Judge: Gore Film Puffs up Global Warming
Michael F. Haverluck
CBNNews.com
October 12, 2007
CBNNews.com - A British judge ruled that many of the claims made about global warming in Al Gore's Oscar-winning documentary on the environment lack scientific proof.
The ruling came after a concerned school official sought the court's permission not to show the biased account to students.
Stewart Dimmock, a part-time member on a school governing board, brought his objection before the court, arguing that the Gore documentary presented false information and a biased view.
Dimmock said he was fighting to provide a learning environment "free from bias and political spin," calling on the court to ban its presentation to students.
A number of assertions in the documentary, which could cause alarm, were not backed by scientific evidence, reasoned High Court Judge Michael Burton in his decision.
Burton said Gore's environmental piece gives a politically partisan "apocalyptic vision," which presents a slanted view on climate change.
But despite Wednesday's ruling, English secondary schools will still be allowed to show the film.
Burton stipulated that a written statement must accompany the documentary, instructing teachers to inform students that Gore's presentation could be politically motivated.
The judge ruled that Gore's assertions about global warming were made in "the context of alarmism and exaggeration," though he also stated that the film raised legitimate scientific arguments.
"Albeit that the science is used, in the hands of a talented politician and communicator, to make a political statement and to support a political program," he stated.
In his decision, the judge stated that Gore's documentary violated British law prohibiting the promotion of partisan views in the classroom.
But the judge also stipulated that teachers include a disclaimer stating that Gore's views are not backed in the schools.
Where's the Evidence?
The judge cited nine specific problems in the film.
Gore's assertion that a 23-foot rise in sea levels could soon take place was dubbed by the judge as a "distinctly alarmist" claim.
"The armageddon scenario he predicts, insofar as it suggests that sea level rises of seven meters might occur in the immediate future, is not in line with the scientific consensus," said Burton.
Burton said "no evidence" supported Gore's claim that Pacific islands had already been evacuated from the rising sea levels.
He also stated that the film exaggerated information about the relationship between carbon dioxide levels and temperatures over the last 650,000 years as being an "exact fit."
It was not mentioned that Gore's data presupposes that the evolutionary time scale of the earth's history is correct -- a concept that is highly debated by many scientists.
The International Panel on Climate Change reports that it is "very unlikely" that the Gulf Stream, which warms the Atlantic Ocean, will shut down, but Gore claims in his film that it will.
Other claims made by the ex-vice president that the judge listed as problematic had to do with Hurricane Katrina, melting snow on Mount Kilimanjaro and the evaporation of most of Lake Chad, which he blamed on global warming even though the scientific community cannot make direct connections.
Another claim questioned by the judge is that Polar bears seeking icy habitats that have melted away are drowning. Burton only found evidence of four Polar bears drowning in a storm.
Is Global Warming Really Man's Fault?
Many creation scientists believe that environmentalists and evolutionists have misinterpreted the facts about global warming.
It is also contended by many scientists that glacial melting and global warming are natural processes of the earth. They believe that pollution has a much less significant role than environmentalists are asserting.
Although many Christians agree we must be good stewards of the planet God has given us and stop unnecessary pollution, many conservatives are opposed to the environmental extremism permeating the schools and media.
Sources: The Associated Press, Fox News
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