"Truth" DVDs Refused

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For their role in deliberately obstructing the showing of An Inconvenient Truth to school kids, which would obviously help to raise awareness about the global warming threat, the administrators of National Science Teachers Association have befouled their reputation by refusing to accept 50,000 free copies of Davis Guggenheim and Al Gore's documentary to distribute to their members.

The stated reason was that the NSTA has a policy of not endorsing a particular project -- despite the reported fact that the NSTA "has accepted contributions from ExxonMobil, Shell and the National Petroleum Institute" and "[has] even distributed a Petroleum Institute video called You Can't Be Cool Without Fuel, which Inconvenient Truth producer Laurie David has called "a shameless pitch for oil dependence."

comment #1

renorambler says ...

Without knowing more, (the link isn't working) it's hard to say a lot about this. But I'm sure it has something to do with possibly offending potential funders.

It is heartening that so much of the scientific community has stepped up to support the film. I think AIT has thankfully put us much closer to the tipping point in our country in terms of accepting that the scientific community working on climate issues is almost unanimous in its belief that global warming is occuring and human actions have been a contributing factor. My father, (a world-renowned climate expert) has been talking about global warming for years and is pretty happy to finally see some traction.

comment #2

AlexStroup says ...

There's a missint h at the beginning of the coded URL. This is the correct link.

What's weird about this piece is that it is nearly a month late since the whole thing flared up around Thanksgiving.

Here are some posts at the Bad Astronomy blog that discusses it back then.

Whether you believe them or not, NSTA did have a much more detailed response to David's charges than Variety mentions.

comment #3

americanrat says ...

There are two big problems facing K - 12 science educators in this country right now. One is the pressure to teach creationism, the other is the pressure to teach bad environmental science.

Ecology is a valid and worthwhile science and there is a role for it in public school curricula, but I wouldn't want Inconvenient Truth used as supplemental media anymore than I want the book of Genesis.

comment #4

dixiedugan says ...

Thanks for the links AlexStroup - very interesting.

This whole business really yanks my chain. In very little of this discussion is the mention of the students who would be presented with this material. Believe it or not, there are ways to teach our children without bringing politics into the classroom. Too bad the NSTA nor the particular producer could not see that the focus should be the kids, and not their own agenda.

Now that my curiosity has been perked up, I'll be mentioning this to my child's Science Instructor and get her view.

comment #5

jeffmcm says ...

Hey Americanrat, you're wrong.
Of course, science teachers can certainly teach kids the dangers of global warming even without Al Gore's movie.

comment #6

christian says ...

YOU CAN'T BE COOL WITHOUT FUEL.

nuff said.

comment #7

MovieBob says ...

Much as I hate to say this, the bastards made the proper call in this case.. though if for the proper reasons, who knows. AIT is NOT a cold-hard-science documentary, that's only a third of it. The other 2/3s are A.) A nakedly political lecture peice and B.) A self-adoring autobiography of Al Gore. Neither one belongs in a science class, even if they ARE attached to a 3rd of a movie's worth of good, solid science (which they are.)

If Gore and his people want to get their information to schools, this would be the proper way: Produce a seperate DVD on the science and the science ONLY. No long moody cutaways of Al looking out the window sadly, no cheap shots at the other side. Just the facts and charts and numbers, preferably presented by someone who's NOT AL GORE and therefore carries at least the fig leaf of political objectivity.

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