Nine Inconvenient Truths
October 12th 2007 01:14
Like all Politicians they are claiming a victory however there is no denying there were a few low blows dealt to the credibility of an Inconvenient Truth via a UK Judges recent decision to allow Al Gore's Documentary to be shown in UK Schools - ONLY with an accompaniment pointing out 9 inaccuracies within the film and a statement outlining its political bias.
Now don't get me wrong, I am a fan of An Inconvenient Truth - largely for what the Film has done to raise awareness of this issue Globally- so I find some of the findings quite disturbing, especially that the judge feels there is no evidence to prove that the Polar Bears drowned due to Global Warming. If Global Warming has a poster child that has tugged at the hearts and minds and converted many a believer it is the image of the Polar Bears drowning.
Here's hoping this ruling won't be too damaging to the cause, people who think we can just carry on abusing the earth the way we have been are just plain crazy.
I guess the positive of this is that every UK School child will still get to see it, my concern is that if it is presented conditionally it will have the reverse effect. All the kids will walk out of it thinking it isn't entirely true and won't be motivated to participate in a solution. Only time will tell.
See below for an Extract from a guardian UK Article that lists the nine, inconvenient questionable truths within the Film...judge for yourself. There is also a link to a Blog on the topic I like from Wired Mag. CLICK HERE
Link to Guardian Article CLICK HERE
Cheers Louie
Happy Friday
The nine points: fact or fallacy?
· The film claimed that low-lying inhabited Pacific atolls "are being inundated because of anthropogenic global warming" - but there was no evidence of any evacuation occurring
· It spoke of global warming "shutting down the ocean conveyor" - the process by which the gulf stream is carried over the north Atlantic to western Europe. The judge said that, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it was "very unlikely" that the conveyor would shut down in the future, though it might slow down
· Mr Gore had also claimed - by ridiculing the opposite view - that two graphs, one plotting a rise in C02 and the other the rise in temperature over a period of 650,000 years, showed "an exact fit". The judge said although scientists agreed there was a connection, "the two graphs do not establish what Mr Gore asserts"
· Mr Gore said the disappearance of snow on Mt Kilimanjaro was expressly attributable to human-induced climate change. The judge said the consensus was that that could not be established
· The drying up of Lake Chad was used as an example of global warming. The judge said: "It is apparently considered to be more likely to result from ... population increase, over-grazing and regional climate variability"
· Mr Gore ascribed Hurricane Katrina to global warming, but there was "insufficient evidence to show that"
· Mr Gore also referred to a study showing that polar bears were being found that had drowned "swimming long distances to find the ice". The judge said: "The only scientific study that either side before me can find is one which indicates that four polar bears have recently been found drowned because of a storm"
· The film said that coral reefs all over the world were bleaching because of global warming and other factors. The judge said separating the impacts of stresses due to climate change from other stresses, such as over-fishing, and pollution, was difficult
Now don't get me wrong, I am a fan of An Inconvenient Truth - largely for what the Film has done to raise awareness of this issue Globally- so I find some of the findings quite disturbing, especially that the judge feels there is no evidence to prove that the Polar Bears drowned due to Global Warming. If Global Warming has a poster child that has tugged at the hearts and minds and converted many a believer it is the image of the Polar Bears drowning.
Here's hoping this ruling won't be too damaging to the cause, people who think we can just carry on abusing the earth the way we have been are just plain crazy.
I guess the positive of this is that every UK School child will still get to see it, my concern is that if it is presented conditionally it will have the reverse effect. All the kids will walk out of it thinking it isn't entirely true and won't be motivated to participate in a solution. Only time will tell.
See below for an Extract from a guardian UK Article that lists the nine, inconvenient questionable truths within the Film...judge for yourself. There is also a link to a Blog on the topic I like from Wired Mag. CLICK HERE
Link to Guardian Article CLICK HERE
Cheers Louie
Happy Friday
The nine points: fact or fallacy?
· The film claimed that low-lying inhabited Pacific atolls "are being inundated because of anthropogenic global warming" - but there was no evidence of any evacuation occurring
· It spoke of global warming "shutting down the ocean conveyor" - the process by which the gulf stream is carried over the north Atlantic to western Europe. The judge said that, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it was "very unlikely" that the conveyor would shut down in the future, though it might slow down
· Mr Gore had also claimed - by ridiculing the opposite view - that two graphs, one plotting a rise in C02 and the other the rise in temperature over a period of 650,000 years, showed "an exact fit". The judge said although scientists agreed there was a connection, "the two graphs do not establish what Mr Gore asserts"
· Mr Gore said the disappearance of snow on Mt Kilimanjaro was expressly attributable to human-induced climate change. The judge said the consensus was that that could not be established
· The drying up of Lake Chad was used as an example of global warming. The judge said: "It is apparently considered to be more likely to result from ... population increase, over-grazing and regional climate variability"
· Mr Gore ascribed Hurricane Katrina to global warming, but there was "insufficient evidence to show that"
· Mr Gore also referred to a study showing that polar bears were being found that had drowned "swimming long distances to find the ice". The judge said: "The only scientific study that either side before me can find is one which indicates that four polar bears have recently been found drowned because of a storm"
· The film said that coral reefs all over the world were bleaching because of global warming and other factors. The judge said separating the impacts of stresses due to climate change from other stresses, such as over-fishing, and pollution, was difficult
Photo courtesy of Morguefile.com
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Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
It's a good thing that kids will get to see this. And I don't think it'll detract from the message of the movie. There's a lot of pretty savvy kids these days, and the 9 things they've pointed out aren't enough to detract from the overall message.
Kylie
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
Michaelie
Comment by Louie
Climate Red
randomthoughts
Phil's Wellness Tips
i hope you are right, I wonder if unerestimating ids is a form of discrimination.......
And i agree some of the points are splitting hairs which makes this whole mess more of a shame if the film gets tainted.
happy friday
Louie
Comment by Louie
Climate Red
randomthoughts
Phil's Wellness Tips
i agree the kids should be aware of an faults, I guess its just quite a few seem pretty subjective and can paint a negative perception but as KylieW says kids are smart and will work it out for themselves
happy friday
Louie
Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
MS Paint Art
Unfortunately, politics gets in the way of these things.
katyzzz
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Pollution can cause climate change. Furthermore the point is that coral reefs are dying because of our inability to care for the environment, so in effect doing something about coral reefs is necessary and trying to discredit the message by saying it's hard to pinpoint exactly what the message might mean (i.e. 'and other factors) is just stupid.
I think the basic argument for environmentalism shouldn't even be for stopping global warming. When it comes down to it all we ar eusing up our natural resources at an alarming rate, global warming or not we have to do something about our behaviour.
I've seen people claim even the great barrier reef dying is just 'natural', or trying to justify species becoming extinct as 'natural' and pretending that because a few species are found it somehow is counter acting the extinctions. It's both funny and sad how far you can push some morons in this world to the point they'll say that Jesus is coming for the rapture so it doesn't matter what we do to the environment. Of course such people are few in number but sadly have the biggest mouths.
They lie their asses off, create false realities and send them off to trick the gullible into believing them. At first they try to call science on any number of supposed flaws, after those flaws are fully explained and understood they resort to blatant lying by which point they have a healthy following of morons behind them. For the lack of a better word they are criminals, lying to have their own greedy way, they're essentially stealing from this world to feed their greed.
Comment by Stanley
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
It's only in schools that I think they should make sure people are aware of bias (ALL bias).
I hated feeling manipulated in school by the political slant of a couple of my teachers' classes.
Michaelie.
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
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