The New York Time has a lot to answer for. Back in 2002 and 2003, it helped legitimize the Bush Administration’s push to war, running a series of poorly sourced and mendacious articles. The sources for the articles were mainly Bush administration creatures, who then used the Times articles as proof that the lies they were spewing elsewhere were true. Years later, the Times rid itself of the reporter who inflicted most of those articles on us, and even issued a half mea culpa, but of course the damage was done. Bush got his war.
What can the Times do for an encore? How about legitimizing climate change denial? The consequences of an unnecessary war pale into insignificance beside the consequences of neglecting climate change.
Well the Times is on the case. Yesterday it legitimized attacks on Rajendra K. Pachauri, a leading climate change scientist, quoting a variety of people with one thing in common: no credentials in the field. (Thanks to Wiz at WCubed for the link-I guess related minds think alike). Today the Times gives credence to the absurd argument that snow in February disproves the fact of global warming. The Times would no doubt argue that it is just presenting both sides, but there comes a point when there are no longer two sides, and covering it that way just gives aid and comfort to crazies. There are actually people who believe the earth is flat, and no doubt some that believe the sun goes around the earth, but we are long past the time when there is any reason to accord those views any respect. So it should be with global warming, and even if it weren’t, giving credence to the idea that a winter storm in the winter disproves the theory is absurd in the extreme. That kind of argument deserves only mockery.
What’s particularly infuriating, to anyone with an ounce of knowledge on the subject, is this: not only is the evidence cited inadmissible to disprove global warming, but it is entirely consistent with the theory. Anyone who has taken the trouble to read up on the science knows that.
There are already Democrats who are using this storm as an excuse to fold on cap and trade. The Times is giving them cover. As with Iraq, so with global warming.
By the way, here in Groton, the storm proved the existence of global warming. It’s February after all. When we have precipitation, here in New England, in February, it’s supposed to be snow. And yet—yesterday the snow turned to rain!!!! A data point! This proves nothing everything!
Once again, by the way, the most responsible coverage of this issue was on the Daily Show and Colbert respectively (okay, Rachel Maddow too).
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