Al Gore on fracking

[limpyhobbler]

http://www.wamc.org/post/al-gore-cuomo-has-tough-decision-make-fracking

[wtmusic]

1. Coincidentally, al-Jazeera has a problem with fracking

http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/americas-fracking-problem-0022005

Not that fracking is reducing dependence on Mideast oil, or the mouthpiece for Mideast oil is al-Jazeera, or al-Jazeera recently put $70 mllion in Al Gore's pocket.

You'd have to be a conspiracy theorist to see any connection there.

[limpyhobbler]

2. So you disagree with what Al Gore said there?

[wtmusic]

3. I disagree with the emphasis.

Al thought fossil fuels were the problem in 2008, but he seems to have warmed to high-quality Mideast crude.

[limpyhobbler]

4. Oh, the emphasis is just coming from the way the quote is framed in the graphic.

I don't think he changed his views on fossil fuel after selling his station to Al Jeezera. Actually their climate coverage is alot better than MSNBC, NPR or CNN. You're right to be skeptical of course, and to question where his money comes from.

To me it still seems like Al Gore has a lot of credibility as a visible spokesman on the climate issue. There probably isn't a better public spokesperson on the issue. Everyone knows him, he's taken seriously, actually got elected President once, etc. As long as he is advocating correct issues, I hope we're not going to smear his credibility on climate issues just because he collected one ginormous paycheck by selling his TV station. If he actually does something to warrant it, that's understandable. But just making a comment against fracking doesn't mean he's defending or promoting oil. ymmv

[wtmusic]

5. Time will tell.

Al keeps touting the quality of al Jazeera's coverage, but how can they possibly portray global warming in an objective light?

"The original Al Jazeera channel was started in 1 November 1996 by an emiri decree with a loan of 500 million Qatari riyals (US$137 million) from the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa. By its funding through loans or grants rather than direct government subsidies, the channel claims to maintain independent editorial policy."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_jazeera

If they're maintaining independence, I sure don't see it in energy reporting:

"Is oil the future of energy?

For the first time in its history, the Middle East is hosting the World Petroleum Congress. The 5,000 participants gathered in the Qatari capital, Doha, will be talking about the most pressing issues facing the energy sector today.

The last congress was held in Madrid in 2008, and much has changed since then.

With the Middle East undergoing a wave of political upheaval, the emir of Qatar was quick to reassure the world's biggest consumers that energy supplies will continue to flow."

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2011/12/201112664117686964.html

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. I have to say

I started watching Al Jazeera English back during the Arab Spring, when I was pretty sure things were not quite the love fest the “Network News” made them out to be.

Their reporting is really rather good.

How about their reporting on Climate Change? (Judge for yourself.)
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%22climate+change%22+site%3Aaljazeera.com

[wtmusic]

10. I have to agree with you

That reporting is better than what I've seen in the past.

[CRH]

11. On Al Jazeera's coverage, ...

I've been following it since the lead up to the Gulf War II. I have used it as, 'the other side of the story', when I was skeptical of the spin in the NYT, WaPo, CNN, FOX, BBC, etc. The reporting at Al Jazeera more often than not is more complete, less censored, and less ideologically spun than US news conglomerates. Check out the climate change articles that have been published on the Al Jazeera's site. You will notice quite a few that never appeared on CNN, Fox, BBC, and never completely published in WaPo or the NYT.

[joshcryer]

9. That's quite a leap.

Oil demand is going up in China and India so the United States' improved production of oil won't affect the price that much (I initially thought it might bring it down but in retrospect it's not going to have an appreciable effect).

al-Jazeera tends to attract free form journalists who give their own opinion rather than the dry kind of newswire opinion. If there's information that they want to manipulate it's usually by simply not reporting on that information (for instance, the Qatar protests). I think ultimately they have a lot more freedom as reporters to report on things and they tend to have an anti-authoritarian, left wing bent to them. Qatar is going to be increasingly democratic in a few more months (though the monarchy will have a say, the people will be able to elect representatives) and it'll be interesting to see people bash al-Jazeera for its reporting as a figurehead for the state then.

[quadrature]

7. is AG still hawking carbon offsets? nt

how is the Chicago climate exchange doing these days?

[joshcryer]

8. Interestingly, conventional gas has peaked, and renewables need natural gas.

Guess where renewables get that natural gas (for relatively low cost, high efficiency peaking plants)? That's right, unconventional sources, that rely heavily on fracking.

Funny that.