Apparently “Al Gore is shifting his climate activism abroad.” In response to which many people here will either say good riddance or ask Al who? But to David Gelles of the New York Times “Climate Forward” it’s another case of Orange Man Bad. He informs us that “in recent weeks, Gore has watched with alarm as President Trump stretches the limits of executive authority to dismantle federal climate policy, roll back environmental protections and eliminate incentives for clean energy…. But a more overarching concern, Gore said, is Trump’s attempts to override Congress.” So stand and fight? No. Flee and snark.

Gelles writes, as if describing an advance not a retreat:

“Last weekend in Paris, Gore kicked off a global tour of the Climate Reality Project, a nonprofit he founded in 2006. The group… conducts trainings worldwide, including upcoming events in Rio de Janeiro, Nairobi, Kenya, and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It helps citizens mobilize political pressure and campaign for clean energy solutions and environmental regulations. And it has youth programs and a grant-making initiative. Gore believes that by imbuing concern for the climate into a broad cross section of society, governments and big businesses will be more likely to take urgent action to reduce emissions, particularly outside the U.S.”

Nothing says urgent action like flogging a program he first launched 20 years ago to ever more remote corners of the world. Still, Gore gets to be pampered and important. But what about China? Is he helping citizens mobilize political pressure there? After all, it’s a much bigger part of the emissions story than the US which, Trump or no Trump, is one of the places that has made the most progress in reducing carbon intensity per dollar of GDP albeit through market mechanisms not government mandates.

We do not expect a great deal of soul-searching and mea culpas from Gore. He is what he is. But if the job of the press is to inform readers, what’s the point of saying things like:

“Climate activists in the U.S. have recently experienced a series of setbacks, including the potentially fatal verdict against Greenpeace and Trump’s efforts to dismantle the Inflation Reduction Act. But in much of the rest of the world, Gore said, climate activists were more motivated than ever as global temperatures rise and extreme weather intensifies.”

It isn’t obvious how you’d measure that unprecedented level of motivation; satellites presumably can’t monitor it. But does the columnist even ask Gore why he thinks so? Or is it just a puff piece on a guy who has a long and brutal record of failed hype on climate, which it doesn’t begin to mention? Wherever the snows of Kilimanjaro haven’t gotten to, it’s not this piece.

Instead, Gelles adds:

“Despite the moves by the Trump administration and the continued planetary warming, Gore expressed some hope that the transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy was continuing apace. That’s a theme we’ve heard recently from many policymakers, executives and experts.”

Not ones who actually look at world energy consumption, mind you. Just guys who make films full of failed predictions, or enjoy watching them.