Global warming came into the mainstream public consciousness and became an American cultural zeitgeist after Al Gore lost the presidency in 2000 to George W. Bush in a nail-biter of an election. Gore disappeared for a bit, grew a beard any academic would be proud of, and presented us with a startling idea: We, all of us, are to blame for global warming.

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Celebrities and politicians have since then accosted us with our crimes, using cuddly polar bears and melting ice caps as emotional ripcords. They’ve urged us to pull the plug on our SUVs and begin believing in solar panels and wind farms as saviors of planet Earth. They are pushing back hard on fossil fuels, seemingly intent on axing the coal industry altogether.

Marc Morano, the publisher of Climate Depot, a daily global warming and eco-news center founded in 2009, is fighting back. He is the brain trust behind “Climate Hustle,” a new documentary.

Morano has the conservative street cred to back up his film. He was named one of five “criminals against humanity, against planet Earth itself” in 2009 by the eco-magazine Grist — something he is probably pretty proud of.

Morano conducted the interviews and co-wrote the film, which is produced by the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) and CDR Communications. On May 2, it will be featured in theaters as a special Fathom one-night event.

The goal of the documentary is to “tear the cover off global warming hype, and expose the myths and exaggerations” of the issue by delving into the history of climate scares. It will also debunk outrageous claims about extreme weather and expose the “shrill calls to act immediately before it’s too late,” according to the film’s website.

“Climate Hustle” also profiles key scientists who once embraced and espoused the climate alarm — but have since converted to skepticism.

The film asks the questions: Is there a genuine scientific consensus? Or is man-made “global warming” an overheated environmental con job being used to push for increased government regulations and a new “green” energy agenda?

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“We present simple physics and science in a way that people will understand,” Morano told LifeZette. “The key is this – CO2 is not the control knob when it comes to climate. There are hundreds of factors that control the climate, and CO2 is but one of them. We interviewed scientists with peer-reviewed studies who back this up.”

Morano, often called a “climate-denier,” says the film is even-handed. “People we profile are politically left. People associate climate-deniers with the Republican Party, and with conservatives and libertarians. We profile French socialist scientists who have re-examined the evidence and are now skeptical. We profile Ivy League professors, geologists, and a Nobel prize-winning scientist who endorsed President Obama but looked at hard evidence and came out as a global warming skeptic.”

He added, “Global warming has hijacked the environmental movement. The environmentalists worry about other things like deforestation and pollution. Climate change hysteria has sucked the air out of what environmentalists used to care about.”

He also interviewed Bill Nye the Science Guy. Nye, who has a mechanical engineering degree from Cornell University, challenged Morano in the film on the topic of global warming.

At a Capitol Hill screening of the movie, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin joined Morano on a panel to discuss its position. When asked about her reaction to Bill Nye, she tried to debunk him, saying, “Bill Nye is as much a scientist as I am! He’s a kids’ show actor; he’s not a scientist.”

She also said, “There is a predetermined agenda of those who are controlling the narrative on changes in the weather. There is a definite political agenda behind all this.”

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Palin noted that her dad was a science teacher and that “dinner table discussions” used to be all about geology and other sciences. “He encouraged us to challenge something that was complex or puzzling. Ask those questions and not just believe what Bill Nye the Science Guy says.”

Her position: “I’m all about mankind. I want life to be better for mankind.”

At the same event, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), issued a statement, saying, “Regulations should be based on sound science, not science fiction. Unfortunately, the president’s Power Plan, which he presented as the cornerstone of his agreement at the Paris U.N. climate conference, fails this test.”

While the panel was serious, Morano said the issue is being taken way too seriously.

“This is a global warming comedy,” he said, laughing. “We decided to have fun. It is a documentary, after all! We show that there have been so many tipping points — the absurdity of how ‘global warming causes everything’ — prostitution, bad coffee, everything.”

He also said, “We have a Harvard astrophysicist who explains that in the Middle Ages, witches were to blame for crop failure, changes in the weather, and other horrors. The very same sort of mindset is blaming our SUVs, our coal plants, and our modern way of living for every tornado and hurricane. We have a lot of fun with this.”

Morano told LifeZette that he and team “explored both the logic and the humor of the topic. We went to the Climate March in New York City a year and a half ago and filmed the earth worshippers — people praying to Mother Earth.”

But he added, “This is also a two-sided documentary, not just a skeptic’s film — unlike Al Gore’s efforts. Our film shows what global warming advocates claim, and then what the counter-claims are. Viewers can weigh the evidence for themselves.”

Liberal Hollywood, of course, has gotten involved in this issue, decrying the everyman’s wanton energy usage while flying around in private jets to lecture us on that very topic. “Leonardo DiCaprio goes to the U.N., is the keynote speaker there and is an emissary on climate, basically,” said Morano. “And actor Mark Ruffalo, he gets very angry about this topic — and anyone who questions global warming is either an ideologue or a coward.”