There is ample and conclusive evidence that Earth's average temperature has increased in the past 100 years, and the decline of mid- and high-latitude glaciers is a major piece of evidence."Īl Gore refers to a graph of temperature, attributing it to Dr Thompson. But Mote puts it in perspective: "The fact that the loss of ice on Mount Kilimanjaro cannot be used as proof of global warming does not mean that the Earth is not warming. In his defence, the study by Philip Mote came out after Gore's film was made. Indeed deforestation seems to be causing Mount Kilimanjaro's shrinking glacier so Gore got this wrong. The dispute isn't that global warming is causing more hurricanes but that it's increasing their severity and longevity. This is mostly due to melting in West Antarctica which recently had the largest melting observed by satellites in the last 30 years. While East Antartica is gaining ice, Antartica is overall losing ice. The flip side of this is the Antarctic Peninsula has "experienced some of the fastest warming on Earth, nearly 3☌ over the last half-century".
The hole in the ozone layer above the Pole causes increased circular winds around the continent preventing warmer air from reaching eastern Antarctica and the Antarctic plateau. The original study observed regional cooling in east Antarctica. Overall, Greenland is losing ice according to satellite measurements here, here and here.Īntarctic cooling is a uniquely regional phenomenon. The study finds increasing ice mass in the interior due to heavier snowfall - an expected side-effect of global warming - and doesn't factor in all the melting that occurs at the edges of the ice sheet. Re Greenland, a big clue is the study's title: Recent Ice-Sheet Growth in the Interior of Greenland. In essence, the Karakoram glaciers are the exception that proves the rule. Overall, Himalayan glaciers are retreating - satellite measurements have observed "an overall deglaciation of 21%" from 1962 to 2007. This region has shown short term glacier growth in contrast to the long term, widespread glacier retreat throughout the rest of the Himalayas due to feedback processes associated with monsoon season. He's actually quoting himself and attributing it to the AMS! To put the Himalayas in context, the original AMS study is not refuting global warming but observing anomalous behaviour in a particular region, the Karakoram mountains. What Al got rightĬontrary to James Taylor's article, the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate never said growing glaciers are "confounding global warming alarmists" - that's a quote from the Heartland Institute website written by. Nevertheless, it is instructive to look at the purported errors in An Inconvenient Truth as it reveals a lot about climate science and the approach of his critics. Debunking Gore does not disprove anthropogenic global warming. It's worth pointing out that Al Gore is a politician, not a climate scientist.
Mr Justice Barton yesterday said that while the film was "broadly accurate" in its presentation of climate change, he identified nine significant errors in the film, some of which, he said, had arisen in "the context of alarmism and exaggeration" to support the former US vice-president's views on climate change.” ( The Guardian) © 2006 Lawrence Bender Productions.“Al Gore's Oscar-winning documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, was criticised by a high court judge who highlighted what he said were "nine scientific errors" in the film. (Source: Official Website)Īll rights reserved. With an emphasis on hope, An Inconvenient Truth ultimately shows us that global warming is no longer a political issue but rather, the biggest moral challenge facing our civilization today. Interspersed with the bracing facts and future predictions is the story of Gore’s personal journey: from an idealistic college student who first saw a massive environmental crisis looming to a young Senator facing a harrowing family tragedy that altered his perspective to the man who almost became President but instead returned to the most important cause of his life. In this intimate portrait of Gore and his “travelling global warming show,” Gore comes across as never before in the media-funny, engaging, open and intent on alerting citizens to this “planetary emergency” before it’s too late. Multiple Formats, 96 min. .įrom director Davis Guggenheim, An Inconvenient Truth is a passionate and inspirational look at former Vice President Al Gore’s fervent crusade to halt global warming’s deadly progress by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. New York: Lawrence Bender Productions, 2005.