Stewart Dimmock accused the British government of “brainwashing” children by requiring that Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth be shown in schools. A judge in Britain’s High Court has ruled in the case that Gore’s apocalyptic movie on climate change should come with a warning that it promotes “partisan political views” and is riddled with errors. The government’s environmental expert witnesses found that many of the movie’s “facts” are incorrect. For example, Gore portrays the ice cover in Antarctica as melting when in fact it is increasing according to expert witnesses. Judge Michael Burton did not ban the movie but ordered the government to rewrite its guidelines to highlight the movie’s falsehoods. Canada.com writes more on Gore’s portrayal of the environment.
Gore’s claim: A retreating glacier on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is evidence of global warming. Finding: The government’s expert witness conceded this was not correct.
Gore: Ice core samples prove that rising levels of carbon dioxide have caused temperature increases. Finding: Rises in carbon dioxide actually lagged behind temperature increases by 800-2000 years.
Gore: Global warming triggered Hurricane Katrina, devastating New Orleans. Finding: The government’s expert accepted it was “not possible” to attribute one-off events to global warming.
Gore: Global warming is causing Africa’s Lake Chad to dry up. Finding: The government’s expert accepted that this was not the case.
Gore: Polar bears had drowned due to disappearing Arctic ice. Finding: Only four polar bears drowned, due to a particularly violent storm.
Gore: Global warming could stop the Gulf Stream, plunging Europe into a new ice age. Finding: A scientific impossibility.
Gore: Species losses, including coral reef bleaching, are the result of global warming.
Finding: No evidence to support the claim.Gore: Melting ice in Greenland could cause sea levels to rise dangerously. Finding: Greenland ice will not melt for millennia.
Gore: Ice cover in Antarctica is melting. Finding: It is, in fact, increasing.
Gore: Sea levels could rise by seven metres, causing the displacement of millions of people.
Finding: Sea levels are expected to rise by about 40 centimetres over 100 years.