Climate experts call for ‘dangerous’ Michael Moore film to be taken down

[Ryan Strome]

Go move to China or North Korea. 

 

Climate experts call for ‘dangerous’ Michael Moore film to be taken down

A new Michael Moore-produced documentary that takes aim at the supposed hypocrisy of the green movement is “dangerous, misleading and destructive” and should be removed from public viewing, according to an assortment of climate scientists and environmental campaigners.

The film, Planet of the Humans, was released on the eve of Earth Day last week by its producer, Michael Moore, the baseball cap-wearing documentarian known for Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine. Describing itself as a “full-frontal assault on our sacred cows”, the film argues that electric cars and solar energy are unreliable and rely upon fossil fuels to function. It also attacks figures including Al Gore for bolstering corporations that push flawed technologies over real solutions to the climate crisis.

 

 

Planet of the Humans has provoked a furious reaction from scientists and campaigners, however, who have called for it be taken down. Films for Action, an online library of videos, temporarily took down the film after describing it as “full of misinformation”, though they later reinstated it, saying they did not want accusations of censorship to give the film “more power and mystique than it deserves”. A free version on YouTube has been viewed more than 3m times.

A letter written by Josh Fox, who made the documentary Gasland, and signed by various scientists and activists, has urged the removal of “shockingly misleading and absurd” film for making false claims about renewable energy. Planet of the Humans “trades in debunked fossil fuel industry talking points” that question the affordability and reliability of solar and wind energy, the letter states, pointing out that these alternatives are now cheaper to run than fossil fuels such as coal.

Michael Mann, a climate scientist and signatory to Fox’s letter, said the film includes “various distortions, half-truths and lies” and that the filmmakers “have done a grave disservice to us and the planet by promoting climate change inactivist tropes and talking points.” The film’s makers did not respond to questions over whether it will be pulled down.

Planet of the Humans has been shown at Moore’s Traverse City film festival, where the producer said it was “perhaps the most urgent film we’ve shown in the 15-year history of our film festival”. Jeff Gibbs, who wrote and directed the film, has suggested that unrestrained economic and population growth should be the target of environmentalists’ efforts rather than technological fixes.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/28/climate-dangerous-documentary-planet-of-the-humans-michael-moore-taken-down

[Me_]

I just watched it. I understand why there would be a movement to take down this film.

 

This movie makes the argument that there is no way out by invention, that "biofuel", owned and managed by the major polluting industries, is synonymous with tree cutting on mass scale, and that the only way out is an acceptance of human self-control, a drastic reduction in population and a re-invention of needs.

 

I agree. The last quote of the film explains it perfectly.

 

Edited April 29, 2020 by Me_

[Warhippy]

I watched some of it.  It's Micheal Moore being Micheal Moore.  he is stating facts from his point of view leading to a culmination of his opening statements.  Nothing he says i inherently wrong.  He's very open about it.  The hypocrisy of the green movement is approaching that of the Energy giants in some aspects and it needs to be addressed.

 

You cannot claim it's a green energy movement with massive lithium mines.  Nor can you claim it when these large companies that create batteries actively engage in refusing to find or develop proper recycling methods for them.  You can't say that wind energy does not use a large carbon footprint to create turbines.  It's fact, they do.

 

Once these created products are working and operational, yes they are in fact green, they do in fact help the environment.  but as is pointed out in this film there is no truth to them being carbon neutral or truly green with the creation process and needed materials being derived the way they are.

 

Moore is not wrong in calling this out and I think he's right to do so in that it will shine a light on what could become a divide as divisive as the political one in the US.  Shining a light on it now exposes the growing issues and will hopefully, as stated force these companies and those involved to address it now

[Ryan Strome]

12 minutes ago, Me_ said:

I just watched it. I understand why there would be a movement to take down this film.

 

This movie makes the argument that there is no way out by invention, that "biofuel", owned and managed by the major polluting industries, is synonymous with tree cutting on mass scale, and that the only way out is an acceptance of human self-control, a drastic reduction in population and a re-invention of needs.

 

I agree. The last quote of the film explains it perfectly.

 

I haven't watched it yet. I have heard a lot of people talking about it. It does shock me some want it taken down 

All the more reason for me to watch it.

[Lancaster]

I was never a fan of Michael Moore..... but people just needs to stop complaining and censoring others.  

[RUPERTKBD]

I think it's a mistake to try and "shut down" Michael Moore's opinion....even if it's in the form of a movie, or documentary....

 

I think a more effective idea would be to ask people to view it as opinion and with an open mind.

 

In my experience, when you try and censor something, it just makes the fringe elements of society more convinced that you're hiding "the truth".....

[JM_]

2 minutes ago, Ryan Strome said:

I haven't watched it yet. I have heard a lot of people talking about it. It does shock me some want it taken down 

All the more reason for me to watch it.

I can't stand the "take it down" erasure thing that some on the left immediately call for now. Just debate it. By trying to erase it you hand things more power than they may have otherwise not had.

 

Haven't watched it yet but if the message is to re-think our own level self-control thats not a bad thing. 

[CBH1926]

Not a fan of Moore but censorship is bull$&!#!

Watched part of it, going to watch the rest.

 

[brownky]

Censorship is never the answer.

 

If someone is an idiot, let them be an idiot. If people are stupid enough to believe idiocy, then they get what they get. See: recent uptick in poison control calls due to inappropriate disinfectant intake.

 

Following that, if someone is an idiot and the truth can be shown proving they are an idiot, that's vastly preferable. If you can't prove it, then are they really an idiot, or do you just disagree with them fundamentally because it challenges your preconceived notions of how things 'should be'?

 

The point of something like this is to make people think and not just follow aimlessly into one camp or another. I usually disagree with Michael Moore films fundamentally, not for necessarily for their subject matter or his own leanings, but rather their presentation; the answer is already there "in his mind", and it's simply the exercise of throwing s*** at you until you've had enough, then a bit more for good measure to 'prove his point'.

 

Taking it at face value is foolish. Taking what he's saying with a few pounds (tons) of salt and thinking about the points he's raising... that's usually a lot more constructive. As with everything, very, very rarely is someone "completely right" or "completely wrong".

 

My greatest wish for humanity is that more people develop and apply their own critical thinking skills rather than just believe what they are told by someone.

 

I buy lottery tickets because I have a better chance of winning that.

[JM_]

3 minutes ago, CBH1926 said:

Not a fan of Moore but censorship is bull$&!#!

Watched part of it, going to watch the rest.

 

its is. I'm certainly 'left' in most of my political views, but this is one of the reasons that I can't consider myself a "progressive" too much knee-jerk reaction these days. 

[Me_]

14 minutes ago, Ryan Strome said:

I haven't watched it yet. I have heard a lot of people talking about it. It does shock me some want it taken down 

All the more reason for me to watch it.

That's why I decided NOOOOWWWW!!!! lol

 

Just in case it's not there anymore.

 

It was supposed to come out on Earth Day but since there is a pandemic they decide to release it for free. It's on Youtube.

 

 

[-AJ-]

I'm rarely in favour of censorship, even if it's with someone or some view with which I disagree.

[Ryan Strome]

2 minutes ago, Me_ said:

That's why I decided NOOOOWWWW!!!! lol

 

Just in case it's not there anymore.

 

It was supposed to come out on Earth Day but since there is a pandemic they decide to release it for free. It's on Youtube.

 

 

Thanks.

[PhillipBlunt]

45 minutes ago, Ryan Strome said:

Go move to China or North Korea. 

 

Climate experts call for ‘dangerous’ Michael Moore film to be taken down

A new Michael Moore-produced documentary that takes aim at the supposed hypocrisy of the green movement is “dangerous, misleading and destructive” and should be removed from public viewing, according to an assortment of climate scientists and environmental campaigners.

The film, Planet of the Humans, was released on the eve of Earth Day last week by its producer, Michael Moore, the baseball cap-wearing documentarian known for Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine. Describing itself as a “full-frontal assault on our sacred cows”, the film argues that electric cars and solar energy are unreliable and rely upon fossil fuels to function. It also attacks figures including Al Gore for bolstering corporations that push flawed technologies over real solutions to the climate crisis.

 

 

Planet of the Humans has provoked a furious reaction from scientists and campaigners, however, who have called for it be taken down. Films for Action, an online library of videos, temporarily took down the film after describing it as “full of misinformation”, though they later reinstated it, saying they did not want accusations of censorship to give the film “more power and mystique than it deserves”. A free version on YouTube has been viewed more than 3m times.

A letter written by Josh Fox, who made the documentary Gasland, and signed by various scientists and activists, has urged the removal of “shockingly misleading and absurd” film for making false claims about renewable energy. Planet of the Humans “trades in debunked fossil fuel industry talking points” that question the affordability and reliability of solar and wind energy, the letter states, pointing out that these alternatives are now cheaper to run than fossil fuels such as coal.

Michael Mann, a climate scientist and signatory to Fox’s letter, said the film includes “various distortions, half-truths and lies” and that the filmmakers “have done a grave disservice to us and the planet by promoting climate change inactivist tropes and talking points.” The film’s makers did not respond to questions over whether it will be pulled down.

Planet of the Humans has been shown at Moore’s Traverse City film festival, where the producer said it was “perhaps the most urgent film we’ve shown in the 15-year history of our film festival”. Jeff Gibbs, who wrote and directed the film, has suggested that unrestrained economic and population growth should be the target of environmentalists’ efforts rather than technological fixes.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/28/climate-dangerous-documentary-planet-of-the-humans-michael-moore-taken-down

So much for free speech. 

[Ryan Strome]

1 minute ago, PhillipBlunt said:

So much for free speech. 

I feel like there is no more middle ground anymore

One extreme or the other.

Edited April 29, 2020 by Ryan Strome

[Bure_Pavel]

7 minutes ago, Ryan Strome said:

I feel like there is no more middle ground anymore

One extreme or the other.

I feel like it is all middle ground, you are free to say what you want, as long as it doesnt offend anyone and is in line with the general public. 

[Ralph.]

Population growth is one thing that I've figured for years will screw us.

 

As for the censorship thing, it's nice going through this thread and seeing that virtually everyone actually seems to agree for once: Censorship = Bad.

[RUPERTKBD]

15 minutes ago, Gäz said:

Population growth is one thing that I've figured for years will screw us.

 

As for the censorship thing, it's nice going through this thread and seeing that virtually everyone actually seems to agree for once: Censorship = Bad.

I think we all agree censorship is bad...

 

....except, of course, for when Alf posts photos of himself in a Speedo on FB

[NewbieCanuckFan]

Calls to censor his work will likely only get MORE people to watch this coward's film.  And yes, it was fairly a long time ago but I still think it was gutless his "surprise interview of Heston" when he knew that guy was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.  I didn't agree with alot  of Heston's politics (though remember, he campaigned for civil rights long before it became fashionable), but you treat an elderly man suffering from that horrible disease alot better than that.

Edited April 29, 2020 by NewbieCanuckFan

[4thLineGrinder]

27 minutes ago, Bure_Pavel said:

I feel like it is all middle ground, you are free to say what you want, as long as it doesnt offend anyone and is in line with the general public.