BANFF, Alta. - Actress Daryl Hannah says it's time for the mainstream media to get on board in the battle against global warming.
The star of such movies as "Splash'' and "Kill Bill,'' a well-known environmentalist, took part Monday in a panel discussion on environmental responsibility in the media at the Banff World Television Festival.
"The media has always felt that it needs to be sort of even-handed and present the point of view that global warming exists and then the point of view global warming doesn't exist,'' said Hannah in an interview with The Canadian Press.
"But for the most part, maybe 98 per cent of the world's scientists have been telling us this is a problem and there are a couple of scientists who have disagreed with them,'' she added. "The media need to report things in a more accurate and truthful fashion.''
In other words, the actress, who does her own video blog telling people how to fight global warming, wants the media to get onside.
There is a need to make the public more aware about climate change, said Hannah who admitted that she was surprised at the success of former U.S. vice-president Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth,'' which focuses on global warming.
She said documentaries usually don't do that well at the box office, and offered a word of rebuke about something missing from the movie.
"One thing, unfortunately, that `An Inconvenient Truth' didn't do was present solutions,'' she said.
"I mean there's a couple of little things at the end of the documentary but people want to know what they can do and how they can live healthier and not be surrounded by poisons and toxins,'' she said.
Included on the panel was Canada's David Suzuki and Tim Flannery, another environmental expert who is a professor at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.
"In the scientific community there is no debate about this anymore. The debate is about how fast is it moving,'' said Flannery. "In the public's mind there is still a debate. Some people are denying it, some are skeptical and others need to be convinced.''
Flannery said there aren't enough reporters with sufficient expertise on the issue to delve deep into the story. He said the public needs to be convinced of the truth about global warming so actions will be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and so that individuals can hold governments responsible for their lack of inactivity.
"You'll find governments are lying, they are being secretive and they are very blatant,'' he explained. "If people could see the lies told by their governments and the short-term interests being served they would be horrified.''
The level of greenhouse gases is getting dangerously high, which could lead to extreme climate change, said Flannery.
It is not just the news media that need to take a part in changing public views on the issue, he said. Mainstream TV has an opportunity to get involved in a meaningful way as well.
"There are other ways of getting this across. Why hasn't anyone produced a `West Wing' episode of the Kyoto stuff (climate change protocol)?'' asked Flannery.
