Climate change denial 1
Climate change science
Channel 4’s infamous The Great Global Warming Swindle TV programme broadcast in March 2007 re-opened the ‘debate’ on whether climate change is man-made and even encouraged a few MPs to sign an Early Day Motion on the non-existence of climate change!
The Swindle is a one-sided argument put together by a film maker with a name for skewing the facts, and featuring greenhouse sceptics with media profiles that far exceed their scientific publishing records.
But worst of all, writer/director Martin Durkin does a great job of making what sounds like a very convincing argument.
If you didn't have access to the Internet, or a higher degree in climatology, it'd be all too easy to swallow the straight-forward graphs and expert evidence that The Great Global Warming Swindle presented. There's just one problem: The Swindle's argument is based on out of date, discredited or misrepresented data.
For something as important as this, we'd rather trust 1000 scientists working for the United Nations than a handful of ex-scientists and mavericks who talk unopposed on a C4 documentary, and get funding from commercial organisations who want business to continue as usual.
We at Friends of the Earth are convinced that climate change is happening, and it is largely due to man’s activities. If you come across people who use the The Swindle to argue the opposite, here’s a set of useful links that could help you win them round.
1. The Royal Society viewpoint:
Our scientific understanding of climate change is sufficiently sound to make us highly confident that greenhouse gas emissions are causing global warming. Science moves forward by challenge and debate and this will continue. However, none of the current criticisms of climate science, nor the alternative explanations of global warming are well enough founded to make not taking any action the wise choice. The science clearly points to the need for nations to take urgent steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, as much and as fast as possible, to reduce the more severe aspects of climate change. We must also prepare for the impacts of climate change, some of which are already inevitable.
The Royal Society has published a detailed document examining the C4 Swindle programme and its arguments here.
2. George Marshall of COIN wrote the following:
“Last night Channel Four kindly gave an hour and half and a large budget to the international network of professional climate change deniers. 'The Great Global Warming Swindle' was a propaganda gift to the various vested interests who seek to undermine the fragile political and social will to take action on this global action. And it was sometimes very convincing, as strongly worded opinions often are when they are not subject to any verification or external challenge.”