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Former Vice President Al Gore was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in promoting the cause of heightening the awareness of global warming. This was of course done through his movie and book, An Inconvenient Truth. I am not interested particularly in debating whether this was a political decision of the Nobel Prize committee that makes the award. But I do believe it is critically important that we understand that the accuracy of what Gore has argued is very much in question. What is fascinating is that the moment the announcement was made about Gore winning the prize a judge in Great Britain, Michael Burton, handed down a ruling about the film. His decision involved the question whether Gore’s film could be shown in the classrooms of Britain. He ruled yes but only if accompanied by teacher guidance notes to balance Gore’s “one-sided views.” Here are the 9 objections to the Gore movie summarized by the judge Burton:
- The assertion by Gore that the rise of sea-levels was caused by the melting of icebergs in Antarctica was overly “alarmist.”
- Gore claims that the disappearance of year-around snow from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa was expressly attributable to global warming. The judge ruled that the scientific consensus is that global warming cannot be established as the cause of this melting.
- Gore claims that polar bears are dying because they must swim long distances to find ice. The judge ruled that the only scientific study shown to him indicated that only “four polar bears have recently been found drowned because of a storm.”
- Gore claims that Hurricane Katrina was caused by global warming. There is no credible evidence to prove that.
- Gore claims that the drying up of Lake Chad is a prime example of global warming’s effects. Expert testimony before the British court suggests “far more likely causes” are “population increase, over-grazing, and regional climate variability.”
- Gore suggests an “exact fit” between the rise of carbon dioxide levels and the rise in temperatures over a period of 650,000 years. The judge ruled that an “exact fit” cannot be scientifically established.
- Gore claims that “low-lying inhabited Pacific atolls are already being inundated” because of global warming. The judge ruled that there is no evidence that populations are being evacuated from these islands because of global warming.
- Gore suggests that the “Ocean Conveyor,” which carries the Gulf Stream over the North Atlantic to Western Europe, is being shut down due to global warming. The judge cites an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which concludes it is “very unlikely” that this is actually occurring.
- Gore claims that the coral reefs all over the world are bleaching due to global warming. The judge ruled that it is very difficult to separate out the impact of other stresses on coral reefs. Other factors are definitely over-fishing and pollution, not only the claims of global warming.
The judge’s ruling disputes major claims that Gore has made in his movie and book, all of which have been shown to be spurious at best. The Noble Peace Prize being awarded to Al Gore is more about politics than science.
See www.washingtonpost.com (12 October 2007), “An Inconvenient Truth for Al Gore.” |
