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Friday, November 30, 2012

It's getting hot out here

Following Superstorm Sandy, Al Gore said it was “a disturbing sign of things to come." Gore is the most outspoken advocate of measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. His statement is actually backed by an overwhelming 97 percent of climate scientists agree climate change is actually happening. 

However, about 66 percent of Americans still believe many scientists disagree global warming exists, according to a national poll. Most people are unaware 97 percent of climate scientists actually agree global warming is an issue, according to a report by a George Mason University team led by Ed Maibach. 

Based on his analysis, Maibach concludes that if people were more informed about the impact of global warming and that scientists had definite evidence for these projections, then their levels of concern for global warming would increase significantly.

But, why are people uninformed on this topic in the first place? 

Media Matters for America, a non-profit progressive research and information center, published an extensive blog post detailing the latest attempts by conservative media to confuse the American public about what is really happening with our climate. 

Here are the highlights:

1. The Heartland Institute launched a bilboard campaign this year associating global warming with "murders, tyrants and madmen." The institute received $25,000 from the Charles Koch Foundation last year and expected $200,000 in 2012 — but then again, why expect any less from Koch. 
James Taylor, who heads Heartlands environmental campaign but has not real environmental experience, has a weekly column with Forbes and has appeared on Fox. Mainstream media help him promote misinformation. 

2. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, which has been funded by the American Petroleum Institute, ExxonMobil, Texaco, General Motors and the Koch Family Foundations among other fossil fuel interests over the last decade, has advertisements, op-eds and blogs to discredit climate change scientific research.
The institute sends its experts — some with no scientific background — to do media appearances at Fox News, Forbes, CNN among others.    

3. Marc Morano, who runs ClimateDepot.com, has often appeared — not surprisingly — on Fox News. He worked for Rush Limbaugh and Sen. James Inhofe — both deny climate change. 

4. Steve Milloy has called those concerned about global warmed whacked out, intellectually and morally bankrupt." He published columns in the Washington TImes and frequently appears on Fox News. 

5. Joe Bastardi, meteorologist for WeatherBell Analytics, is an adviser to the American Tradition Institute and a Fox News contributor. 

6. The Wall Street Journal has also cast doubt on climate change claiming it's a "fad-scare." and its science "disputable." Its science writer Matt Ridley has used his column to dismiss the threat of climate change. He is also an unpaid adviser to the Global Warming Policy Foundation, which was founded by the chairman of an oil company — none of which is disclosed by the Journal. 

Honorable mentions:

Manhattan Institute And Robert BryceChris Horner And The American Tradition InstituteHeritage FoundationCato Institute And Patrick MichaelsAmerican Enterprise InstituteAnthony Watts


But misinformation in mainstream media is not the only reason 66 percent of people are still in disbelief about global warming. As a post in Fair.org points out, global warming is barely ever on Sunday news. 

In short, mainstream media is not informing Americans about the real climate issues. Scientists agree global warming needs to be addressed, but it will never be if the media ignores it. 

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