If you have been feeling at all confused of late about all of the newfound media and right wing blog chatter about the “debate” surrounding climate change, then I invite you to visit the desmogblog.  Several weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending a conference where one of the keynote speakers was James Hoggan.  In his preamble to his presentation Hoggan described himself as a fairly conservative fellow who found himself intrigued by some of the “spin” that he was reading in the media regarding the issue of man induced global warming.  Hoggan knows a little about how to spot spin.  He is the owner of James Hoggan and Associates, one of Vancouver’s largest and most respected public relations firms. 

Hoggan’s next step was to do something that few pajama wearing right wing commentators on the subject of global warming have done; he did the research himself.  He noted during the presentation that there isn’t a single peer reviewed study on the side of the climate deniers and over 1100 others that support the hypothesis that humans are impacting the atmosphere and driving temperatures up.  Most interestingly, Hoggan looked at where the climate denial sound bites and “studies” were originating from.  On the desmogblog he has compiled relevant documents showing that the denial campaign comes largely from several groups that are not unfamiliar.  They are in fact the same bunch who were leading the charge to convince the public that there was “no scientific evidence that cigarettes cause cancer”, for example.  His site contains a plethora of credible information about the spin campaigns that these groups have waged as well as who is ultimately behind them. 

The site is a great reference point for unmasking the campaign of disinformation that these groups are conducting.  Interestingly, many of the experts that the denial campaign engage and almost all of their sound bites can be found on most of your neighborhood right wing blogs who discuss the issue of man made global warming.  Suckers!