There is no question that Al Gore’s 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth is a powerful example of how scientific knowledge can be communicated to a lay audience. What is up for debate is whether it accurately presents the scientific argument that global warming is caused by human activities. Climate change experts express their opinions on the scientific validity of the film’s claims in articles just published online in Springer’s journal, GeoJournal.
The papers in GeoJournal agree that it does an excellent job of raising public awareness of man-made global warming and explains why increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases lead to warming.
They also agree that its main weakness is that it tries to use individual extreme events, such as Hurricane Katrina, to prove the existence of global warming.
In the first opinion piece, Eric Steig from Washington University states that the film gets the fundamental science right. The minor factual errors do not undermine the main message of the film…
There are several articles in the GeoJournal [registration, subscription]. True Believers who reject peer-reviewed science will continue to be upset.
#126–Pat==did you have the interest to read Scotts excellent reference ON POINT with what you recommend, or is your mind made up?
http://tinyurl.com/2ls68u
Kudo’s to Scott. I think we all need our private blogs so that on those issues we want to develop coherent positions on, we will have a link and resources available instead of the mindless vague ambiguous unhelpful one liners that get tossed back and forth. Eg–any single sentence with “Holocene” in it.
Lawrence Solomon has written a book called The Deniers, which came about from his newspaper columns that he started writing to debunk the idea that there is no climate consensus among scientists. After doing his research, he reached the opposite conclusion that most scientists don’t believe in the global warming hysteria.
#120–Scott==I basically agree with you, but I have to quibble and see if anything cogent comes up while I type. Seems “thinking” about it is not grounded enough.
Humans don’t think in geologic time frames. Doing so is in the nature of an analogy. Maybe helpful, maybe not.
Seems to me that seeing all human activity as a nanosecond would also tend to make anything humans do, including mass extinction of species including ourselves, also an event, perhaps even a few seconds, also irrelevant as the Great Gaia Mother evolves on.
So–are we killing the planet fast or slow? Turns out we aren’t killing the planet at all and the speed depends on how fast you are traveling. Damn Einstein. Lets blame him. He also did not care about global warming.
>>Why because it wouldn’t be within the
>>realm of possibility?
That’s right, “J”, it wouldn’t be within the realm of possibility that you “worked with” Oliver Stone, unless you fetched coffee. No matter what you own. You could own the wholde goddamned studio, and you STILL wouldn’t “work with” Oliver Stone. Unelss you were the coffee boy.
#131–Mustard==absent relevant evidence, you should take people at face value.
To that end, I wouldn’t define “working with” to include the coffee boy. That’s “working for.”
I think J has shown us pretty clearly his qualifications to be a Hollywoodland operative, so what evidence we do have point to the possibility he has worked for/with Oliver Stone. Why not advance the argument by some clever miss use of the language?
Oops, you did. sorry.
>>I recommend that everyone watch The Great
>>Global Warming Swindle as the most
>>entertaining scientific documentary
>>on this topic.
Entertaining, maybe, but about as scientifically valid as South Park. Martin Durkin is an anti-environmental flake of the first water.
# 126 pat
First off you are confused about where the rains were supposed to be falling. The mid-Holocene is also referred to as the `green’ Sahara but I will get back to that shortly. The ECHAM model shows a northward extension of vegetation in the West on the Sahara ONLY. The LMD model shows a much smaller and more zonal affect.
Now back to the “wet paradise” The Afro-Asian monsoonal rains did not cross the subtropical desert zone during the mid-Holocene We have evidence that there was increased rainfall in the Ethiopian Highlands with results in more water in the Nile flood. This is not a sign of a “wet paradise” in the mid-East.
Thanks for correcting my typing errors and poking fun at them. I suck a typing as I am more of a pencil person.
#131, pat,
the maximum warmth flowed south to north from 11,000 to 7,000 years ago. It appears that this was influenced by the residual glacial ice remaining in the Northern Hemisphere until the latter date.
While I give you credit for trying to post something factual, you’re still incorrect. Yes, Egypt was once much wetter than today. That was a long time ago though.
… the maximum warmth flowed south to north from 11,000 to 7,000 years ago. It appears that this was influenced by the residual glacial ice remaining in the Northern Hemisphere until the latter date.
See: CLIMATE
http://tinyurl.com/pxxyb
# 131 Mister Mustard
OK whatever you say.
Just so you know I wasn’t the coffe boy and I wasn’t an extra either.
#133–this thread is going to die too soon, so for those that check back, “on its face” the Global Warming Swindle makes what sounds like some good arguments against HUMAN CAUSED global warming.
That said, I am watching right now a rebuttal to that film called: PROOF THAT ‘THE GREAT GLOBAL WARMING SWINDLE’ WAS A SCAM.avi
You are right, it appears Martin Durkin is somewhat of a scamp.
Total co2 in atmosphere==.o54 percent. Small part of that is human contribution. But it seems very very small amounts of co2 are just that impactful.
Whats interesting is how immediately both sides go to analogies that are quite compelling.
What do we know, how do we know it, how do we change our minds? Questions for the ages, and for ourselves.
#136–J==were you a rattlesnake wrangler?
# 131 Mister Mustard
Oh and by the way a “coffee boy” is not the proper terminology. It is PA. So for someone that doesn’t even know the job titles on a movie set you have ZERO credibility to judge any claim made about it. Oh and I know a lot of other people too. Ones with much more influence than Oliver Stone.
Ask yourself. Why did he say “Natural Born Killers” and not one of Stones better movies? Sorry bobbo I don’t think it is that great of a movie and not his best work. It actually is kind of twisted. It just got him a lot of attention because of the violence. I like the Joy Luck Club which he Executive produced much better. BUT it was really fun to work on.
#138 bobbo
NO. LOL I am a was a special and visual effects artist. I now own my own company but I mostly work in commercials and not film. That is how I know Oliver Stone. But most of the others I know are due to my wealth and my wife.
#135 “Yes, Egypt was once much wetter than today. That was a long time ago though.”
That was my only point. I hope you don’t think I was comparing the reason for warming then to present. Only regarding warmth & available moisture in the atmosphere.
#134
Thanks for the info J.
I started life as an excellent speller.
That skill went to hell in a hand basket over the years of relying on spell checkers.
#139–J==very cool. Ironic that your best work will never be suspected by those looking directly at it?
Joy Luck Club?–gag. I think I turned that one off after 15 minutes. Women talking.
Yes, the violence of NBK is excessive–it turned me off the first 1-2 views. Somewhere around the smoke lodge vision thing I had a vision myself.
Lets see, which has more relevance to my life, a group of chinese ladies, or psychotic killers? Pretty much a toss up.
J, you’ll like the following:
#141—pat—==did you have the interest to read Scotts excellent reference ON POINT with what you recommend, or is your mind made up?
http://tinyurl.com/2ls68u
>>Oh and by the way a “coffee boy” is not
>>the proper terminology. It is PA.
{{snicker}} Not to worry, “J”, I’m well aware of what Hollywood coffee boys, in their delusional grandiosity, call themselves. That doesn’t mean they’re not coffee boys, fetching coffee.
As to the rest of your post, pffft. I’m not sure what knowing people who “have influence over Oliver Stone” gets you in this world, other than being able to come on DU and ballyhoo your importance in the dying world of studio films.
Glad to hear that you were able to get yourself a rich wife. That must be some consolation.
# 140 pat
The only reason I jumped on it is because you said “middle east”. Egypt didn’t really receive tremendous amounts of rain they just benefited because of the rainfall in Ethiopia. Although there was an interesting thing about that. They didn’t receive a lot of sediment. I think I read that was because of the expanded plant growth in Ethiopia.
# 141 pat
“I started life as an excellent speller.”
Not me LOL. Although, those weren’t misspellings but shitty typing. 🙂 I always heard that reading a lot make you a good speller. I put that theory to rest because I read a LOT and I can’t spell for shit. My use of grammar and punctuation on blogs also sucks because I just type what is in my head and sometimes my little nubs can’t move that fast.
#139 bobbo
” Ironic that your best work will never be suspected by those looking directly at it?”
LOL if done right LOL. Yeah but that is the whole point. Just imagine the self esteem issues that arise from that. LOL
“Joy Luck Club?–gag. ”
Oh come on it was a great film! I get beat up on that all the time buy other guys.
“Lets see, which has more relevance to my life, a group of chinese ladies, or psychotic killers? Pretty much a toss up.”
Well I am part Chinese so maybe that is why. But I like all sorts of Girly movies so I don’t know. My wife loves that about me.
“Somewhere around the smoke lodge vision thing I had a vision myself.”
OOOOOKAAAAAAAYY!!! Click. 911. Hello Operator ! LOL 🙂
“J, you’ll like the following:”
Man I don’t click on tiny URLs anymore unless they have that preview thing. I have seen more Rick Ashley video than I care to discuss.
#144–J==”I don’t click on tiny URLs anymore” /// why, because of that thread last week regarding kiddie porn? The paper trail (e trail?) would exist to show your innocense, but maybe so.
However the link is free of kiddie porn and is “bobbo approved.”
I wonder why pat does minimal posting in favor of toxic pollution and won’t even answer legitimate questions? Maybe he has worked with Oliver Stone too?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3928695593212006635&q=the+great+global+warming+swindle&ei=k8MISMC9O6em4QKK2uSmAQ
# 143 Mister Mustard
“Not to worry, “J”, I’m well aware of what Hollywood coffee boys, in their delusional grandiosity, call themselves. ”
Once again you promote your ignorance. They do a lot more than fetch coffee. Granted they are below the line just about as far as you can go but having them is essential to a production because they do all the leg work.
“As to the rest of your post, pffft. I’m not sure what knowing people who “have influence over Oliver Stone” gets you in this world, other than being able to come on DU and ballyhoo your importance in the dying world of studio films.”
Nope. Makes me money and lots of it. So blow it out your ass 🙂 LOL
“Glad to hear that you were able to get yourself a rich wife. That must be some consolation.”
Yeah my wife was wealthy before se met me. So what? But not as wealthy as me. You see I didn’t just make money in my effects business I own lots of commercial real estate too. Unlike you I choose to excel and better myself and my standing in the world.
I will give you just this little piece. I did have advantages growing up but I made more out of it than some one like you could or would.
# 145 bobbo
“why, because of that thread last week regarding kiddie porn? The paper trail (e trail?) would exist to show your innocense, but maybe so.”
Yeah ! Fuck! That too! What the fuck was that all about? I do have a hard time believing that they could even get away with that. Ask Mr. Mustard he must have experience with kiddie porn. But no seriously I get like 200 emails a day and I get links all the time from people that call themselves my friend and I click on it thinking it is an article that is worth reading and I see a Rick Ashley video or that dam gotsex thing. I can’t believe I fell for that as many times as I did.
“However the link is free of kiddie porn and is “bobbo approved.”
Yeah that makes me trust it. LOL 🙂
“Maybe he has worked with Oliver Stone too?”
Man! You have no idea how paranoid that man is. From what I remember he kind of got fucked up during the war so maybe it is justified.
BTW people TINY URL has a preview option that allows people to examin the link before they click. Why doesn’t anybody use it?
#147–J==I think Steve Martin had a joke on how to get rich. You take a million bucks and invest it wisely.
Staff had a joke about our CEO. He bankrolled his family fortune of 12 Million into a tidy nest egg of 2 Million. Nice guy though, or maybe because of it? Good thing his wife had even more money.
# 149 bobbo
“I think Steve Martin had a joke on how to get rich. You take a million bucks and invest it wisely.”
I agree you will get no argument from me on that. I would be lying to say I got where I am all on my own. I think that is true for most people. But that is a whole other discussion on class.
“He bankrolled his family fortune of 12 Million into a tidy nest egg of 2 Million. ”
Ouch!. I see that more and more these days. Usually those slick dressed used car salesman types tring their get rich quick schemes. Me I wear shorts,sandals and a tee-shirt, usually with a product, or Pearl Jam logo on it. 🙂 LOL During the summer that is.
#150 “I agree you will get no argument from me on that. I would be lying to say I got where I am all on my own. I think that is true for most people.”
I think that has to do with the fact that you were born into wealth, like you alluded to.
I know a lot of multi-millionaires and not one started with any money to speak of.
# 151 pat
“I think that has to do with the fact that you were born into wealth, like you alluded to.”
I was. I admit that but it wasn’t like were were the Vanderbilt’s or anything.
“I know a lot of multi-millionaires and not one started with any money to speak of.”
I know a lot too. So what? 🙂 It is still easier to make money when you already have it. I have a lot of respect for people that do it that way. I will say there is a bit of snobbery though for people with “NEW” money. Not from me but other I know.
Lets not forget there is a LOT of luck in it too. Being the right person in the right place at the right time pays off for many. Sometimes these scenarios are non-repeatable.
>>Yeah my wife was wealthy before se met me.
>>So what? But not as wealthy as me.
Oh man. You are just pitiful. I actually feel sorry for you, “J”.
>Ask Mr. Mustard he must have experience
>>with kiddie porn.
{snicker}. You’re crashing and burning, “J”. Are you the only one who doesn’t see it?
#154–Now Mustard==back off on the hot sauce. I find it refreshing to meet a rich guy who admits he didn’t do it all by hisself a la center of the universe, pat.
I know I didn’t get poor all by myself. How does one do anything by ones self when living in a group?
But self made millionaires are special people. They taught themselves to read and walk, changed their own diapers just go begin with and the story only becomes more heroic as they age.
>>I find it refreshing to meet a rich guy
Aw, come on, Mr. Bobbolina. Do you imagine that because someone says he’s a “rich guy” on the internet, that means he’s a rich guy irl? He could be a Bowery bum, logging in from the public library.
It’s been my experience that the harder folks pimp themselves in a non-verifiable situation (like posting on DU), the bigger the loser they usually are.
#156–Mustard==of course, that could be the case, just as you could be Ketchup.
The “idea” contained in J’s post is refreshing regardless of who J is, just as the “idea” in pats is repugnant, regardless of who he is.
I prefer ideas being discussed without the resort to the ad hominem,but such divertissments are just that and cleanse the palate for the next course.
BTW–I want to make my own mustard but the seeds are just about as expensive as the final product.
Any insight?