Monday, March 14, 2005
HORIZON PROGRAMME ON GLOBAL DIMMING
Dear Mr Craig,
Thank you for your e-mail to Horizon. We appreciate you taking the
trouble to write with your comments. All of our viewers' comments -
whether critical or complimentary - are important to us, and help us to
adapt and improve the way we do things.
We are sorry that you are not happy with certain aspects of our recent
programme "Global Dimming". It does make us stop to consider our
approach to film-making when we receive a mail like yours. We will take
note of your comments, along with the many other letters and e-mails we
receive and the results of audience research that is carried out on our
behalf, as we approach future programmes.
Our role is an ever-changing one, trying to find a balance that caters
for widely differing and evolving tastes - I hope that we will soon
evolve again to suit your tastes more closely.
Yours sincerely,
The Horizon Team.
-----Original Message-----
From: Neil Craig [mailto:crgn143@aol.com]
Sent: 13 January 2005 22:49
To: sn.feedback
Subject: TV
Neil Craig wrote:
To: sn.feedback@bbc.co.uk
I have just seen the Horizon programme on global dimming which is the
alleged reduction in global temperature by pollution caused by evil
industrialists. This is apparently the cause of famine in Africa (rather
than the incompetence & wars of local governments conventionally
blamed).
This is not to be confused with global warming which is, according to
the normal BBC line, caused by evil industrialists & is the cause of
famine worldwide.
May I say that the almost continuous use of eerie mood music to show how
we are all "Doomed, doomed" throughout the documentary was not really
consistent with a scientific programme.
I do not say that the basic claims about dimming are wrong, although it
is clearly to early to be sure either way. What this really proves is
that:
A) The hypothesis' about various sorts of climate change are all
unproven theories which require much more research rather than being
treated as an uncritical scare story. The "declaration of war on fire"
that is the Kyoto system which the BBC so completely supports, in it's
impartial way, is clearly, at the very least an expensive, simplistic &
very partial solution to a problem that may not exist.
B) That pro-active methods of climate control (eg deliberately seeding
the stratosphere with microscopically pulverised charcoal dust) are
potentially vastly cheaper & more effective, if less scary, methods of
solving any actual problems of global warming/cooling.
If the BBC is to continue it's traditional stance of leaning neither on
the one hand towards partiality, nor on the other towards impartiality,
Horizon should be devoting at least some time to reporting the doubts
about & alternative solutions to climate change not involving increasing
government controls on our lives.
Yours Faithfully
Neil Craig
............................................................
My original letter (not the automated reply) was also published on SEPP.org Item 8
Thank you for your e-mail to Horizon. We appreciate you taking the
trouble to write with your comments. All of our viewers' comments -
whether critical or complimentary - are important to us, and help us to
adapt and improve the way we do things.
We are sorry that you are not happy with certain aspects of our recent
programme "Global Dimming". It does make us stop to consider our
approach to film-making when we receive a mail like yours. We will take
note of your comments, along with the many other letters and e-mails we
receive and the results of audience research that is carried out on our
behalf, as we approach future programmes.
Our role is an ever-changing one, trying to find a balance that caters
for widely differing and evolving tastes - I hope that we will soon
evolve again to suit your tastes more closely.
Yours sincerely,
The Horizon Team.
-----Original Message-----
From: Neil Craig [mailto:crgn143@aol.com]
Sent: 13 January 2005 22:49
To: sn.feedback
Subject: TV
Neil Craig wrote:
To: sn.feedback@bbc.co.uk
I have just seen the Horizon programme on global dimming which is the
alleged reduction in global temperature by pollution caused by evil
industrialists. This is apparently the cause of famine in Africa (rather
than the incompetence & wars of local governments conventionally
blamed).
This is not to be confused with global warming which is, according to
the normal BBC line, caused by evil industrialists & is the cause of
famine worldwide.
May I say that the almost continuous use of eerie mood music to show how
we are all "Doomed, doomed" throughout the documentary was not really
consistent with a scientific programme.
I do not say that the basic claims about dimming are wrong, although it
is clearly to early to be sure either way. What this really proves is
that:
A) The hypothesis' about various sorts of climate change are all
unproven theories which require much more research rather than being
treated as an uncritical scare story. The "declaration of war on fire"
that is the Kyoto system which the BBC so completely supports, in it's
impartial way, is clearly, at the very least an expensive, simplistic &
very partial solution to a problem that may not exist.
B) That pro-active methods of climate control (eg deliberately seeding
the stratosphere with microscopically pulverised charcoal dust) are
potentially vastly cheaper & more effective, if less scary, methods of
solving any actual problems of global warming/cooling.
If the BBC is to continue it's traditional stance of leaning neither on
the one hand towards partiality, nor on the other towards impartiality,
Horizon should be devoting at least some time to reporting the doubts
about & alternative solutions to climate change not involving increasing
government controls on our lives.
Yours Faithfully
Neil Craig
............................................................
My original letter (not the automated reply) was also published on SEPP.org Item 8
