By Tom Morgan

Al Gore, I bet you $10,000 that you’re full of hot air.

I am serious. I invite Mr. Gore to take a bet with me on global warming. If he loses, he pays the money to the charity of my choice. If he wins he can do whatever he wishes with my money.

The bet would be decided ten years from now. We can make provisions for our estates to handle the bet if we have departed by then.

The bet would be framed around some of the predictions he makes in his new movie. And in the slide show he gives. With both he predicts that within ten years we will see signs that New York City, Washington and San Francisco are headed for submarine status. Gore predicts deadly heat waves, lasting weeks. He predicts Antarctica will turn into a puddle.

He blames all this on global warming. He tells us hurricanes are growing stronger year by year because of global warming. He blames all or most of global warming on human activities like driving cars.

You probably have got the gist of his worries by now. Perhaps you have seen his film or read his book.

I offer to bet Mr. Gore $10,000 that in 10 years his predictions will look silly. And that in ten years the earth’s overall temperature will have fallen. Or stayed the same as it is today. Or gone up less than 1 degree. More, I bet little if any warming will be blamed on human activities.

What gives me confidence I will win the bet? The body of opinion from a number of prominent scientists. One is Professor Bob Carter of the Marine Geophysical Lab at an Australian university. (I quote from an article by Canadian Tom Harris, director of High Park Group.)

“Gore’s circumstantial arguments are so weak that they are pathetic.” Prof Cook tells us. “It is simply incredible that they, and his film, are commanding public attention.”