''Not Evil Just Wrong'' is a 2009

climate change denial Climate change denial (also global warming denial) is a form of science denial characterized by rejecting, refusing to acknowledge, disputing, or fighting the scientific consensus on climate change. Those promoting denial commonly use rhetor ...

documentary film by

Ann McElhinney Ann McElhinney (born 1964) and Phelim McAleer (born 1967) are Conservatism, conservative Irish documentary filmmakers and ''New York Times'' best-selling authors. They have written and produced the political documentaries ''FrackNation'', ''Not ...

and

Phelim McAleer Ann McElhinney (born 1964) and Phelim McAleer (born 1967) are conservative Irish documentary filmmakers and ''New York Times'' best-selling authors. They have written and produced the political documentaries ''FrackNation'', '' Not Evil Just Wr ...

that challenges

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

's ''

An Inconvenient Truth ''An Inconvenient Truth'' is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former vice president of the United States Al Gore's campaign to educate people about Climate change, global warming. The film features a slide s ...

'' by claiming that the evidence of

global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

is inconclusive and that the impact global warming legislation will have on industry is much more harmful to humans than beneficial. The movie was filmed in 2008 and was screened at the

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Description IDFA is an independent, international meeting place for audiences ...

and at the RightOnline conference in 2009.

Summary

The film argues that the science behind climate change science is not settled. ''Not Evil Just Wrong'' focuses on the British High Court ruling which found nine errors in Al Gore's documentary, ''

.'' The film also highlights assertions about the

Medieval Warm Period The Medieval Warm Period (MWP), also known as the Medieval Climate Optimum or the Medieval Climatic Anomaly, was a time of warm climate in the North Atlantic region that lasted from about to about . Climate proxy records show peak warmth occu ...

and

Stephen McIntyre Stephen McIntyre (born c. 1947) is a Canadian mining exploration company director, a former minerals prospector and semi-retired mining consultant whose work has included statistical analysis. He is the founder and editor of Climate Audit, a b ...

's alleged debunking of the hockey stick graph. The film also focuses on the impact of climate legislation in developing counties and average families in America. The film states that one of environmentalists' first restrictions on industry was when

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

was banned, led by

Rachel Carson Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservation movement, conservationist whose sea trilogy (1941–1955) and book ''Silent Spring'' (1962) are credited with advancing mari ...

. According to the film, the ban on DDT "...has needlessly resulted in the deaths of more than 40 million children and adults in the developing world." The film then continues to on a similar tack, arguing that climate legislation like

cap and trade Carbon emission trading (also called carbon market, emission trading scheme (ETS) or cap and trade) is a type of emissions trading scheme designed for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). A form of carbon price, carbon pricing ...

would negatively impact the life for middle and low-income families in

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, particularly those working for energy-related jobs. The directors follow Tiffany McElhany and her family in rural Indiana, to see how fossil fuels have given them better opportunities.

Production and reception

Funding

In 2008, McElhinney and McAleer raised almost $1 million (€799,000) from real estate investors, but said they needed a total of $4.5 million for a cinema release. After the film was turned down for funding by the

Irish Film Board Not to be confused with Northern Ireland Screen. Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, formerly known as Bord Scannán na hÉireann or the Irish Film Board, is Republic of Ireland, Ireland's state development agency for the Irish film, television an ...

, the filmmakers then began taking donations online. The film failed to find a commercial distributor.

Production

The documentary has been noted for being a very similar style to

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...

's documentaries by using file footage of old movies, cartoons and class-based arguments. McAleer has been quoted saying, "I would not be making documentaries if it wasn't for Michael Moore," he says. "He aroused my interest and people's interest in documentaries. He's also made it acceptable for people to go to the movie theatre and watch documentaries. I hate to say it but we're all children of Michael Moore."

Reception

'' Mother Jones'' published a highly critical article on the movie. Stephanie Mencimer wrote that "The film is poorly organised and rehashes the familiar talking points of

climate change sceptics Climate change denial (also global warming denial) is a form of science denial characterized by rejecting, refusing to acknowledge, disputing, or fighting the scientific consensus on climate change. Those promoting denial commonly use rhetor ...

—global warming as bad science; climate concerns as hysteria akin to that over killer bees, etc. Pushing those views are the usual suspects, including

Patrick Moore Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore (; 4 March 1923 – 9 December 2012) was an English amateur astronomer who attained prominence in that field as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter. Moore's early interest in astro ...

, the Greenpeace founder turned nuclear power lobbyist, and Thatcher-era British politician

Nigel Lawson Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, (11 March 1932 – 3 April 2023) was a British politician and journalist. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament for Blaby in Leicestershire from 1974 to 1992, and served ...

." A premiere party was held at

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...

, where it was also broadcast on

Ustream IBM Watson Media (formerly Ustream and IBM Cloud Video) is an American virtual events platform company which is a division of IBM. Prior to the IBM acquisition, it had more than 180 employees across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Budapest office ...

and the

American Family Association The American Family Association (AFA) is a conservative and Christian fundamentalist 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States.AFA, "A virtuous Michael Moore!" Suzanne Fields from the ''

Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout Washington, D. ...

'' said, "Ann McElhinney's film focuses on people (not polar bears) whose paychecks and families are dependent on coal-generated energy, and whose interests are usually ignored in abstract statistics." The ''Online Opinion,'' said that the movie excelled "in pointing to the absurdities and gross contradictions in the current scare over

Subsequent events

''Mother Jones'' subsequently reported that the husband of Tiffany McElhany, the Indiana women highlighted in the film as at risk of losing her standard of living should controls on carbon be enacted, was laid off from his job at a car parts plant. "It turns out that McElhany's story, too, is more complicated than Not Evil would have you believe. She is by far the documentary's most compelling character, and seems poised to become a minor heroine to the Tea Party crowd. Yet for all her talk of the bounty that coal has brought to Vevay, when I contacted her for this story she disclosed that her husband was laid off in March and has been unemployed ever since. It appears that a lot of dirty industry jobs have disappeared with no help at all from environmentalists."

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 1493038 2009 documentary films 2009 films Climate change denial Documentary films about global warming Documentary films about business Environmentally skeptical films Irish documentary films Crowdfunded films 2000s English-language films English-language documentary films