So what exactly is National Review Online‘s blog Planet Gore, and why is PG such a unique combination of disinformation and (unintentional) entertainment that I’ve started PGDW (Planet Gore Disinfotainment Watch)?

We can find the answer in PG’s very first post, “Welcome to Planet Gore, NRO’s Global Warming Blog,” by Peter Suderman on February 14 (how sweet) of this year. I’ll give the entire post since we, unlike the global warming Denyers, work very hard not to take words and phrases out of context:

From Al Gore and Laurie David to the UN’s IPCC report and Nancy Pelosi’s special global warming committee, global warming is one of the most talked-about and contentious public policy issues of the day. We are constantly told, as Rep. Henry Waxman recently claimed, that “it is one of the most important public policy issues facing our nation and the world.” But the hyped-up rhetoric doesn’t always accurately reflect the complexity of the issue. That’s where Planet Gore comes in. NRO has gathered a team of experts to report and comment on the myriad scientific and economic issues surrounding the global warming debate. So check back regularly for informed news and views about climate change, alternative energy, environmental activism, and of course, Al Gore’s carbon footprint [emphasis added for your entertainment].

Whoa. A whole “team of experts.” Perhaps this team of experts could actually include an example of “hyped-up rhetoric” in their inaugural post. The only quote they give is Waxman’s, which is hardly much rhetorical hype, unless PG’s expert would have us believe that global warming is very talked about and contentious, but not important. If so, why bring in a whole team of experts for a blog on an unimportant subject? This kind of illogic is standard fare on PG, as we’ll see.

Ironically, PG is itself a source of hyped-up rhetoric. In the first post I have already debunked–written just one (!) day after this post–PG uses the phrase “global warming Chicken Littles.” Is that phrase a genuine effort to “accurately reflect the complexity of the issue”? Or is it hypocritical hype?

A report issued by the Chinese government, to be released in full this year, finds that China can expect global warming to intensify instances of extreme weather that will likely slash the country’s grain production.

This puts China at a difficult crossroad. It is the world’s second largest energy user, 80 percent of which comes from coal, and by 2010, the Chinese will probably be the world’s leading emitter of carbon dioxide.

Faced with mounting scientific evidence, President Hu Jintao recognizes that his country must work to save energy, but it also wants to maintain its economic development and feed its growing population.

This spells out bad news for the climate, since land previously used to make biofuel may convert back to grow grain for food. But don’t forget that China is also about to replace Japan as the second largest automobile market, meaning that without the biofuel advances, China is poised to add even more greenhouse gases.

China is sending and receiving mixed signals, thus wrestling with a handful of issues bound to dominate the political arena in the coming decades: climate change, energy, development, agricultural sustainability, et cetera.

However, these are not issues that can be dodged in any sense. The economy will eventually pay for its inaction, and so changes must parallel development. The more that coal-fired plants and vehicles are allowed to emit greenhouse gases and impact the climate, then the worse the climate will bide for grain production, for biofuel and food.

EarthBeat Radio this week examines the scientific and political implications of new research that finds Arctic ice is disappearing far faster than previously estimated. The Arctic may be ice free (see figure on right) during the summer — something the Earth has not seen for over a million years — within your lifetime!

Host Mike Tidwell speaks to experts from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and WWF, as well as to Climate Progress. The entire show is well worth a listen if you want the latest on the scientific and political implications of an ice-free Arctic. More about NSIDC’s dramatic new findings can be found here.

Billions of Dollars Pledged to Cut Urban Energy Use – New York Times. Quotable quote: “Increasing energy efficiency is a first crucial step towards solving the climate-energy problem.”

Antarctic Snow Melted Across California-Sized Area, NASA Says – Bloomberg.com and Antarctic surface thaw ‘most significant’ in 30 years – New Scientist. The disintegration of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) would raise sea levels globally by 20 feet. Note: The WAIS is fundamentally far less stable than the Greenland ice sheet because most of it is grounded far below sea level (for more on this, see Chapter Four of Hell and High Water).

Europe Lags, China Catches Up in Clean Energy Race -Reuters. We still lead in promoting innovation, at least with venture capital, if not at the federal level.