Cameron backs out. So much for that attempt to sink skeptical arguments.
From King of the World to Chicken of the Sea: Director James Cameron challenges climate skeptics to debate and then bails out at last minute
Via the SPPI Blog, Source: Climatedepot
Hide the Debate: Cameron ducks Climate Debate with Breitbart, Morano, & McElhinney
by Marc Morano
ASPEN COLORADO: Hollywood director James Cameron challenged three high profile global warming skeptics to a public debate at a global warming and energy conference. But Cameron backed out of the debate at the last minute after environmentalists “came out of the woodwork” to warn him not to engage in a debate with skeptics because it was not in his best interest.
Cameron challenged Andrew Breitbart, Climate Depot’s Marc Morano and filmmaker Ann McElhinney of ‘Not Evil Just Wrong.’ The debate was already in the program for the Aspen American Renewable Energy Day (AREDAY) summit. The website program described the agreed to debate as “AREDAY Climate Change Debate: Reality or Fiction?” (see image below)
After setting up the public global warming debate, Cameron and his negotiator then changed formats multiple times and initially said it would be open to the media and then said he would only participate if it was private with no recording devices. The skeptics agreed to all the changes. According to AREDAY organizers, activist Joseph Romm of Climate Progress urged Cameron not to go ahead with the debate as well.
Cameron’s cancellation of the agreed to debate did not happen until one debate participant (Morano) was already in mid-air, flying from DC to Aspen on Saturday August 21 to attend the debate. (AREDAY did grant Morano a 90 minute slot to speak at the summit. See: Climate Depot’s Presentation at Warmists’ Summit Met By Hostile Interrupting Moderator and Crowd; Call for Morano to Kill Himself!)
(Morano Note: After ducking debate, James Cameron boldly slammed global warming skeptics as “swine” on the day he was supposed to be debating them. “I think they’re swine” Cameron told a friendly audience at the AREDAY summit. Also see: Cameron Morphs Into Gore, Quits AGW Debate: ‘Chickened out–even after he won Gore-like concessions that there would be no media and no audio or video record kept’ — How does Cameron square ducking a climate debate he set up when just a few months ago he seemed so confident? See: Director James Cameron Unleashed: Calls for gun fight with global warming skeptics: ‘I want to call those deniers out into the street at high noon and shoot it out with those boneheads’)
#
Below is detailed report from Ann McElhinney of www.NotEvilJustWrong.com on how Cameron ducked out of debate he set up.
James Cameron—King of Hypocrites
Written by Ann McElhinney
Sunday, 22 August 2010 17:49
Last March James Cameron sounded defiant.
The Avatar director was determined to expose journalists, such as myself, who thought it was important to ask questions about climate change orthodoxy and the radical “solutions” being proposed.
Cameron said was itching to debate the issue and show skeptical journalists and scientists that they were wrong.
“I want to call those deniers out into the street at high noon and shoot it out with those boneheads,” he said in an interview.
Well, a few weeks ago Mr. Cameron seemed to honor his word.
His representatives contacted myself and two other well known skeptics, Marc Morano of the Climate Depot website and Andrew Breitbart, the new media entrepreneur.
Mr. Cameron was attending the AREDAY environmental conference in Aspen Colorado 19-22 August. He wanted the conference to end with a debate on climate change. Cameron would be flanked with two scientists. It would be 90 minutes long. It would be streamed live on the internet.
They hoped the debate would attract a lot of media coverage.
“We are delighted to have Fox News, Newsmax, The Washington Times and anyone else you’d like. The more the better,” one of James Cameron’s organizers said in an email.
It looked like James Cameron really was a man of his word who would get to take on the skeptics he felt were so endangering humanity.
Everyone on our side agreed with their conditions. The debate was even listed on the AREDAY agenda.
But then as the debate approached James Cameron’s side started changing the rules.
They wanted to change their team. We agreed.
They wanted to change the format to less of a debate—to “a roundtable”. We agreed.
Then they wanted to ban our cameras from the debate. We could have access to their footage. We agreed.
Bizarrely, for a brief while, the worlds most successful film maker suggested that no cameras should be allowed-that sound only should be recorded. We agreed
Then finally James Cameron, who so publicly announced that he “wanted to call those deniers out into the street at high noon and shoot it out,” decided to ban the media from the shoot out.
He even wanted to ban the public. The debate/roundtable would only be open to those who attended the conference.
No media would be allowed and there would be no streaming on the internet. No one would be allowed to record it in any way.
We all agreed to that.
And then, yesterday, just one day before the debate, his representatives sent an email that Mr. “shoot it out ” Cameron no longer wanted to take part. The debate was cancelled.
James Cameron’s behavior raises some very important questions.
Does he genuinely believe in man made climate change? If he believes it is a danger to humanity surely he should be debating the issue every chance he gets ?
Or is it just a pose?
The man who called for an open and public debate at “high noon” suddenly doesn’t want his policies open to serious scrutiny.
I was looking forward to debating with the film maker. I was looking forward to finding out where we agreed and disagreed and finding a way forward that would help the poorest people in the developing and developed world.
But that is not going to happen because somewhere along the way James Cameron, a great film maker, has moved from King of the World to being King of the Hypocrites.
===========================================================
Addendum
In other news from the SPPI Blog
===========================================================
Climate Depot’s Presentation at Warmists’ Summit Met By Hostile Interrupting Moderator and Crowd; Call for Morano to Kill Himself!
Source: Climatedepot
Global Warming Summit’s Warm Welcome: Morano told to drive car into garage with engine running and then close the doors
By Marc Morano
[SPPI Note: This is the same arrogant and hapless Joe Romm who claimed that global warming cause the collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis in August of 2007. For other entries on Romm see here: http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/images/stories/papers/commentaries/climate_mccarthyism.pdf
and here: http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/images/stories/papers/blogwatch/climate_inquisition.pdf
and here: http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/images/stories/papers/commentaries/romms_fairy_tales.pdf ]
***************************
Note from Climate Depot’s Executive Editor Marc Morano:
My presentation at Aspen American Renewable Energy Day (AREDAY) summit on Sunday August 22, 2010 at 5:30 was met by a rude moderator and hostile audience. I was offered the 90 minute time slot to present the skeptical view of man-made climate change after Hollywood director James Cameron’s cowardly final cancellation of a pre-planned and agreed to global warming debate. See here: From King of the World to Chicken of the Sea: Director James Cameron Sets up Debate with Skeptics Then Flees! Cameron Ducks Climate Debate with Breitbart, Morano, & McElhinney
Cameron’s cancellation of the debate did not happen until I was already in mid-air, flying from DC to Aspen on Saturday August 21 to attend the debate. After challenging us to the public debate, Cameron was spooked by Joseph Romm of Climate Progress who warned him not to debate us. Finally, we were told Cameron would debate us if Romm joined the debate and at Romm’s insistence there would be no cameras or media present. We agreed and I flew to Aspen. (See full report of Cameron’s chickening out here. How does Cameron square ducking a climate debate he set up when just a few months ago he seemed so confident. See: Director James Cameron Unleashed: Calls for gun fight with global warming skeptics: ‘I want to call those deniers out into the street at high noon and shoot it out with those boneheads’)
After arriving I found out that Cameron had canceled the debate that he challenged us to. The AREDAY global warming summit organizers then offered me the consolation prize of 90 minutes to speak to the conference and present the skeptical argument with Q and A from the audience. But the 90 minute event turned out to be further evidence of manipulation by Cameron and the ARDAY conference organizers.
My PowerPoint presentation was repeatedly interrupted by ARDAY moderator Richard Greene and the audience was not receptive to me continuing my presentation. Instead, the bulk of my presentation turned into a disjointed moderator and audience rant session. I attempted several times to return to my presentation, but the crowd and moderator refused to cooperate and seemed completely disinterested.
One participant confused carbon dioxide with carbon monoxide. She suggested I kill himself by driving my car into my garage and then close the doors with the engine running. I twice attempted to explain to the ARDAY conference participant that there was a difference between carbon dioxide — a harmless trace essential gas we exhale from our mouth– and toxic carbon monoxide, but to no avail. I sadly shook my head and told the audience: “Wow, what a warm welcome I have gotten here.”
In the end, the ARDAY’s offer of 90 minutes for me to present the skeptical view of man-made global warming after Cameron’s debate cancellation revealed itself to be essentially disingenuous.
The hecklers that told Morano that he should drive his car into the garage, close the door and leave the motor running obviously haven’t kept up with developments in modern automotive technology. With pollution control improvements it has become increasingly difficult to take yourself out by this once fairly reliable technique. Most modern vehicles put out so little CO that you’re more than likely to run out of gas before you succumb to CO poisoning, unless your garage is exceptionally well sealed. Even then the COD will probably be asphyxia, not CO.
This is, of course, another example of how highly developed societies, driven by the availability and efficient utilization of abundant and affordable energy, have progressed inexorably beyond our previous primitive circumstances and are now able to offer to all but their most extremely destitute citizens access to lifestyles beyond what even monarchs and emperors of little more than a century ago could even imagine. Those monarchs lived gilded and pampered lives, but the majority of people who are classified as living in poverty in the US live with air conditioning, flat screen TVs, microwave ovens, cellphones, and many of the accoutrements of modern life which were beyond the reach of the richest segment of the population even when I was lad.
Now we are told that all that must go and that those living in the developing world should be denied the opportunity to ever experience it for themselves and their offspring on the off chance that in 2100 some cluck sipping MaiTais on the patio of his condo in Miami Beach might get his ankles wet. That still doesn’t seem like much of a deal to me.
Cameron is a [snip – policy] with celebrity confreres. Reality has no bearing on such hysterics’ attitudes. He’d better hope Lord Monckton of Brenchley doesn’t call him out, firing a steam-punk Zombie Blaster into the ceiling of Big Hollywood’s defunct Last Chance Saloon.
Anyone have a E-mail for Cameron, Can only find the Director Guild Address
would love to let him know what i think of him and his decision to walk.
It is ashame that Marc Moranot’s presentation was so rudely received. The determined effort on the part of the AGW crowd was one of the early reasons why I began questioning AGW. Over the last 5-10 years, I’ve developed the philosophy that if something is beyond debate that it’s probably wrong.
Perhaps, in debate preparation for this event, he found that the questions and statements put forward by the pseudo-opposition were quite beyond his depth to address properly.
Well the saddest part of the whole Cameron/Avatar propaganda BS, is that it was a graduate of my alma mater; Mark Sagar who dreamed up that butt ugly face, of the aliens in that overhyped movie.
Sagar is actually a fairly nice looking fellow himself; judging by his portrait on the cover of Ingenio; the University Alumni magazine for Autumn of 2010 (which was back in March of course.)
But that combination of Vulcan ears; or is it Yoda ears; and the African plaitted hairdo, the blue with grey stripes; or izzat grey with blue stripes PC zebra coloring; is it even plausible that Mother Gaia would create on another planet, a structural model that is hardly that successful on this one. After all, on Planet earth, there are more creatures that look like Lobsters, than look like humans; so the human form is hardly a survival winning strategy.
Maybe Cameron couldn’t figure out how to get his actors to play Lobster looking characters in his movie.
Lobsters are even smart enough to back up when they run into trouble, instead of charging forward into oblivion; so they likely will outlast us.
Well maybe Mark Sagar will get himself a better producer/Director to work for next time; and not have to bring Cameron’s distorted fantasies to life.
“We are delighted to have Fox News, Newsmax, The Washington Times and anyone else you’d like. The more the better,” one of James Cameron’s organizers said in an email.
This is how it should have been. Why was he convinced otherwise?
Weather service predicts it will get down to 27 in West Yellowstone tonight, and down to 23 in Stanley, ID! We’re under a freeze advisory where I live, and I’ve harvested all of three ripe tomatoes from 19 loaded plants. *sigh* Looks like a bunch of those “global warming” facts that just might be an inconvenience to CAGW believers.
Did I hear somebody suggest that Cameron also did Titanic. They already made that movie eons ago; why do it again? (A Night to Remember.)
I knew there was some reason not to waste the money on it; other than that other green whatshisname who played in it; didn’t he play Howard Hughes ?
The role models we let them set up for our children !
Then they wanted to ban our cameras from the debate.
How long can they run and hide? Sorry to say it that way, but that’s what it looks like. It doesn’t make the ‘skeptics’ look bad that it played out like this. It makes them look bad. Global warming has this propensity for hurting itself. The ‘skeptics’ are MORE than ready to lay it all out in the open. That makes them look good. 🙂
Is there another ClimateGate on the way? It took a ‘-gate’ to get some things into open. Let’s have some more. Anyone on the inside of global warming getting enough yet with seeing this happen with James Cameron? Be a whistleblower.
“”” CodeTech says:
August 23, 2010 at 1:31 pm
I have to agree, his apparent behavior indicates that as he “studied up” on the science he realized he was backing the wrong side. However, Avatar was a wonderful film? Compared to what? I was only in awe at how unoriginal it was! And will that generation EVER get tired of painting capitalists as evil, heartless, murderous corporations? I doubt it.
First half of Titanic was a good movie. Second half, not so good. “””
Well I can understand the second half being not so good; after all the ship probably sinks in the second half; which is much more unpleasant than all the silly fictional nonsense in the first half.
One thing about the Titanic disaster is that its history, and the historical details of virtually every single passenger on the ship, have been told and retold so many times that we the public don’t buy any fictional portrayal of those events.
Would we buy a Hindenberg disaster movie that blamed the disaster on Hydrogen flotation; rather than the skin being built out of high explosives ? I don’t think so.
Jimbo says:
August 23, 2010 at 2:32 pm
Al Gore says the debate is over because he had the misfortune of meeting Monckton of Benchley in a verbal joust.
(Romm to Cameron: Don’t try that at home).
Avatar was fine. It attempted to explain teleconnection as seen in dendroclimatology. The rest of the movie could have been edited for length though. Best watched with a large slice of ham.
Amino Acids in Meteorites says:
August 23, 2010 at 3:47 pm
I’d really like to see Phil Jones tell all.
That’d do it. The man with the historical records to back it up.
I was in the room during the presentation by Moreno and I can tell you first hand what it was like. Moreno not once showed any science disproving CO2 warms the climate. IN fact he showed absolutely no science at all. Instead his purpose seemed to be all about entertainment. He would list quotes (without any context), he would show a polar bear taking a crap, he would show Obama looking at a women’s behind (as if any of this has anything to do with climate change). His lack of ability to show any science angered the audience who could see through his lack of substance.
The bully in the room was Moreno. He constantly shouted, talked over people when they would ask him a question. I don’t know how the moderator was able to keep his cool. I think debating the science is a very good thing to do, but it’s not possible when people like Moreno use bullying tactics (and absolutely no science but quotes) to make his point. There was a 16 year old kid in the audience who made Moreno look to be an utter fool.
REPLY: Thanks. Do you know if there is a video record of the presentation available? Was it recorded? – Anthony
Like the majority of science fiction films from Hollywood, they can’t also get the real physics right in real life…. man! since when do we hear sound in space?
Cameron got Cowed by Romm, turned Chicken and ended up bleating about Pigs!
Truly a master of Play Station modelling.
Hasta la Vista baby!
Your integrity lies in tatters, your childish truculence and spite exposed for everyone to see but, don’t over despair, I’m still determined to watch Avatar in 3d!
My few cents worth of appreciation will still be added to your bank balance.
Your behaviour in this affair was deplorable and you did yourself no favours by capping with the parting “Swine” shot.
You were bullied, beaten down or just conned. No shame there. It’s only perpetuation of cowardice that guarantees historical infamy.
And it’s the rejection of cowardice that defines a hero!
“I attempted several times to return to my presentation, but the crowd and moderator refused to cooperate and seemed completely disinterested.”
Sorry to be a geek but this is a mission of mine… the difference between ‘Disinterested’ and ‘Uninterested’.
The crowd was obvioulsy Uninterested in hearing what our man had to say because they had an (serious self-) Interest in maintaining the warming narrative.
“Anybody that is a global-warming denier at this point in time has got their head so deeply up their ass I’m not sure they could hear me.“ Cameron – March 24, 2010
http://www.macondaily.com/news.asp?id=27730
I used to like you James.
Ok, you can get on a jet now and produce some co2. And your movie reels can be sent by plane all over the world too. Good to see your intense drive to save the world. Avatar has made $2.7 billion so far. That’s a lot of reels. But I guess your carbon footprint is a-okay.
Thanks for being the brave one and showing up at ‘high noon’.
But you’ll never see this comment. You’re probably somewhere in Hollywood on a cel phone that takes more energy to use than a poor person in Africa is allowed to use in a year.
Can you hear me? Or is your head ‘deeply up’ your comfortable life?
I used to think since you were a truck driver years ago you were more in touch with regular people than others in Hollywood. Maybe you used to be. But now, you won’t feel the high price of doing something about this supposed ‘global warming’ problem. So much for being in touch. We’re fu(self snip)d, you’re not.
Oh, by the way, have you heard about what’s happening to farmers in Australia? Joe Romm probably kept that from you.
Avatar has been compared with another film – not Fern Gully though.
http://failblog.org/2010/01/10/avatar-plot-fail/
Romm and Cameron would have wanted to film the debate themselves. If they did well, they would then show it. Anyway, they are poor losers.
Maybe this is preparation for Cameron’s latest film?
The self appointed Sherriff of our story boldly calls out the evil Deniers gang for a shoot out at the OK Corral at high noon. The Deniers have been farming their own land and using their own water. They supply food for the town. They refuse to admit that ManBearPig is stealing all the crops. The nerve! The mayor has been confiscating the crops for taxes, and sharing the loot with the sherriff.
Sherriff Fantasium gathers his deputies and sixguns, invites the whole town, and everyone from all towns around. He even brings in famed gunslinger Kidd Romm. They plot their strategy, and realize they have everything but ammunition.
At 11:45, Fantasium yells insults down the street at the yet to arrive gang, then jumps on his faithful donkey and begins whipping the crap out of it to get outta Dodge before they show up. The donkey ambles down the road taking a vicious beating the sherriff really wants to give himself. The deputies and gunslinger run like hell.
Morano shows up bare fisted and says: WTF? Some townsfolk throw tomatoes at their supplier.
The End. Roll Credits…
http://shechive.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/a-avatar-everyone-10.jpg?w=500&h=254
latitude says:
August 23, 2010 at 2:21 pm
So both Cameron and Romm didn’t think they could defend global warming, even with a stacked audience??
That’s says it all……………..
Very interesting way to put it.
Anthony, I’m not sure it was recorded but I do remember a camera set up for filming.
In retrospect I wish Cameron would have debated Moreno. I think from what I saw from Cameron speaking at the AREDAY events that he is very intelligent and well-educated about climate change issues and as long as the moderator could have contained Moreno’s constant shouting, that Cameron would have won the debate since Moreno seemed incapable of discussing science.