Spring 2010
Perspective
Getting the Climate Story Straight
For years, scientists who wanted to raise public awareness of global warming's dangers have had to fight industry-funded contrarians and their inaccurate claims about climate science. The tide started to change when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded in 2007 that human activity was contributing to global warming; reporters realized they no longer needed to balance their stories with opposing viewpoints since the science on climate change had become clear. As a result, it became more difficult for contrarians to get quoted in news stories—which would serve their larger goal of undermining federal climate and clean energy legislation.
| In this issue of Catalyst:
> Securing the Skies |
However, following the U.S. House of Representatives' passage last summer of the first bill requiring nationwide reductions of heat-trapping emissions, the fossil fuel industry and its allies ramped up their efforts to spread scientific misinformation. In November, for example, after a hacker stole emails sent by climate scientists at a British university, contrarians quoted some of the emails out of context, further undercutting the public's understanding of climate science. Many mainstream media outlets unfortunately viewed this manufactured controversy as a real scandal and reported the contrarians' claims at face value. This is particularly frustrating considering the overwhelming and ever-growing evidence—from melting ice caps to worsening floods and more intense storms—of the serious consequences of global warming.
UCS played a critical role in putting those emails into context and helping reporters from the Washington Post to the NBC Nightly News tell the real story: that a bunch of stolen emails doesn't change the basic science. Yet this was only one battle in a bigger fight. Conservative talk show hosts, bloggers, and columnists continue to use the weak economy as an excuse to derail decisive action against climate change—even though the science clearly shows we cannot afford to wait. Recent research has confirmed that the consequences of global warming are occurring at a faster pace, and at a greater magnitude, than expected, and that the cost of delaying action continues to grow.
Our pockets may not be as deep as the fossil fuel industry, but over the years our scientists have earned the respect of journalists by helping them understand and communicate the connection between global changes and local communities—the people who consume their news. It's one way in which UCS continues to influence public opinion and move policy makers to act responsibly.
—Kevin Knobloch, president
