A good post by Realclimate sets the record straight on “Jim Hansen’s now famous congressional testimony given in the hot summer of 1988.”

Who tried to smear Hansen by shamelessly misreporting his testimony? Pat Michaels and Michael Crichton.

This recent Planet Gore post is a perfect example of entertaining disinformation.

According to PG, Laurie David insisted that “no serious peer-reviewed scientist disagrees with [her alarmist global warming claims] anymore.” So what alarmist claims did Laurie David actually make? Here is the transcript of the Anderson Cooper interview that PG links to:

COOPER: Do you still find a lot of skepticism from people in audiences saying, look, is this real? I mean…

DAVID: I think we are finding — you find skepticism, but it’s mostly because they’re misinformed. And that’s one of our goals, to really, you know, get information out there. People — look, the consensus is in, the globe is warming and humans are causing it. The debate is over. And now we need to get that message out to the people.

COOPER: There are those who say, look, some scientists disagree with that.

DAVID: Yes, but they don’t. I mean, no serious peer-reviewed scientist disagrees with this information anymore. Seriously, 2,000 scientists from 150 countries say this is happening, it’s happening now and it’s happening faster than even we thought it….

What PG splices in as “her alarmist global warming claims” is actually the phrase “this information,” which clearly refers to “the consensus is in, the globe is warming and humans are causing it.” Now that is about as non-alarmist as you get. The consensus Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC–a document that must be agreed to word for word by 120 governments–says there is a greater than 90% chance that humans are causing global warming.

But apparently to National Review‘s Planet Gore expert, Chris Horner, the IPCC and its 120 member governments are making alarmist global warming claims that are not peer reviewed. Entertaining disinformation, no?

It just goes to show you that you can’t trust any paraphrasing by PG — and a future post will show that you can’t trust PG’s interpretation of research results.

Deforestation: The hidden cause of global warming – The Independent. Stopping deforestation was all the rage in the 1980s, but sadly deforestation hasn’t slowed–in fact, it has accelerated, according to a recent report. Quotable quote. “If we lose forests, we lose the fight against climate change.”

Climate change: new global plan to tie in worst polluters - The Guardian – Tony Blair believes he is close to persuading George Bush to accept an ambitious plan to bring the world’s greatest polluters into international partnership to fight climate change for the first time. Seriously? Days after Blair announces his resignation? Don’t hold your breath–although holding your breath would be about as effective a way of slowing carbon dioxide emissions as President Bush has ever supported.

Germany’s coal power plans threaten EU climate goal – Reuters – Germany “plans to build 15 new coal-fired plants.” This from the country currently leading EU and G-8 talks on climate change!

Vermont is one of the many states handling court cases centered around carbon dioxide emissions. A district court recently heard testimony from James Hansen of the NASA Goddard Institute and Columbia University.

The case is between automakers and the state, and Hansen testified on behalf of the state. His presentation in court was one among many speeches he has given around the country. According to Hansen, however, the legal declaration he submitted is a “clearer scientific summary” than his talks.

Read his declaration here, and find an accompanying PowerPoint presentation here.