Were knives out for Frozen Planet six months ago?
- 30 Nov 2011, 16:40
- Christian Hunt
Source: BBC
David Attenborough's natural history spectaculars are
always worth watching, and seem to have taken on the status of a
national event - the ultimate water cooler TV. The latest series,
"Frozen
Planet" is no exception,
attracting rave reviews. This one
from the Mirror is fairly
typical:
"If the BBC goes back to its roots it
can produce something as gloriously wonderful and heart-stopping as
Frozen Planet.
"David Attenborough, who has been a
national treasure for longer than I've been alive, takes the viewer
by the hand to gently lead us through the freezing wastes of our
world and quietly blow our minds."
Perhaps this success is why his latest series, 'Frozen
Planet' has come in for so much criticism from climate skeptics
over the last few weeks. It would make little sense to cover the
natural history of the polar regions without mentioning the fact
that the Arctic and Antarctic are increasingly being impacted by
climate change - and Frozen Planet will be dedicating
its final episode, due to be screened next
Wednesday, to the topic.
A couple of weeks ago the BBC was
criticised following the news that
co-production partner the Discovery Channel will not be showing the
climate change episode. The
Daily Mail and the
Telegraph suggested that the corporation
separated the episode out in order to help the show
sell better in the US. Climate skeptics, of course,
questioned the legitimacy of including polar
climate change in the series at all.
Then, Nigel Lawson appeared in the Radio Times of all places
accusing David Attenborough of 'sensationalism' on climate science.
His accusations were reported in the
Telegraph, the
Mail and the Express
. The Telegraph cited the reactions of scientists to Lawson's
statements - one of whom accused Lawson of cherry-picking data and
called Frozen Planet "a brave and honest portrayal of what is going
on right now" - although oddly enough, those statements did not
make it into the Mail or Express. We have looked at Lawson's
statements in the Radio Times in more detail
here.
It is not the first time that the 'Frozen Planet' team have
faced questions about covering climate change in the series. During
the
Lords Select Communication Committee inquiry
into the governance and regulation of the BBC back in
May,
Baroness Fookes questioned Attenborough about the
'Frozen Planet' episode on climate change, suggesting that it is a
controversial inclusion:
"Sir David, we have heard a report,
which may or may not be true, that at the end of your latest series
'Frozen Planet' there is a big statement by you on environmental
issues, which could be regarded as controversial... Can we ask if
it's true or not?"
Attenborough responded:
"I don't believe it's controversial, the
only controversial element in climate change is to what degree it's
anthropocentric, what degree humans have been responsible, but the
facts of climate change are scientifically established facts and I
don't think we go beyond that."
Here's the video from the Lords Select Communication Committee
inquiry, which is also well worth watching for Professor Brian
Cox's explanation on why the scientific consensus is important, and
the thoughts of both Cox and Attenborough on communicating science
at the BBC.
A couple of weeks ago Dr Mark Brandon, Senior Lecturer in
Environmental Science at The Open University and academic
consultant for the series,
told us that it had been a "brilliant
experience" to work with the Natural History team "who are
interested in working only with robust and solid
science."