The Arrogance Of Youth...

A teenage director hopes his homemade documentary will be shown in schools across Oxfordshire to raise awareness during Climate Change Week.

Ross Harrison, 19, from Hailey, near Witney, set out to dispel the myths and find the real facts behind climate change.

Oh, really?

The former Magdalen School pupil, who started the film as a hobby in 2009, said: “I was frustrated with the debate that has been going on for years. I wanted to get to the bottom of it myself. I wanted to make a documentary about climate change but one that gets to the heart of the issue, one that gives an optimistic outlook of what we need to do in the future.”

Sounds good to me! So, did he look at all the facts?

Well....if he did, we don't get to hear about it:

The Cambridge University geography student wrote to top academics including Oxford University staff and journalist and author Mark Lynas.

And he said the project took off when Sir David Attenborough, pictured, agreed to be interviewed. After hours of discussions, the youngster said he was convinced by the scientific evidence put forward by the experts.

Those experts being known climate change enthusiasts. Did he ever interview anyone else?

He said: “Saying ‘climate change is terrible, we’re in big trouble’ hasn’t persuaded many people to rise to the challenge.

“There needs to be a new message that is appealing and inspiring – a fresh movement that anyone can feel part of.”

Hey, if your facts are so compelling, why the need to have a movement, an 'appealing message'? Surely the facts speak for themselves, don't they?

The student gathered sponsorship to get his film shown across the UK and every school in Oxfordshire has been sent the DVD. The documentary has also been shown as far afield as Kenya and the USA.

You can watch or download the film at www.beyondthebrink.org.

And from the blurb on that website, we find out the people he considers 'experts':

Interviews with Sir David Attenborough, Mark Lynas, David Shukman, Prof Dieter Helm, the UK Youth Climate Coalition, and Ross’ grandparents among others...

Yup, every single one a dyed-in-the-wool man-made climate change believer. And Helm is an economist, for heaven's sake!

And I loved my grandparents and valued their opinions, but they weren't scientists. Nor, I suspect, are Ross's...

So this little video is truly a vanity project - Manwiddicombe's 'ecosmugness' writ large.