The Gleick Affair

I'm surprised there's been as much coverage as there has of famed climate change Believer, Peter Gleick, having been caught with his hands in the proverbial cookie jar. He's admitted to fraudulently obtaining documents regarding fundraising from the Heartland Institute.

Outspoken Believers are usually media heroes, but I suppose a story is a story. Still, it's no surprise most mainstream media would do their best to put Gleick in the best possible light.

The Times- Standard even covered it, although they published the story the San Jose Mercury News ran on Tuesday. Their take on it being that Gleick was simply a heroic genius trying to do the right thing and just made an error in judgement.

The Sacramento Bee ran an editorial pretty much along the same lines- the hero made a mistake. They're catching hell over it in the comments. All but a few comments take an opposite view. The few supporting the Bee's editorial are the usual You don't know what you're talking about....You must work for the oil company sort of thing. The universal Believer's reply.

The San Francisco Chronicle's Debra Saunders pointed out that Gleick's insistence that he was simply frustrated over "efforts by skeptics to prevent this debate" was bogus. Apparently the Heartland Institute had invited Gleick to debate the issue but he refused
(I understand Al Gore has never accepted an invitation to debate the issue, either).

CLS, over at the Classically Liberal blog, makes what I think is a good case that Gleick might be guilty of forgery, as well. He suggests Gleick created and printed one document by himself. His idea of what went down is a fun read.

As to what should be done about Gleick, I'm ambivalent. I first thought it might be best if Heartland Institute let him simmer in his own juices, but otherwise leave him alone. Now I'm thinking jail time might be appropriate, assuming they can prove he forged the document, but I won't lose any sleep over it either way.