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Analysis of Great Global Warming Swindle

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Analysis of Great Global Warming Swindle
Analysis of The Great Global Warming Swindle

The Great Global Warming Swindle (GGWS) is a controversial documentary on climate change by British television producer Martin Durkin1. It first aired on the BBCs channel 4 on March 8, 20072. This documentary argues against conventional scientific understanding of the degree and cause of recent, observed climate change. The overwhelming view amongst climate scientists is that twentieth century global warming is largely due to an increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases resulting from increased industrialization during the last 100- 150 years. His program collides sharply with the premise outlined in former Vice President Al Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” which presents a bleak picture of how a buildup in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide affects the global climate, with potentially disastrous consequences. Durkin presents an alternative view that recent global warming is neither significant nor due to human activity. The documentary does not attempt to argue the latter view through any critical deconstruction of climate science orthodoxies. Rather, it contends that modern climate scientists are at best seriously misguided in their collective opinion on the nature and causes of global warming, or are at worst guilty of lying to the rest of the community. Publicity for the documentary leans heavily towards the latter, stating that global warming is “the biggest scam of modern times”.3

The documentary uses a series of techniques to shake the viewer’s belief in current orthodox understanding and to present an amenable contrary viewpoint. Several experts, labeled as ‘authoritative’, are interviewed to lend credibility to the documentary.4 These commentators are presented as ‘insiders’ who cast doubt on the integrity of climate change science and the IPCC assessment process that has led to current orthodox understanding. Alternate scientific contentions are presented in a credible


Cited: 1. " A Summary of the Kyoto Protoco ." United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change . N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2012. . 2. " Coldest December since late 1800s?." WND - A Free Press for a Free People. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. . 3. "8.7.2.3 Volcanoes - AR4 WGI Chapter 8: Climate Models and their Evaluation." IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. 4 6. "Aerosols, their Direct and Indirect Effects." ipcc_tar. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. . 7. "Britannia Radio." Britannia Radio. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. . 8. "Dr. Jeff Masters ' WunderBlog : The Manufactured Doubt industry and the hacked email controversy | Weather Underground." Weather Forecast & Reports - Long Range & Local | Wunderground | Weather Underground. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. . 9. "Executive Summary - AR4 WGI Chapter 3: Observations: Surface and Atmospheric Climate Change." IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. . 10. "Fred Singer." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. . 11. Hirschler, Ben. " Solar variations not behind global warming: study| Reuters." Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. . 12. Holmes, Tim . "New Left Project | Articles |The Great Martin Durkin Swindle." New Left Project | Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2012. . 13. "IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change." IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. . 14. Marshall, George . "the great chanel four swindle." Climate change denial. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2012. . 15. "Newsweek Hides Global Warming Denier 's Financial Ties to Big Oil | Alternet." Alternet | Alternative News and Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2012. . 16. "The Great Global Warming Swindle ." The Great Global Warming Swindle . N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. . 17. The Great Global Warming Swindle (DVD). Dir. Martin Durkin. Perf. Martin Durkin. Chanel 4, 2007. Film. 18. "communiations act." legislation.gov.uk. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. . 19. "communications act." legislation.gov.uk. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. . 20. "full complaint." complaint to ofcom regarding the great global warming swindle. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2012. . 21. type, job. "Martin Durkin - IMDb." IMDb - Movies, TV and Celebrities. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. . 22. "Climate Change Denial » THE GREAT CHANNEL FOUR SWINDLE." Climate Change Denial. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. .
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