esterday, the Washington Post published a "falsehood-laden" op-ed by Sarah Palin attacking the science underpinning climate change. In her piece, Palin cast doubt on the science of global warming, stating that she "recognize[s]" global warming as merely "cyclical environmental trends" that are unrelated to the burning of fossil fuels. Responding to Palin's misinformation about climate change science, Al Gore said yesterday:

    The deniers are persisting in an era of unreality. The entire North Polar ice cap is disappearing before our eyes. What do they think is happening? [...] It's a principle in physics. It's like gravity, it exists.

In turn, Palin responded on her Facebook, writing incredulously:

    However, he's wrong in calling me a 'denier.' As I noted in my op-ed above and in my original Facebook post on Climategate, I have never denied the existence of climate change. I just don't think we can primarily blame man's activities for the earth's cyclical weather changes.

Both claims — that she's never denied climate change and that she's always doubted anthropogenic causes — are untrue. As early as last month, she was indeed denying the existence of climate change. Unable to understand the science, she asked Rush Limbaugh: "Are we warming or are we cooling?" And merely 15 months ago, Palin told voters during the 2008 campaign that human activity is contributing to climate change:

    PALIN: I belive that man's activities can certainly be contributing to the issue of global warming and climate change.



While warming temperatures — caused by the burning of fossil fuels — are prompting the bark beetle to devour a chunk of forest the size of Connecticut in Alaska, Palin is more interested in throwing political bombs. Like her phony "death panels" designed to kill health reform, Palin is making a mockery of science in order to stop clean energy reform.