An inconvenient truth?

First the Oscar-winning film made by former US Vice-President Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, was distributed to UK secondary schools. Then a Kent school governor attempted to ban the film from secondary schools. Subsequently a High Court judge ruled that the film can be shown in England's secondary schools. It was subsequently reported that the judge said that the film contains "nine scientific errors". Mr Justice Burton said the government could still send the film to schools - provided it is accompanied by guidance giving the other side of the argument.

Then last week Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the UN were jointly awarded The Nobel Peace Prize 2007 for "their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change". In the accompanying press release, the Nobel Committee said: "By awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 to the IPCC and Al Gore, the Norwegian Nobel Committee is seeking to contribute to a sharper focus on the processes and decisions that appear to be necessary to protect the world’s future climate, and thereby to reduce the threat to the security of mankind. Action is necessary now, before climate change moves beyond man’s control."

If you haven't already done so, then watch the film - and decide for yourself whether words of the mealy-mouthed High Court ruling or the 2007 Peace Prize citation are more likely to encourage individuals to act on global warming. Want to do something now? Then download 10 simple things to do to see ways you can reduce your carbon footprint.