[Sulla123]

12:01am BST 28/09/2007



Al Gore's climate change documentary, , contains "serious scientific inaccuracies, political propaganda and sentimental mush", the High Court in London has heard.

The attack came as Stewart Dimmock, 45, a father of two, challenged the Government's decision to provide every secondary school in England with a copy of the former American vice-president's film as part of an environmental campaign.

Paul Downes, appearing for Mr Dimmock, argued that the key flaw of the film was that it was partisan, aimed at influencing rather than informing, and lacked balance.

Mr Dimmock, a lorry driver who has children aged 11 and 14, wants the court to declare that the Government acted unlawfully and quash the decision to authorise distribution to more than 3,500 schools.

Speaking before the case, Mr Dimmock, from Dover, said: "Climate change is important, but it should be taught to children in a neutral and measured manner.

"Indoctrinating school children in this manner is unprecedented and unacceptable."

The hearing continues.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/09/28/eagore128.xml

[Maxim Litvinov]

This is really not news. The line that 'it's propaganda' comes from no less an authority than some lorry driver with two kids who's an idiot.

[Abood]

Lolz.

Every single graph Gore presents was actually made by a scientific organization. His book is just a collection of all those graphs.

Now shoo.

[Sulla123]

First it really is news. And as for the the title I always try and use the original title of the article as I did here. So you can always email the Telegraph if you dont like their title:)

As for it the film being unbalanced it is. It makes no attempt to be balanced. And even those that agree with basic idea of the film have had problems with its sensationalistic tone and they way it uses the most sensationalistic theories and predictions. For example talking of sea level rises of 20 feet when really we are talking about inches by almost all predictions.

[Maxim Litvinov]

So, Sulla... do you have any other news stories about the opinions of a lorry driver somewhere in the UK for us?

Perhaps there's a Cornish milkman who says Scarlett Johannson is pregnant? Or a Devon courier who has new information on this alleged Syrian nuclear site?

[Sulla123]

You dont have to agree with one view or the other for it to be news. But its news becouse its a challenge to having the goverment send it out the the secoundary schools in the UK. So the court case is to see if this amounts to indoctrination or not and if it is legal or not.


So maybe a little less of the droll comments a little substance.

[GandalfTheGrey]

And as for the the title I always try and use the original title of the article as I did here.

No one is complaining about what you did so I don't know what you are on about.

It makes no attempt to be balanced

No it doesn't, but whats your point?

I don't see the problem with the fact that the film is pushing a certain line. Of course it is, and it makes no attempt to claim that it isn't. I have a big problem people constantly throwing around the word "balance" when talking about documentaries as if its some set in stone compulsory requirement for documentaries. *NEWSFLASH* - its not. What is a "balanced documentary"? - it would be nothing but a presentation of facts without any line being pushed - ie it would not even be a documentary but a news bulletin. Documentaries will always be pushing a line, and therefore they will always be seen as "unbalanced" by people who disagree with it.

[ThereBeDragons]

For example talking of sea level rises of 20 feet when really we are talking about inches by almost all predictions.

By the measured predictions which scientists carefully put out in order to not be accused of sensationalism.

A few feet of rising sea level will already have major consequences, putting numerous coastal cities in danger of being swamped. If Greenland's ice sheet melts, sea level is calculated to rise 23 feet.

[[EDIT]] I'll give you that the most drastic prediction (Greenland melting) are highly speculative predictions and many, many decades if not centuries away. I'm just pointing out that Gore isn't just pulling stuff out of his ass. And what may look like small temperature changes can have drastic results.

[Sulla123]

Did neither of you read what I just posted. The point of the story is that its being pushed on school children. Normaly you try and have things shown to school children balanced. As a documentary for general release I dont care how its made.

[ThereBeDragons]

Normaly you try and have things shown to school children balanced. As a documentary for general release I dont care how its made.

There is hardly anything scientific to balance it against.

[Abood]

Science always needs to be balanced... just to be politically correct.

[Sulla123]

Its not about being politically correct. Or about false science or sudoscience etc. Its about not just putting direct propaganda into classrooms. And the movie is basicly propaganda. It uses the most sensationalistic claims it can get by with. And does not go over the huge range of thought on the subjects it brings up. Its not something were there are only 2 sides and 2 theories to this. This is a terribly complicated problem made up of an untold number of smaller problems. Each having different models and and theories proposed.



Propaganda (1. The systematic propagation of a doctrine or cause or of information reflecting the views and interests of those advocating such a doctrine or cause. ) American Heritage Dictionary

[Maxim Litvinov]

Sudoscience? Is that the area of study devoted to perfecting sudoku solutions?

Don't worry, Sulla123. I'm sure you've got the support of many of the truck drivers in Hertfordshire already (at least if there's one good thing to be said about the Scopes trial, it's that the prosecution had some idea of their case).

[Sulla123]

A little more...

But some of Mr. Gore's allies have acknowledged glaring inaccuracies in the film.

Though Mr. Gore was right for "getting the message out," University of Colorado climatologist Kevin Vranes told The New York Times last month that he worried about the film "overselling our certainty about knowing the future."

James E. Hansen, a NASA scientist and one of Mr. Gore's advisors, agreed the movie has "imperfections" and "technical flaws."

About An Inconvenient Truth's connection of rising hurricane activity to global warming -- something refuted by storm experts -- Mr. Hansen said, "We need to be more careful in describing the hurricane story than he is."

Among other things, since the film's release last year, scientists have rejected Mr. Gore's claims that 2005 was the warmest year on record (temperatures have been receding since 1998), that polar bears are heading for extinction (their numbers are growing), that Antarctica is warming (interior temperature readings show cooling) and that sea levels will "rise 18 to 20 feet," swamping coastal cities (the International Panel on Climate Change predicts a few inches).

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=f7806f79-bf1f-4bd1-8d33-c904feb71047&p=1

[Sulla123]

Maxim Litvinov as normal you have nothing usefull to add:)