My friend and colleague Tom Yulsman expresses some sincere conflict about noting Al Gore’s latest exaggeration. Tom writes of his blog post:

I thought quite hard about whether to post this, because I know people are going to attack me for undermining the cause of action on climate change. So let me clear: My intent is exactly the opposite. I fervently believe that we must take action both to reduce carbon emissions and to adapt to climate changes that are inevitable no matter what we do. And that’s why I published this. Because rallying support for action will depend on whether people can trust what they read in the press about climate change, and what public leaders on this issue are saying.

What is it that Gore said and Tom was reacting to?

[Businesses leaders] are seeing the complete disappearance of the polar ice caps right before their eyes in just a few years.

Tom writes:

I really do want to give former Vice President Al Gore the benefit of the doubt when it comes to global warming, since he has accomplished so much to raise awareness on the issue. But he just seems to be hard-wired to exaggerate — to his own detriment, as well as to the cause of reining in climate change.

And in this case, the failure of a journalist to challenge Gore’s assertion that all polar ice will be gone in a few years just makes the problem worse.

If Gore’s heart is in the right place, shouldn’t he get a pass on some slight exaggerations? Or is there some way to interpret Gore’s statements in such a way as they are not incorrect? It’s not like he is George Will or anything, right?