A veteran US meteorologist and global warming sceptic says a bid to sue Al Gore for fraud over his claims about man-made climate change is gathering momentum.

Al Gore: now staying tight-lipped over climate change comments?

John Coleman, who founded the Weather Channel in 1982, proposed taking the former vice president and other environmental activists to court at a conference in New York in March.

Since then he has "received thousands and thousands of emails with lots of support", he says. "And thousands of these people want to donate to a legal fund to sue Al Gore."

Mr Coleman hopes court could be the venue to settle the debate over what he calls “the biggest scam in history” and expose global warming alarmism as "silly hype".

"I think it’s maybe our only alternative to just hunkering down and waiting it out," said the forecaster, who now works for a local station in San Diego, California.

He claims the mainstream media ignores what those sceptical of man-made global warming have to say while the educational community does not debate the issue.

"Without the media and the educational institutions, what resource do we have to counter these people? We are not going to be heard unless we can find a place to be heard and a court of law might be a place where we would get a fair hearing."
Mr Coleman, who would like to see all proponents of global warming including those who sell carbon credits challenged, added:

"If the judge had a non-political scientific approach in reaching a decision we would win the lawsuit. It’s something that is in the works. I have no announcement to make about it now but numerous people are involved and it remains a valid possibility."

I contacted Mr Coleman in reference to a Houston Chronicle story that claimed another senior meteorologist, pioneering hurricane forecaster Professor William Gray, was being penalised for his anti-global warming views. (The original headline, Storm brewing for William Gray, has since been changed).

I wanted to see if Mr Coleman had heard of this happening elsewhere.

As it was, the University of Colorado, which was reported to be planning to suspend support for Professor Gray’s work because of his views on climate change, vigorously denied the story. Sandra Woods, dean of the University’s engineering department which oversees atmospheric sciences, described the information in the article as “false”, adding: "The assertion that Dr. Gray is being silenced or being forced out because of his views on global warming is completely inaccurate."

Mr Coleman said he did feel that expressing doubts about man-made global warming had become the preserve of older meteorologists less worried about a backlash.

He said he has spoken to several weather forecasters at US television networks who say that even though they share his doubts about climate change they are afraid to speak out for fear of losing their jobs.

"We old guys, we are the ones who are able to speak out more clearly on global warming because our retirements are in place and we don’t have to worry so much about the repercussions," said Mr Coleman. "An awful lot of younger guys I know of and have been in touch with, they agree with our position but for career reasons are unable to say anything. And I certainly can’t name them. But television weathermen who work for the networks, I know several of them who just can’t say anything. They feel that their entire position would be in jeopardy."

Mr Coleman predicts it will take "20 more years of weather data to totally wipe out the silliness". In the meantime he continues to argue that evidence of man-made global warming just isn’t there.

"It’s been 30 years since the whole global warming thing (began) and by this time the oceans should be rising and the ice caps should be pretty well melted, and none of that’s happening. Despite all the hype last year about the North polar ice cap melting away, it’s frozen up bigger than it’s been frozen up in 20 years at this moment. So, where in the heck’s the beef? Where’s the warming?"

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