Reveals a Truth: "Al Gore is all we've got" Molly Ivins makes some good points about the media's role in the global warming disaster and how one man stands between armageddon and Earth's redemption: The political fight over global warming is over, except in the Bush administration, which has some weird problem with science in general. I’m still not sure what’s behind that: I recall Rush Limbaugh and the radio right taking great glee in pooh-poohing the Kyoto treaty and the whole idea of global warming. Maybe they associated global warming with Canadians or something equally awful. * * * The shame for journalism is that it has always been so easy to expose those few “scientific” voices claiming there is nothing to global warming. When the money for “scientific research” on such a subject comes from oil companies, skepticism is required. Instead, many “journalists” let the bullies on the right cow us with the “liberal media” nonsense and reported there was “a debate” over global warming. There was no debate. The only question is how fast it’s happening. And the answer that keeps coming up is “faster than we thought. And still faster.” Time magazine, in its warm and fuzzy way, proposes that capitalism can solve much of the problem of global warming—Henry Luce would be so proud. Can’t you see it now? Boy, I’ll bet those titans can hardly wait to cut into next quarter’s profits. The insurance industry, for obvious reasons of its own, has long taken global warming seriously. By simply refusing to insure housing or enterprises near low shores, insurance can make quite a difference. It’s true the United States could make a good thing out of specializing in green energy and green technology—but we are still living with an administration that subsidizes the oil industry. The question is where the political leadership is going to come from before we reach the Panic Point, before Miami Beach sinks underwater, before Wall Street needs a seawall. Al Gore is all we’ve got, and the right wing is still prepared to dismiss him with contempt and ridicule, not because he’s wrong but because they’d rather talk about the time he was supposedly advised to wear earth tones. As the Earth drifts toward crisis, our president does not yet seem capable of grasping even the First Rule of Holes. We’re in one, and it is time to quit digging. The only thing I would add is that the reason the Republican party wishes to dismiss Al Gore so dishonestly and viciously is because they know that he is the only man aiming to end their wholesale for-profit destruction of the Earth. I again call on readers of this blog to send Al Gore a letter begging him to run for President in 2008. It might be the most important thing you do in your lifetime. The alternative is a mushy, pro-corporate Democrat runs for office and the issue of global warming gets as throughly ignored as it did in the last election. The future of the Earth depends on this man, as dramatic as that sounds. Here's his address: The Office of the Honorable Al Gore 2100 West End Avenue Nashville, TN 37203 Phone: (615) 327-2227 Fax: (615) 327-1323