For someone offering up an incredibly expensive proposal that
would radically alter the entire U.S. economy, it's astonishing
that Al Gore faced virtually no skeptical questions when he sat
down with CBS's Katie Couric and NBC's Tom Brokaw to push for a
$3 trillion conversion to 100% use of wind, solar and other
renewable power sources by 2018.
On the July 17 CBS Evening News, Couric applauded how "Gore
laid down a green gauntlet today," only fretting about whether "the
political will is there to change the way we do business so dramatically
in this country?" Couric's toughest question: "You've set a 10-year
deadline. Is that realistic?"
Yet in the set-up piece prior to Couric's interview, CBS's Nancy
Cordes had already vouched for the realism of Gore's plan by seeking a
comment from "clean energy advocate Tyson Slocum," a spokesman for the
left-wing Public Citizen group (which Cordes declined to identify as
liberal).
"It is very realistic," Slocum assured viewers. [Audio/video (1:21):
Windows Media (5.10 MB) and
MP3 audio (386 kB)]
On NBC's Meet the Press, Tom Brokaw, at least, gently
suggested to Gore that "what you have outlined, in fact, is a goal that
may not be achievable. "But Brokaw agreed with the Democrat's thrust,
telling Gore: "I don't think anyone doubts that we have to make some
profound changes in this country...and maybe even suffer some pain."
Brokaw also proposed new taxes: "Should there be a surcharge on jet
fuel, cost for private aviation, which is expanding exponentially in
this country and it leaves a very large carbon footprint?" Gore loved
it: "Fine by me. Sounds like a good idea." [Audio/video (0:29):
Windows
Media (1.81 MB) and
MP3 audio (126 kB)]
Writing on his group's
OpenMarket.org blog, the Competitive Enterprise Institute's
Myron Ebell added the context that eluded the big broadcast networks:
"Utilities are having a hard time keeping up with population and demand
growth, building every kind of power plant they can — coal, natural gas,
wind. Meeting all new demand in the next few decades just with
renewables would be extremely difficult and expensive. Doing that, and
replacing all current coal and gas power plants in ten years, is
preposterous."
Does Gore have an answer to such criticisms? We'll never know,
because the networks never bothered to confront him with such pesky
details.
For more, see the
July 18
CyberAlert
