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Politics : GOPwinger Lies/Distortions/Omissions/Perversions of Truth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (108752)	10/15/2007 11:30:40 AM
From: Bill	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 173976

Court concludes Gore's film untrue. Gore film hit for 'alarmist untruths' Lewis Smith and Matthew Warren \| October 12, 2007 Al Gore's award-winning climate-change documentary has been exposed by Britain's top court as alarmist, one-sided and littered with nine convenient untruths. An Inconvenient Truth won plaudits from the environmental lobby and an Oscar from the film industry but was found wanting when it was scrutinised in the High Court in London. Judge Michael Burton identified nine significant errors in the former presidential candidate's documentary as he assessed whether it should be shown to school children. He agreed that Mr Gore's film was "broadly accurate" in its presentation of the causes and likely effects of climate change, but said that some of the claims were wrong and had arisen in "the context of alarmism and exaggeration". In what is a rare judicial ruling on what children can see in the classroom, Justice Burton was at pains to point out that the "apocalyptic vision" presented in the film was politically partisan and not an impartial analysis of the science of climate change. "It is plainly, as witnessed by the fact that it received an Oscar this year for best documentary film, a powerful, dramatically presented and highly professionally produced film," he said. "It is now common ground that it is not simply a science film - although it is clear that it is based substantially on scientific research and opinion - but that it is a political film." The analysis by the judge will have a bearing on whether the British Government can continue to have the film shown in every secondary school. He agreed it could be shown but on the condition that it was accompanied by new guidance notes for teachers to balance Mr Gore's "one-sided" views. The Government's decision to show the film in secondary schools had come under attack from Stewart Dimmock, a school governor in Kent and a member of political group the New Party, who accused the Government of brainwashing children. A spokesman for the NSW Education Department said yesterday the decision on whether the film should be screened in schools would remain at their discretion based on departmental guidelines. The first mistake made by Mr Gore, said Justice Burton in his written judgment, was in talking about the potential devastation that would be wrought by a rise in sea levels caused by the melting of ice caps. The claim that sea levels could rise by 7m "in the near future" was dismissed as "distinctly alarmist". Such a rise would take place "only after, and over, millennia". A claim that atolls in the Pacific had already been evacuated was supported by "no evidence", while to suggest that two graphs showing carbon dioxide levels and temperatures over the past 650,000 years were an "exact fit" overstated the case. Mr Gore's suggestion that the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf Stream would shut down was contradicted by the UN's International Panel on Climate Change's assessment that it was "very unlikely" to happen. The drying of Lake Chad, the loss of Mount Kilimanjaro's snows and Hurricane Katrina were all blamed by Mr Gore on climate change but the judge said the scientific community had been unable to find evidence to prove a direct link. The judge also said there was no proof to support a claim that polar bears were drowning while searching for icy habitats melted by global warming. The only drowned polar bears the court was aware of were four that died following a storm. National Climate Centre Manager Michael Coughlan said each of the inaccuracies raised could be argued either way, but that such disagreement was counter-productive to the overall debate. "All we end up doing is throwing rocks at each other," he told The Australian. "I'm not saying that one should put falsehoods in there but you need to grab their attention ... The fact that they were going to give it to school kids to view is good because it makes them think about it and be critical." Former CSIRO climate scientist Dr Graeme Pearman said he had some specific issues on the film's use of graphs and data, but said he worked with Mr Gore on his recent visits and said his understanding of the climate science was "very sound". The Times theaustralian.news.com.au

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (108752)	10/15/2007 11:32:16 AM
From: longnshort	Respond to of 173976

During his speech to a crowd of about 300 that included meteorology students and a host of professional meteorologists, Dr Gray also said those who had linked global warming to the increased number of hurricanes in recent years were in error. He cited statistics showing there were 101 hurricanes from 1900 to 1949, in a period of cooler global temperatures, compared to 83 from 1957 to 2006 when the earth warmed. "The human impact on the atmosphere is simply too small to have a major effect on global temperatures," Dr Gray said. He said his beliefs had made him an outsider in popular science. here is the entire article: Gore gets a cold shoulder Email Printer friendly version Normal font Large font Steve Lytte October 14, 2007 Climate crusader: Al Gore. Photo: AP Advertisement ONE of the world's foremost meteorologists has called the theory that helped Al Gore share the Nobel Peace Prize "ridiculous" and the product of "people who don't understand how the atmosphere works". Dr William Gray, a pioneer in the science of seasonal hurricane forecasts, told a packed lecture hall at the University of North Carolina that humans were not responsible for the warming of the earth. His comments came on the same day that the Nobel committee honoured Mr Gore for his work in support of the link between humans and global warming. "We're brainwashing our children," said Dr Gray, 78, a long-time professor at Colorado State University. "They're going to the Gore movie [An Inconvenient Truth] and being fed all this. It's ridiculous." At his first appearance since the award was announced in Oslo, Mr Gore said: "We have to quickly find a way to change the world's consciousness about exactly what we're facing." Mr Gore shared the Nobel prize with the United Nations climate panel for their work in helping to galvanise international action against global warming. But Dr Gray, whose annual forecasts of the number of tropical storms and hurricanes are widely publicised, said a natural cycle of ocean water temperatures - related to the amount of salt in ocean water - was responsible for the global warming that he acknowledges has taken place. However, he said, that same cycle meant a period of cooling would begin soon and last for several years. "We'll look back on all of this in 10 or 15 years and realise how foolish it was," Dr Gray said. During his speech to a crowd of about 300 that included meteorology students and a host of professional meteorologists, Dr Gray also said those who had linked global warming to the increased number of hurricanes in recent years were in error. He cited statistics showing there were 101 hurricanes from 1900 to 1949, in a period of cooler global temperatures, compared to 83 from 1957 to 2006 when the earth warmed. "The human impact on the atmosphere is simply too small to have a major effect on global temperatures," Dr Gray said. He said his beliefs had made him an outsider in popular science. "It bothers me that my fellow scientists are not speaking out against something they know is wrong," he said. "But they also know that they'd never get any grants if they spoke out. I don't care about grants."