Ross Gelbspan:

Pulitzer Prize Fraud

A Junk Science Home Page Exclusive


The heat is on Ross Gelbspan. And it ain't global warming.

Gelbspan's new book The Heat is On: The High Stakes Battle Over Earth's Threatened Climate was published in April 1997. In the book, Gelbspan claims to "expose the deliberate campaign by oil and coal interests, teamed with conservative politicians, to confuse the public about global warming." Gelbspan also claims to show "how these fossil fuel proponents have supported the efforts of a small but highly vocal group of 'scientific skeptics' whose statements distort the nature of the scientific debate..."

Confusion? Distortion? Gelbspan takes the cake on this one!

On the jacket of The Heat is On is the following language,

In The Heat Is On, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ross Gelbspan...

Pulitzer Prize?

This is certainly news to the Pulitzer Prize Board. Based on discussions with staff at the Pulitzer Prize Board, and an Internet search of the past winners of Pulitzer Prizes, it seems that Gelbspan was never awarded a Pulitzer Prize.

In 1984, Gelbspan's newspaper The Boston Globe and seven staff writers were awarded Pulitzer Prizes for a series of articles. But not Gelbspan. He was simply an editor who had some (non-award-winning) involvement in the series of articles.

And this fraud goes beyond the book jacket. A May 20, 1997 media advisory by Fenton Communications touts "Pulitzer Winner Unveils Industry Efforts to Buy Science 'Facts.'" A May 5, 1997 Greenpeace news release proclaims "Oil and Coal Industries Mount Misinformation Campaign to top Governments Taking Action on Climate Change Says Pulitzer Journalist."

Pulitzer "winner?" Pulitzer "journalist?" HAH! The heat is on Ross... and its on you. And forget the book... it's already where it belongs ...in my circular file.

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