UK scientists defend Gore film

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk Two of the UK's leading climate scientists have hit out at the judge who made the controversial ruling last week on Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth Professor Chris Rapley, head of the Science Museum (and also a Gore science adviser) and Professor John Shepherd from the National Oceanography Centre accuse the judge of misleading the public by ruling that Gore had made "errors". The professors have no grouse with Mr Justice Burton's main conclusion that Al Gore's film should be accompanied by guidance notes in class. And they agree that Gore presented some climate extreme scenarios. the judge's comments themselves were liable to misinterpretation. He put the word "errors" in inverted commas because the points were debatable rather than wrong. But the professors say the judge should have known the error word would be repeated in the media without its inverted commas. They say in general Gore's film presented an exceptionally high standard of scientific accuracy

UK politics now just a climate change auction

I started blogging about global warming, I dunno, about 14 months ago. Mainly out of a sense of frustration born of the media and greater public attitudes towards climate change. The media reported a 'debate' on global warming, while science reporters (and I) knew there was no question in the climatology community that it was happening. Big time.

It was an awful time. The media gave 50% of time to the reporting the facts of global warming, and 50% of the time to skeptics making a living from disputing these facts on decidedly unscientific grounds. Thinking like, "It's sheer arrogance and utter hubris to think that man can affect the climate", became reported as if this was reasonable logic. I would not have believed it, other than the fact that I had just witnessed an uncritical media swallow all the stories the White House spun, whole, and end up embedded in a UN unsanctioned military adventure trying to relive the Ted Turner Gulf War I glory days. Any Orwellian bullshit was possible. I was staring at a future that that I had been warned about in fifth form English literature. So I blogged, inspired after reading Flannery's The Weather Makers.

But by now the harsh reality of Iraq rented the cosy fabric of this mediaverse, and all sorts of light is streaming in. An Inconvenient Truth has woken the globe to global warming, and The Stern Report gave a financial framework for us to contextualise the problem within. Al Gore has an Oscar and Tim Flannery is the Australian of the Year. Hard to believe.

And now UK politics is a law and order, war on terror, national security, climate change auction. The Tories, Labour and Lib Dems are scrapping it out to take the green crown ahead of the Climate Change Bill tomorrow. Hot button issues are green house gases, green taxes, nuclear power, renewable energy and recycling. The truth is the winner.

We live in interesting times. :::[The Independent: Which political party is the greenest?]


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Best Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth

In a boon to PowerPoint, Al Gore picked up an unlikely Oscar for his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. This will bring his message to a wider audience. The more that see his engaging presentation about the current state of the science of global warming, and what it is telling us, the better the catalyses. By any measure this once obscure science being honoured with Hollywood's highest accolade is an astounding state of affairs, and is a reflection of the impact that global warming is having as it moves to the center stage of mainstream consciousness. It is the third highest grossing documentary of all time and has netted over $US24 million to date.

Read Grist.org for their review, still considered and insightful after 18 months, explaining why An Inconvenient Truth works as a cinematic experience.

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Howard's vapourware or Al Gore's hard truth?

John Howard is in China. He's looking to sell Australia's non-expertise in yet-to-be-developed clean-coal messiah technology. It's only expected to potentially bear fruit under favourable conditions at some abstract time in the 20's. In software development this is called vapourware, but the irony of Howard's hawkings gives the term a new context. When considering the value of Howard's offer, the most mercantile Chinese need to understand Howard's view on "core" and "non-core" promises. Especially since he is flogging them nuclear energy as well. Surprising, this ladling uranium in India and China when the PM is not touting the "War on Terror" -- yet another new context for "vapourware".

Meanwhile Al Gore is across the Japan Sea running hard in the other direction. He's explaining to the Kyoto Protocol hosts how short the window is in which to get it right and seriously reduce emissions. Most climate scientists say ten years, so I guess Gore does not have five to waste: :::[Reuters]

Jan. 15 -Al Gore says that he will not run in the 2008 election, saying he was involved in "a different kind of campaign."

Al Gore, who is currently in Japan promoting his award-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth", spoke with journalists in Tokyo, saying, "The U.S. should be leading the world toward a solution for this climate crisis instead of leading in the other direction."

So... who gets your vote in this different kind of campaign? Gore may be passing up the chance to run in the US Presidential Elections, but he will be running in a different kind of way in the upcoming Australian Federal Elections. And in the next Japanese elections. And in the elections every country he promotes his movie, "An Inconvenient Truth".

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An Inconvenient Truth conveniently on YouTube

Please note: Video has been since been pulled by YouTube. Go and see it in the big screen.

It's not like YouTube needs its profile raised after featuring in Time Magazines Person on the Year article, but it is now hosting An Inconvenient Truth in nine 10-minute parts. Distributed freely to 16 million unique users per month, potentially, this give a huge reach to a powerpoint presentation that Al Gore's first started touting on the road 25 years or so ago. If you have seen the documentary, you could imagine Al Gore's gratification. This man who has devoted his life's work to his message, possibly the most unpopular one a messenger could have to bear, and got up and did it the old fashioned way, the hard way - going out and speaking to whoever would listen, and doing it again and again. And never quitting. City by city, family by family. At rotary town halls to the US Congress, and then some.



Jeff at Sustainablog is keeping an eye on whether it is an official release or a fan's initiative, favouring the latter possibility. If you, the newby, are blown away by what you see on YouTube, go and spend the $16.00 or so for the glacier cracking and shearing off into the ocean on the big-screen in dolby-stereo experience.





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