A convenient fraud now being exposed
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A convenient fraud now being exposedArticle from: Font size: Decrease
Increase Email article: Email Print article: Print Andrew Bolt
October 10, 2007 12:00am
A WORD of advice to the many teachers who have been scaring our
children with screenings of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth.
Be aware that a judge this month instructed British teachers showing
the film to tell their pupils that Gore makes at least 11 false or
unsupported claims.
I hate to think it is necessary to remind our own teachers to do
likewise, but I fear the worst.
Every school in the country has now been offered free DVDs of An
Inconvenient Truth, by Paramount and Jackgreen International, which
makes money from the global warming scare. Even the Environment
Protection Authority is urging schools to show it.
And, indeed, with our pop stars lip-synching green platitudes and
polls showing Australians are more panicked by global warming than
people of almost any other country, it seems all this propaganda is
working brilliantly already.
In Britain, though, teachers are at least required to be more careful
before force-feeding such hype to children. The Education Act bans the
teaching of partisan political views and demands politics be taught in
a balanced way, which would be a novel approach in some of our own
schools.
So, when Stewart Dimmock, a truck driver and school governor from
Kent, heard that Britain's Labour Government was sending copies of
Gore's film to more than 3800 schools he sued. "I wish my children to
have the best education possible, free from bias and political spin,
and Mr Gore's film falls far short of the standard required," said the
father of two.
What followed was three days of argument in the English High Court on
just how truthful Gore's Academy Award-winning film really was.
Justice Michael Burton is yet to give his final ruling, but has
already said the film promotes "partisan political views" and schools
must warn students of that.
Worse for Gore's reputation, Burton also said the Government had to
rewrite the guidance notes for teachers that accompany the film to
point out that An Inconvenient Truth contained 11 serious untruths or
unsubstantiated claims. Only then could it be shown in class.
Here are those 11 corrections to Gore's film - and many will be
familiar to readers of this column:
Gore presents Mt Kilimanjaro's melting snows as proof of global
warming. In fact, the snows are vanishing thanks to local factors,
including deforestation.
Gore suggests Antarctica's ice cover is melting. Most studies says it
is increasing or stable.
Gore shows scary graphics of cities drowning in seas that rise 7m,
causing millions of refugees. But the United Nations Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change says the seas will rise at worst by 59cm this
century.
Gore uses images of Hurricane Katrina and suggests it was caused by
global warming. The Government's expert in this case admitted such one-
off events can't be blamed on warming.
Gore suggests ice-core evidence shows rising CO2 caused temperature
rises, which ended the past seven ice ages. In fact, the CO2 rises
followed temperature rises by 800 to 2000 years.
Gore claims global warming could stop the Gulf Stream, causing an ice
age in Europe. Recent studies deny it.
Gore blames global warming for species losses and coral reef
bleaching. The Government couldn't show evidence to back this claim.
Gore claims a study showed polar bears had drowned because of
vanishing ice. The study actually said just four polar bears drowned,
and only because of a bad storm.
Gore suggests Greenland's ice could melt, causing a dangerous rise in
sea levels. In fact, Greenland's ice won't melt for thousands of
years.
Gore shows the drying up of Lake Chad and claims this was caused by
global warming. The Government's expert agreed this was not the case.
Gore claims rising seas have forced people to flee Pacific islands to
New Zealand. There is no record of any such warming-caused
evacuation.
I don't know why the court stopped at just 11. Hyperbole overload? But
this must be enough to make rational viewers sceptical of all Gore's
case.
The British Government has now rewritten its guidance to teachers to
take in those 11 objections, while trying very hard not to make Gore's
film seem fraudulent.
To correct that last false claim, for instance, of global warming
causing islanders to evacuate their homes, the guide now includes this
weasel disclaimer: "It is not clear that there is any evidence of
evacuations in the Pacific due to human-induced climate." What: not
clear?
But that's not the only sign that the educationists who push Gore's
film on to students are as devoted to his apocalyptic faith as are our
own class of teacher-preachers.
Note this line from the guide, urging children to question even their
parents' lack of faith: "Pupils may ask, what were my parents and
grandparents doing during this time? Did they know that this was
happening?"
But here's the real questions those students will be asking once they
are old enough to think for themselves, and to see Gore's promised
Armageddon never came.
What were my teachers doing, pushing on me an end-of-my-world film
that clearly didn't tell the truth?
What madness took hold even of our scientists, that the CSIRO could
claim of this deceitful film, "its scientific basis is very sound"?
Children, you are being told untruths to scare you. And shame on those
who are party to this deceit.
raylopez99
Last Updated: Wednesday, 10 October 2007, 21:53 GMT 22:53 UK
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Gore climate film's 'nine errors'
Al Gore's film was sent to schools in England, Wales and Scotland
A High Court judge who ruled on whether climate change film, An
Inconvenient Truth, could be shown in schools said it contains "nine
scientific errors".
Mr Justice Burton said the government could still send the film to
schools - if accompanied by guidance giving the other side of the
argument.
He was ruling on an attempt by a Kent school governor to ban the film
from secondary schools.
The Oscar-winning film was made by former US Vice-President Al Gore.
The judge said nine statements in the film were not supported by
mainstream scientific consensus.
In his final verdict, the judge said the film could be shown as long
as updated guidelines were followed.
These say teachers should point out controversial or disputed
sections.
Without the guidance, updated after the case was launched, the
government would have been breaking the law, the judge said.
The government has sent the film to all secondary schools in England,
and the administrations in Wales and Scotland have done the same.
'Landmark victory'
Mr Justice Burton told London's High Court that distributing the film
without the guidance to counter its "one-sided" views would breach
education laws.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families was not under a duty
to forbid the film, provided it was accompanied by the guidance, he
said.
"I conclude that the claimant substantially won this case by virtue of
my finding that, but for the new guidance note, the film would have
been distributed in breach of sections 406 and 407 of the 1996
Education Act", he said.
The nine errors stated by the judge included:
Mr Gore's assertion that a sea-level rise of up to 20 feet would be
caused by melting of ice in either West Antarctica or Greenland "in
the near future". The judge said this was "distinctly alarmist" and it
was common ground that if Greenland's ice melted it would release this
amount of water - "but only after, and over, millennia".
Mr Gore's assertion that the disappearance of snow on Mount
Kilimanjaro in East Africa was expressly attributable to global
warming - the court heard the scientific consensus was that it cannot
be established the snow recession is mainly attributable to human-
induced climate change.
Mr Gore's reference to a new scientific study showing that, for the
first time, polar bears had actually drowned "swimming long distances
- up to 60 miles - 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 case was brought by school governor Stewart Dimmock, from Dover, a
father of two.
His lawyers described the ruling as a "landmark victory".
Mr Dimmock said: "I am elated with today's result, but still
disappointed that the film is able to be shown in schools.
Mount Kilimanjaro has had its snow reduce in recent years
"If it was not for the case brought by myself, our young people would
still be being indoctrinated with this political spin."
The judge awarded Mr Dimmock two-thirds of his estimated legal costs
of more than £200,000, against the government.
BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin said the ruling would be
"embarrassing for Mr Gore" but would not affect the government, which
said it is happy that the judge did not dismiss the film's mainstream
argument.
But, he added, this controversy could encourage the public to think
there was scientific doubt about the facts of climate change.
Children's Minister Kevin Brennan had earlier said: "It is important
to be clear that the central arguments put forward in An Inconvenient
Truth, that climate change is mainly caused by man-made emissions of
greenhouse gases and will have serious adverse consequences, are
supported by the vast weight of scientific opinion.
"Nothing in the judge's comments today detract from that."