I call it lying

Movies I want to see:

Thank You for Smoking.

Movies (or rather short video clips) I want you to see.

"Carbon dioxide. They call it pollution. we call it life."

Although I remember hearing an interview with the "Thank You For Smoking" creator, I had no idea it would be such a fun movie (check the web site).

I was reminded of it when I saw a link to it on Real Climate, which also reminds us of this classic Doonesbury comic about the white-house "situational science advisor".

Situational science is about respecting both sides of a scientific argument - not just the ones supported by facts.

The article was in response to a set of ads that appear to be parody (what else could they be) but in fact they are a real attempt to convince people that increasing CO2 emissions is a good thing?!??!?!?!?!?!

CO2: We Call it Life:

There's something in the air that you can't see. it's essential to life... it comes from animal life, the oceans, the earth, and the fuels we find in it...

The fuels that produce CO2 have freed us from back-breaking labor...

Carbon dioxide. They call it pollution. we call it life.

As Real Climate: Thank you fro emitting points out (more details at The Island of Doubt).

They only discuss one scientific point which relates to whether 'glaciers are melting'. Unsurprisingly, they don't discuss the dramatic evidence of tropical glacier melting, the almost worldwide retreat of other mountain glaciers, the rapid acceleration of fringing glaciers on Greenland or the Antarctic peninsula.

...

The only studies that they highlight are ones which demonstrate that in the interior of the ice shelves, there is actually some accumulation of snow (which clearly balances some of the fringing loss). These studies actually confirm climate model predictions that as the poles warm, water vapor there will increase and so, in general, will precipitation. (emphasis mine) In the extreme environments of the central ice sheets, it will not get warm enough to rain and so snowfall and accumulation are expected to increase.

Even if you disregard the science, and try to use the "common sense" approach I assume the ad makers are going for, they make no sense - at least none that is common to me. As one commenter puts it:

I do like that nice spin about CO2 though - "we breathe it out and plants breathe it in."

Of course, we require water to live as well. On the other hand, drop yourself in seven feet of the stuff and you won't last too long. You can also get very sick and die if you drink too much of it and wash all of the vital salts out of your body.

I constantly find myself wondering how the people involved in producing things like this live with themselves.

I mean, it's one thing to be working for Ford, maybe the guy who controls the machine that paints the SUV... at least if that guy says "Just doin' my job" it is credible. - But the people who conceived of, wrote, directed, and did the voice over in these videos??? There is no excuse but for blatant lying. They can't really believe what they are saying or they would not have been so careful to conceal the real findings of the report... And although I understand how the "organization" could be fine with creating such bullshit, but an organization is made of people - and I'm pretty dang sure those people are not poor. They most likely have every opportunity to make an honest living.

So what happened to make these people like this?