AU Communications professor Matt Nesbit made his comments in reference to a recent Boston Globe column by Ellen Goodman saying what’s important in America now isn’t environmental science but political science.

Unfortunately, Goodman’s article also illustrated how not to frame the argument for sound climate-change policies: “Let’s just say that global warming deniers are now on a par with Holocaust deniers, though one denies the past and the other denies the present and future.”

DeSmogBlog has warned against this. Climate change is a science issue, not a free-speech issue, and calling someone a denier should not put them into a category with people who deny the Holocaust.

Goodman is right, however, about polarization of American politics over global warming: “This great divide comes from the science-be-damned-and-debunked attitude of the Bush administration and its favorite media outlets.”

Moreover, Goodman writes, the American Enterprise Institute, which has gotten $1.6 million over the years from Exxon Mobil, offered $10,000 last summer to scientists who would counter the IPCC report.

It’s always best to stick to the facts.