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Such talk is dangerous nonsense. Few climatologists dispute the notion of global warming, and there is no doubt that heat-trapping greenhouse gases are increasing rapidly. The real disagreement involves its causes -- mostly humans? mostly nature? a mix of both? -- the extent of its impact (will seas rise two feet or 30?), and what, if anything, we might do to mitigate its effects.

Unfortunately, when people such as Limbaugh raise the legitimate point that not all scientists believe global-warming is man-made, they use language that suggests those making the claim are acting in bad faith and that global warming is not a problem. They are wrong on both counts.

But demonizing runs both ways. A recent cover story in Newsweek implicitly compared those who question whether people are responsible for climate change to Holocaust deniers. In fact, 56 percent of the 530 climate scientists who participated in a 2003 poll said humans are responsible for climate change; 30 percent said they were not.

Such doubts are rarely acknowledged by leaders such as Gore, who says it's perfectly fine to present worst-case scenarios as probable outcomes.

"In the United States of America, unfortunately we still live in a bubble of unreality," Gore said in a 2006 interview. "And the Category 5 denial is an enormous obstacle to any discussion of solutions. Nobody is interested in solutions if they don't think there's a problem. Given that starting point, I believe it is appropriate to have an over-representation of factual presentations on how dangerous [global warming] is, as a predicate for opening up the audience to listen to what the solutions are, and how hopeful it is that we are going to solve this crisis."

I'm not a scientist, but my reading -- I heartily recommend Tim Flannery's "The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth" -- suggests that global warming is an immense and complicated problem. If we are going to tackle it in meaningful ways, we need more honesty and less rhetoric.

Skeptics must stop pretending that global warming isn't happening, and those worried about it need to acknowledge forthrightly that many questions remain. If we are going to tackle the pressing issue of global warming, we need more truth and less hot air.

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