I just came across this information on the inacccuracies in the acclaimed documentary "The Inconvenient Truth" (TIT) by Al Gore. No doubt, Al Gore raised mass awareness on Climate Change issues through this documentary. Al Gore deserves our admiration for the strong commitment he has for this common cause. No doubt, Climate Change is a Global issue.
A British Judge hearing a case on the documentary came out with the following eleven inaccuracies:
1.The Inconvenient Truth (TIT) claimed that melting snows on Mount Kilimanjaro was due to global warming. British Government's expert conceded that this is not correct.
2.TIT suggested that evidence from ice cores proved that rising CO2 caused temperature increases over 650,000 years. The Court found that over that period the rises in CO2 lagged behind the temperature rises by 800-2000 years.
3. TIT used emotive images of Hurricane Katrina and suggested that Katrina had been caused by global warming.The Government's expert had to accept that it was "not possible" to attribute one-off events to global warming.
4.TIT showed the drying up of Lake Chad and claimed that this was caused by global warming. The Government's expert had to accept that this was not the case.
5.TIT claimed that a study showed that polar bears had drowned due to disappearing arctic ice. It turned out that four polar bears drowned and this was because of a particularly violent storm.
6.TIT threatened that global warming could stop the Gulf Stream throwing Europe into an ice age: this is a scientific impossibility.
7. TIT blamed global warming for species losses including coral reef bleaching. The British Government could not find any evidence to support this claim.
8.TIT suggested that the Greenland ice covering could melt causing sea levels to rise dangerously. The evidence is that Greenland will not melt for millennia.
9.TIT suggested that the Antarctic ice covering was melting, the evidence was that it is in fact increasing.
10.TIT suggested that sea levels could rise by 7m causing the displacement of millions of people. In fact the evidence is that sea levels are expected to rise by about 40cm over the next hundred years and that there is no such threat of massive migration.
11. TIT claimed that rising sea levels had caused the evacuation of certain Pacific islands to New Zealand. The British Government is unable to substantiate this and the Court observed that this appears to be a false claim.
Indeed there are a few more inaccuracies in the film, like the one on Mumbai rains....rains and clogging of drainage in Mumbai are not new.
Does this diminish the stature of Al Gore ? In my opinion, a big NO. All poets have the freedom to use "exaggeration" to bring home their points. I think Al Gore has the poetic freedom to exaggerate !!!!
A British Judge hearing a case on the documentary came out with the following eleven inaccuracies:
1.The Inconvenient Truth (TIT) claimed that melting snows on Mount Kilimanjaro was due to global warming. British Government's expert conceded that this is not correct.
2.TIT suggested that evidence from ice cores proved that rising CO2 caused temperature increases over 650,000 years. The Court found that over that period the rises in CO2 lagged behind the temperature rises by 800-2000 years.
3. TIT used emotive images of Hurricane Katrina and suggested that Katrina had been caused by global warming.The Government's expert had to accept that it was "not possible" to attribute one-off events to global warming.
4.TIT showed the drying up of Lake Chad and claimed that this was caused by global warming. The Government's expert had to accept that this was not the case.
5.TIT claimed that a study showed that polar bears had drowned due to disappearing arctic ice. It turned out that four polar bears drowned and this was because of a particularly violent storm.
6.TIT threatened that global warming could stop the Gulf Stream throwing Europe into an ice age: this is a scientific impossibility.
7. TIT blamed global warming for species losses including coral reef bleaching. The British Government could not find any evidence to support this claim.
8.TIT suggested that the Greenland ice covering could melt causing sea levels to rise dangerously. The evidence is that Greenland will not melt for millennia.
9.TIT suggested that the Antarctic ice covering was melting, the evidence was that it is in fact increasing.
10.TIT suggested that sea levels could rise by 7m causing the displacement of millions of people. In fact the evidence is that sea levels are expected to rise by about 40cm over the next hundred years and that there is no such threat of massive migration.
11. TIT claimed that rising sea levels had caused the evacuation of certain Pacific islands to New Zealand. The British Government is unable to substantiate this and the Court observed that this appears to be a false claim.
Indeed there are a few more inaccuracies in the film, like the one on Mumbai rains....rains and clogging of drainage in Mumbai are not new.
Does this diminish the stature of Al Gore ? In my opinion, a big NO. All poets have the freedom to use "exaggeration" to bring home their points. I think Al Gore has the poetic freedom to exaggerate !!!!
But the correct title is "An Inconvenient Truth".