Climate: The Movie

Climate the Movie: The Cold Truth (2023)

Directed by Martin Durkin and Martin O’Toole

Film Review

The main focus of this superbly produced film is an investigation of the historic causes of climate variability. Traditionally this has been the domain of astrophysicists, geologists and meteorologists. In the 21ast century, these scientists have been systematically marginalized by governments and corporate interests who (via selective grant funding and publishing) have created a new generation of climate scientists who only do studies supporting the hypothesis that industrialization and burning fossil fuels is causing dangerous increases in both CO2 levels and global temperatures. All the scientific data presented in the film originates with these blackballed astrophysicists, geologists and meteorologists, all with decades of research experience into the causes of climate variation.

They all take issue with

1. the deeply flawed approach of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  (a fundamentally political, rather than scientific, body) to measuring average global temperatures. More accurate temperature measurements reveal the Earth is still recovering from the Little Ice Age (1300-1900 AD)

2. a fundamental misunderstanding by IPCC-approved climate scientists about what historically constitutes a “normal” atmospheric CO2 concentration. The IPCC also fails to take account of ice core and other evidence about the 100-year lag between significant global warming and increased CO2 concentrations (instead the IPCC claims that high CO2 levels CAUSE global warming).

3. the extremely minor role minor greenhouse gasses such as CO2 and methane play in climate erroneous variation, in contrast to condensed water vapor (ie clouds).

4. the IPPC’s claim that extreme weather events are increasing.

At the end of the film, the filmmakers also interview policy analysts and African political activists activists who discuss the working class perception that the climate movement is directed against them and the phenomenon known as “climate colonialism, ” which would deny Africans the right to develop in order to save the planet.

1. IPCC Temperature Measurements Are Flawed – More Rigorous Measurements Suggest the Earth Is Still Recovering from the Last Little Ice Age.

IPCC scientists take most of their temperature measurements in so-called urban islands in the Northern Hemisphere. Meteorologists who do monitor rural temperatures reveal that global temperatures are still lower than the extreme heat records set in 1930-40 (the main cause of the US Dust Bowl), before industrially produced CO2 began to increase in the 1940s.. The period 1940-1970 was followed by marked cooling, leading journalists to write about a new Ice Age, with the period 1970-2000 exhibiting mild recovery. Temperatures have yet to return to the records set in the 1930s. Records from merchant ships reveal that ocean temperatures followed the exact same pattern. As do tree rings, weather balloons and satellites that measure surface temperatures at a distance.

66 million years ago mammal species took over the earth, in part because dinosaur competer were wiped out, but mainly because mammals thrive in a warm climate.

50 million years ago, the Earth began to experience a series of Ice Ages.

In the last two thousand years, the Earth experienced a long warming period during the Roman republic and empire, followed by a little ice age during the so-called Dark Ages (5th to 10th century), followed by brief warming, followed by the official Little Ice Age (14th-19th century), which ushered in crop failures, malnutrition and Europe-wide outbreaks of plague. According to many well-respected meteorologists and geologists who study ice cores, the Earth is still recovering from the last Little Ice Age (1300-1900), which is why there is still ice at the poles.

In fact (properly measured) average global temperatures are still much lower than those of the last major warming period (1930-40).

2. What Constitutes Normal CO2 levels?

During most of the 3 billion years since life first appeared on earth, CO2 levels have averaged several thousand ppm even after advanced mammals appeared. In fact mammals thrive with CO2 levels in the thousands. Biodiversity always increases with higher CO2 levels, owing to the stimulus it provides plant life.

20,000 year ago at the height of the Ice Age cycle CO2 levels were 180 ppm. If they had dropped below 50 ppm life on Earth would have been left out. Even at 180ppm thee was evidence of severe plant deprivation.

Fossilized gingko trees (2hidh experience growth spurts with high CO2 levels), like ice cores, provide an excellent record of CO2 levels. They reveal that current CO2 levels are still far lower than the historical average. Before our current cycle of ice ages began 50 million years ago, CO2 levels averaged between 2,000 and 7,000 ppm. At present they average 425 ppm.

3. CO2 and Methane Play Extremely Minor Role in Climate Variation Compare to Water Vapor.

Condensed water vapor (aka clouds) have far more effect on climate than CO2 because they radiated 100% of the sun’ rays. A group of Harvard astrophysicists have collected substantial evidence that the primary determinant of cloud formation is cosmic rays formed from super nova explosions in outer space. Short term solar activity (magnetic solar winds) can block these cosmic rays and reduce cloud formation.

4. Contrary to IPCC Claims, Extreme Weather Events Aren’t Increasing

The average number of wildfires hasn’t increased – they were five to ten time worse during the 1930s. The trend in wildfire is slightly down over the last 150 years. There’s no decrease in polar bear population, nor increase in typhoon, hurricanes and droughts.

Is Climate Change a Class Issue?

The policy analysts featured towards the end of the film discuss concerns expressed by blue collar workers that the climate change movement represents an attack on the working class. Many working people have the perception that climate change activists, who tend to be fairly affluent (eg Greta Thunberg – see Greta Thunberg’s parent, and that they’re more concerned about nature and whales than the welfare (and survival) of low income people. They feel that by trashing current fossil fuel and nuclear energy systems in the name of “degrowth,” they’re really trashing mass consumption, ie the extension (thanks to cheap energy) of comfortable lifestyles to previously marginalized populations..

Climate Colonialism

The filmmakers also feature African activists concerned about the demand by first world climate activists to curtail African development in the name of saving the planet. Given the impossibility of running heavy industry on wind mills and solar panels, Africa needs fossil fuels, not only to industrialize, but to guarantee food security for their marginalized population, through farm machinery, packaging and refrigerated trucks.

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*In France, for example, average temperatures in Paris are 5 degrees C higher than the surrounding country side.