Channel One and Al Gore are buddies. When employees leave Channel One many of them immediately get jobs at Gore’s Current.tv. It is no surprise that Channel One would devote a considerable part of one of its shows to promoting Gore’s version of environmental activism.
Last Friday, Channel One sponsored a Sheryl Crow concert at a high school in Tennessee, a few miles north of Gore’s 10,000 sq. ft., 20-room, 8-bathroom home in Nashville (one of his three homes). Ms. Crow may have been the one students wanted to see and hear, but Ms. Crow brought along Laurie David, the producer of Al Gore’s environmental Doomsday documentary An Inconvenient Truth. She was the real star of the show. Channel One focused almost as much attention on her as Ms. Crow.
This concert was all about scaring high school students into accepting Al Gore’s view of global warming. Channel One allowed Ms. Crow and Ms. David unprecedented time with students to convince them that they had only ten years of life before there is a worldwide disaster. To Crow and David there is "no other side" to this issue. To them the debate is over. Channel One’s producer agreed and so students will not be presented an equal amount of time for a differing view.
Al Gore has said the world must embrace a "carbon-neutral lifestyle." To do otherwise, he says, will result in a cataclysmic catastrophe. "Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb," warns the website for his film, An Inconvenient Truth. "We have just 10 years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tailspin."
Parents, of course, have little knowledge of how radical Channel One has become. There is no doubt that global warming is going on. No doubt that man contributes to the warming. The problem is Channel One is shamelessly promoting Al Gore’s version of things and not presenting a balanced view of scientific opinion. Channel One loves celebrities. They have them on as guest hosts all the time. If Sheryl Crow says something, it must be true. This is just part of how Channel One is trying to dumb down and politicize the shrinking number of students that watch the show.
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Earth Day on Channel One means you either support Al Gore ideas or you aren’t very smart. |
We only have ten years left to do something. These two celebrities are serving up fear. If both of them really believed what they were saying they both would lead much different life styles.
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It’s a celebrity lovefest. The world is ending, kids. You must listen to your celebrities. Each confirms the wisdom of the other. |
Ms. David bristles when told that half the students are "non-believers"and do not share her radical views. She sneers, "They are just misinformed." Celebrities can get away with being a little mean spirited.
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Ms. David wants students to make the sacrifices she is unwilling to make. Anyone who dare questions her expertise on global warming gets treated harshly. |
Channel One’s faux news reporter Alexander Marquardt MCs this promotional tour for Al Gore’s environmental campaign. (Gore may use events like this to help get back into politics.)
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Ms. David is not a practicing environmentalist. She and her husband Larry David (co-creator of Seinfield) jet back and forth between two huge homes on the East and West coasts. However, she does drive a Prius. |
Students are told global warming is more important than terrorism and homeland security. |
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Music can make kids more readily accept Ms. Crow’s message. |
Crow uses scare tactics to win over the somewhat skeptical high school audience.
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Children are encouraged to sign their names on this web site. Channel One made no effort to clear this with educators or parents. This is between C1N and the students. |
Channel One urges kids to go to C1N’s site for a special Al Gore video made just for students. Is anyone surprised?
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From Channel One’s April 20, 2007 Earth Day Show transcript
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Earth Day Show ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM HELLOS ALEXANDER: HEY EVERYBODY, WELCOME TO CHANNEL ONE, I’M ALEXANDER MARQUARDT. WE’RE HERE AT SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL IN SPRINGFIELD, TENNESSEE, FOR A SPECIAL EVENT. EARTH DAY IS ON SUNDAY TO BRING AWARENESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES. AND TODAY WE’RE BEING JOINED BY TWO SPECIAL GUESTS WHO ANSWERED STUDENTS’ QUESTIONS AND SHARED HOW THEY THINK STUDENTS CAN BECOME MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY AWARE. ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM ALEXANDER: IT ISN’T EVERYDAY THAT A GRAMMY AWARD WINNING ARTIST AND AN OSCAR WINNER ROLL INTO A HIGH SCHOOL IN TENNESSEE. BUT FOR SINGER SHERYL CROW AND LAURIE DAVID — ONE OF THE PRODUCERS OF THE MOVIE "AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH" — IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS AN ISSUE THEY FEEL PASSIONATELY ABOUT. LAURIE DAVID: WE NOW HAVE LESS THAN TEN YEARS TO SLOW GLOBAL WARMING DOWN OR ELSE WE SET OURSELVES ON A COURSE WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CORRECT. ALEXANDER: THIS WAS THE ONLY HIGH SCHOOL STOP ON THEIR TWO WEEK TOUR OF COLLEGES BETWEEN DALLAS AND WASHINGTON, DC. CROW SAID THAT HITTING THE ROAD TO SPREAD THEIR MESSAGE MAKES THE MOST SENSE TO HER AND EXPLAINED TO ME WHY THEY DECIDED TO TARGET THEIR MESSAGE AT YOUNG PEOPLE. SHERYL CROW: EVERY BIG MOVEMENT OF SOCIAL CHANGE IS REALLY, I BELIEVE, BEEN FUELED BY THE COLLEGE CAMPUSES. AND WHEN WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT IT, WE WERE LIKE WHY NOT GO TO A HIGH SCHOOL? BECAUSE THIS MOVEMENT HAS TO BE THE BIGGEST MOVEMENT THAT WE WILL EVER KNOW IN OUR LIFETIME AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE TALKING ABOUT IT, THEY’RE CONCERNED ABOUT IT. WE EVEN SAW HERE THE AMAZING QUESTIONS THAT THEY’RE ASKING. ALEXANDER: THE HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS AT SPRINGFIELD HIGH WELCOMED SHERYL AND LAURIE WITH THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE, CLEARLY EXCITED WITH THE BREAK FROM THE ORDINARY SCHOOL DAY TO SEE THEIR CELEBRITY VISITORS. LAURIE OUTLINED THE THREAT SHE THINKS FACES OUR PLANET. LAURIE DAVID: GLOBAL WARMING DOESN’T JUST MEAN RISING TEMPERATURES. THAT IS A MYTH. IT’S EXTREME WEATHER IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. GLOBAL WARMING ALSO MEANS MORE DEADLY BLIZZARDS, ICE STORMS, AND INTENSE RAINS. ALEXANDER: LAURIE THEN INTRODUCED SHERYL TO A STANDING OVATION AND AFTER PERFORMING A SONG, THE PAIR TOOK QUESTIONS FROM THE STUDENTS. SOME WANTED TO KNOW WHAT COULD BE DONE TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT… ALEXANDER: OTHERS WANTED A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHY GLOBAL WARMING SHOULD BE SUCH A PRIORITY. STUDENT: DO YOU FEEL THAT GLOBAL WARMING IS AS IMPORTANT AN ISSUE AS THE WAR ON TERROR, OR HOMELAND SECURITY? SHERYL CROW: UM, I THINK THAT GLOBAL WARMING IS ACTUALLY THE MOTHERSHIP, IF YOU WILL, ABOVE OF ALL OTHER ISSUES. BECAUSE REALLY, WE ALL LIVE ON A PLANET THAT’S VERY… THAT’S BECOMING VERY SICK AND WE’RE GOING TO SUFFER THE REPERCUSSIONS OF THAT. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT TERRORISM IS A VERY PRESSING ISSUE, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT’S GOING TO EFFECT ALL PEOPLE ON THIS PLANET. LAURIE DAVID: AND I WOULD JUST ADD ALSO THAT, YOU KNOW, THE ISSUE OF GLOBAL WARMING IS NOT JUST AN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE IT IS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE. IT’S A NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE, IT’S AN ECONOMIC ISSUE. ALEXANDER: THE DEBATE OVER WHETHER OR NOT GLOBAL WARMING IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING IS ONE OF THE MAIN MOTIVATIONS BEHIND THE BUS TOUR. ALEXANDER: I SPOKE TO THE KIDS BEFORE-HAND AND THERE ARE A FAIR NUMBER OF NON-BELIEVERS. HOW DO YOU GET YOUR MESSAGE ACROSS TO THOSE NON-BELIEVERS AND HOW DO YOU DO IT THAT’S NOT A SCARE CAMPAIGN? LAURIE: THE NON-BELIEVERS ARE JUST MISINFORMED. OK? BECAUSE THIS ISN’T A "THEORY" ANYMORE. THIS ISN’T REALLY, IT’S NOT AN OPINION. IT’S FACT. OK, THIS IS BASED ON FACT, THE SCIENCE IS IN, AND YOU KNOW THERE REALLY IS COMPLETE CONSENSUS FROM ALL SERIOUS PEER REVIEW SCIENTISTS THAT THIS IS HAPPENING. ALEXANDER: A DEBATE FURTHER FUELED BY THE FACT THAT MANY DON’T THINK CELEBRITIES SHOULD BE THE ONES GETTING INVOLVED IN A SCIENTIFIC DEBATE. SHERYL: I KNOW I AM A CELEBRITY AND THERE ARE GREAT KNOCKS AGAINST THAT. BUT THIS TO ME IS ABOVE THAT, I MEAN IT’S… IT’S SUCH A PRESSING ISSUE AND IT’S SOMETHING THAT’S SO DEEPLY PERSONAL TO ME. ALEXANDER: AT THE END, SHERYL HAD A FINAL WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT. SHERYL: OK, FIRST, I WANT EVERYONE NOT TO FEEL PANICKED. BECAUSE I SENSE THAT AND I AM THE MOST PANICKY PERSON WHEN IT COMES TO THIS STUFF. THEY SAY YOU KNOW WE HAVE UP TO ABOUT TEN YEARS TO REALLY SLOW THIS PROCESS DOWN. NOW CAN WE DO IT? ALEXANDER: A MAIN GOAL OF THE ROADTRIP IS TO GET PEOPLE TO JOIN A VIRTUAL MARCH BY SIGNING AN ONLINE PETITION AT STOP-GLOBAL-WARMING-DOT-ORG. LAURIE: LET’S DO IT VIRTUALLY. ON THE INTERNET. EVERY DAY, UNTIL WE ARE MILLIONS STRONG. LET’S COMBINE ALL OF OUR VOICES INTO ONE CLEAR CRY FOR ACTION. ALEXANDER: SHERYL AND LAURIE ARE HOPING TO HAVE A MILLION NAMES WHEN THEIR BUS ARRIVES IN WASHINGTON, DC AND THEY GO UP TO CAPITOL HILL TO TALK TO LAWMAKERS ON MONDAY. TAG ENVIORMENTAL ACTIVISM ALEXANDER: TO SIGN UP FOR THE VIRTUAL MARCH LAURIE AND SHERYL WERE TALKING ABOUT, HEAD TO CHANNEL ONE DOT COM AND CLICK ON ‘ENVIRONMENT 101’. THERE YOU’LL ALSO FIND A COMPREHENSIVE COLLECTION OF QUIZZES AND GUIDES AND OUR EXCLUSIVE LIVEWIRE INTERVIEW WITH AL GORE. BE BACK ALEXANDER: COMING UP, SHERYL CROW PUTS ON A PRIVATE PERFORMANCE FOR THIS HIGH SCHOOL AUDIENCE. BUT NEXT, WE’LL SHOW YOU HOW SOME SCHOOLS ARE DOING THEIR PART FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. SHOUT-OUT STUDENTS: WELCOME TO SPRINGFIELD. YOU’RE WATCHING CHANNEL ONE. INTRO EARTH DOWN AROUND THE COUNTRY ALEXANDER: WELCOME BACK TO SPRINGFIELD, TENNESSEE. I’M STANDING IN FRONT OF LAURIE AND SHERYL’S TOUR BUS. NOW, CELEBRITIES AREN’T THE ONLY ONES PLAYING A KEY ROLE IN HELPING PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT. WE ASKED OUR BUREAU SCHOOLS TO SHARE WITH US SOME OF THEIR PROGRAMS. HERE’S EILEEN WU WITH SOME OF THEIR INNOVATIVE APPROACHES. [Here a taped segment runs that shows what some high schools are doing to raise awareness of global warming.] BE BACK ALEXANDER: AND WHEN WE COME BACK, THE EVENT YOU’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. SHERYL CROW SINGS FOR YOU. INTRO SHERYL CROW PERFORMANCE ALEXANDER: WELCOME BACK TO OUR EARTH DAY SPECIAL FROM SPRINGFIELD, TENNESSEE. WE COULDN’T GO WITHOUT SHARING SOME OF THE PRIVATE PERFORMANCE THESE STUDENTS GOT FROM GRAMMY AWARD WINNING ARTIST SHERYL CROW. SHERYL CROW PERFORMANCE SHERYL CROW: ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR… MY FRIEND THE COMMUNIST SHERYL CROW: I WANT TO GO TO HIGH SCHOOL HERE! GOOD-BYES ALEXANDER: WELL THAT DOES IT FOR US FROM SPRINGFIELD, TENNESSEE. HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND, WE’LL SEE YOU ON MONDAY. |
