THE TENSION: PETA: Al Gore "Encouraging Bad Science and Making Bad Policy"

Al Gore and Luxembourg's Grand Duke Henri
Open thread:

You'd think there would be some consensus....

What may be important in this story is that it shows what happens when liberal types attempt to link one pet cause (no pun intended) to another. I am left wondering why Gore couldn't just buy some meat offsets and just say he is done with it. In any case, Gore's bulging waistline suggests the former VP and Oscar winner could do with fewer burgers and more veggie salads.

From the PETA blog:

You'd think that we'd cut Al Gore a bit of slack -- after all, if he hadn't invented the Internet in the first place, I'd be scrawling this on a cave wall, or whatever it was that people used to do to disseminate information in the early '90s. The fact is, though, that for all the good he's done for the environment, Al left out a huge piece of the puzzle in his recent documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. This morning, PETA sent Al a letter to remind him that, among other things, animals raised for food generate more greenhouse gases than all cars and trucks combined, and that (according to a recent University of Chicago study), switching to a vegan diet is more effective in countering global warming than switching from a standard American car to a Prius. We've also offered to cook him some faux "fried chicken" as an introduction to meat-free meals, since, however many documentaries you make, you just can't be a meat-eating environmentalist. I'll let you know if he gets back to us.

About the 'Gore No More Campaign' from the PETA site:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the largest animal rights organization in the country, representing more than 600,000 members, today fired a warning shot at Al Gore, launching an aggressive campaign critical of the vice presidents support for the Environmental Protection Agency's unnecessary use of animals in its High Production Volume (HPV) chemical-testing program.

The vice president is encouraging bad science and making bad policy. The results of these crude tests, developed in the 1920s and 1930s, are useless. The vice president is thumbing his nose at the millions of Americans who have believed in his promises to protect the environment and trusted him to protect animals from cruelty, said Jessica Sandler, a former occupational safety expert with the federal government. PETA's frustration with the vice president represents a major crack in his base of support among conservationists, environmentalists, and the general public. One good political stunt deserves another, Sweetland said of the 6-foot-tall PETA Gore-y rabbit, which has dogged Mr. Gore at every campaign stop over the past three months.

Drudge posted the news like this:

PETA TO AL GORE: YOU CAN’T BE A MEAT-EATING ENVIRONMENTALIST
Tue Mar 06 2007 17:08:05 ET

The Most ‘Inconvenient Truth’: According to U.N., Animals Raised for Food Generate More Greenhouse Gases Than All Cars and Trucks Combined

Norfolk, Va. — This morning, PETA sent a letter to former vice president Al Gore explaining to him that the best way to fight global warming is to go vegetarian and offering to cook him faux “fried chicken” as an introduction to meat-free meals. In its letter, PETA points out that Gore’s film, An Inconvenient Truth—which starkly outlines the potentially catastrophic effects of global warming and just won the Academy Award for “Best Documentary”—has failed to address the fact that the meat industry is the largest contributor to greenhouse-gas emissions.

In the letter, PETA points out the following:

· The effect that our meat addiction is having on the climate is truly staggering. In fact, in its recent report “Livestock’s Long Shadow—Environmental Issues and Options,” the United Nations determined that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined.

· Researchers at the University of Chicago have determined that switching to a vegan diet is more effective in countering global warming than switching from a standard American car to a Toyota Prius.

PETA also reminds Gore that his critics love to question whether he practices what he preaches and suggests that by going vegetarian, he could cut down on his contribution to global warming and silence his critics at the same time.

“The single best thing that any of us can do to for our health, for animals, and for the environment is to go vegetarian,” says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. “The best and easiest way for Mr. Gore to show his critics that he’s truly committed to fighting global warming is to kick his meat habit immediately.”