Why Isn't Global Warming News?

Oregon and Washington just got creamed by the second damaging storm in a month. Why isn't global warming news? In watching the hours of coverage for both storms - the one that hit in November and the one that hit this week, not one word was said about global warming. Instead, we get weather reports; reports that one strong storm after another is lined up in the Pacific; reports on the damages.

If the news does not make the connection between the weather we are experiencing and climate change, then the public sees no cause and effect. Instead, people say "What will global warming be like?" They will continue to think that the climatic changes being driven by our activities is still somewhere in the distant future.

If you still have a copy of the Living Section for the 12/13/06 Oregonian take a look at it. On the back of the section is the "Science" section which has an article on the warming of Oregon caves. Scientists are baffled, but one of the likely links discussed is the dramatically decreased snow pack, and how rapidly it melts off. Sounds like a climatic effect to me.

In the same section - and adjoining the cave warming article on page E11 - is the "Earthweek" summary. In that section, we read the little blurbs of the big environmental events for the week. In this week's snippets we learn:

- The ocean's phytoplankton are dying off (big news as they are the "greenhouse gas eaters);

- Some koala bears survived the massive fires in Australia (caused by global warming and the ensuing drought being cased by same);

- El Nino is going to last longer - because the ocean is taking longer to cool off - so the Northwest will continue to get hit by big storms this year;

- The glaciers that are melting (because of warming temperatures) have "reservoirs" of viruses that haven't been seen for thousands of years (at least);

- Typhoon Durian became one of the longest and deadliest storms of the year - it hit primarily Asia and largely did not make the U.S. news;

- Winter has been "delayed" in Europe - in fact, it is essentially spring in Europe.

I read through the list. I read about the warming caves. I asked, why is none of this on the front page? Why is it tucked quietly into the back of the Living section under the "Science" news? Isn't this stuff pretty big?

Hello? All of the above represent world changing - and Pacific Northwest changing - events. Might it not be a good idea to put it on the front page of the paper?

Hello local weather forecasters. Might you not give just a bit of connection to the larger picture that is causing the death and destruction which you scatter bundled up reporters around to cover?

Maybe we should start a campaign to our local news outlets demanding that they make the connection between the events we are experiencing and the larger pattern of which they are a part. To not do so is to "spin" people into both ignorance and passivity.

Posted by rowan at December 17, 2006 8:44 AM | [eMail this article!] |