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| Global warming 'over-hyped'? |
| 2006-12-07 |
| By Christina Bellantoni Sen. James M. Inhofe, in one of his final actions as chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, yesterday held a hearing to investigate whether press accounts have "over-hyped" predictions of global warming. "The media often fails to distinguish between predictions and what is actually being observed on the Earth today," the Oklahoma Republican said. "Rather than focus on the hard science of global warming, the media has instead become advocates for hyping scientifically unfounded climate alarmism." Mr. Inhofe will lose control of the environmental panel next month when Democrats assume the Senate majority, and Sen. Barbara Boxer of California will assume the gavel. She promises extensive hearings on global warming, and yesterday chastised Mr. Inhofe for scrutinizing global-warming coverage. "In a free society, in what is the greatest democracy in the world, I do not believe it is proper to put pressure on the media to please a particular Senate committee view, one way or the other," she said. The two are polar opposites when it comes to climate change -- Mr. Inhofe has called global warming "the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American people," while Mrs. Boxer has advocated efforts to significantly reduce greenhouse gases. Mr. Inhofe, vilified by environmental groups for his position, said yesterday he fears "poorly conceived policy decisions may result from the media's over-hyped reporting." The hearing was an opportunity for Mr. Inhofe to strike back at his critics, citing "overwhelmingly one-sided" reports on CBS, ABC and CNN and by Time, the Associated Press and Reuters. He accused reporters, including former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw, of failing to interview climate-change skeptics, and of omitting scientific data that contradicts global-warming theories. He also said reporters are motivated by money, quoting a French geophysicist who says alarmism "has become a very lucrative business." Dan Gainor, director of the Business and Media Institute, testified that 30 years ago reporters tried to convince the public "we would all freeze to death" in a predicted new ice age. "In more than 100 years, the major media have warned us of at least four separate climate cataclysms," he said, adding there is a "media obsession" with former Vice President Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth." Australian climate-change researcher Robert M. Carter said the press employs "Frisbee science" that is "invariably alarmist in nature." Naomi Oreskes, a professor of science studies at the University of California at San Diego, told the panel yesterday that while scientists still argue over the details, "there is a consensus" the climate is changing. David Deming, a geologist at the University of Oklahoma, disagreed. "There is no sound scientific basis for predicting future climate change with any degree of certainty," he said. "It would be foolish to establish national energy policy on the basis of misinformation and irrational hysteria." Mrs. Boxer cited comments from oil and bank executives who say global warming is a real occurrence, and promised Congress can "do what it takes to change course and protect the future for our children and grandchildren." |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #8 Still trying to get the Giant Sun to surrender to tiny Earth > you know, the reason why the Sun is the one and only decadent Elitist while Earth is not an elitist [wannabe]. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-12-07 22:35 |
| #7 Yeah, "global warming" my left foot. I'ma lookin' forward to our lovely low of 17 degrees tonight here in Atlanta, with a high of 40 tomorrow. |
| Posted by: BA 2006-12-07 21:42 |
| #6 It snowed today - damn that global warming. I blame Bush. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2006-12-07 20:19 |
| #5 turned IT into Preview is my friend. I really did study English grammar in school. |
| Posted by: RWV 2006-12-07 18:45 |
| #4 Global Warming results from the relentless dumbing down of the American Electorate and the destruction of the American educational system by leftists who have turned into a feel-good indoctrination system, not unlike madrassas. |
| Posted by: RWV 2006-12-07 18:44 |
| #3 Mrs. Boxer cited comments from oil and bank executives who say global warming is a real occurrence Bulletproof. |
| Posted by: gorb 2006-12-07 14:50 |
| #2 IMO a perfect analogy for those insistently clinging to idea that global warming is a human-induced phenomenon: From a classic Peanuts strip (sorry, couldn't find the actual strip): [Linus and Lucy walking down the sidewalk notice an object on the ground] Lucy: Well, look here. A big yellow butterfly. It's unusual to see one of those at THIS time of year, unless of course, it flew up from Brazil. I'll bet that's it. They DO that sometimes, you know. They fly up from Brazil. Linus: [Bending down for a closer look] That's no butterfly! That's a potato chip. Lucy: Well, I'll be. I wonder how a potato chip got all the way up here from Brazil! |
| Posted by: xbalanke 2006-12-07 12:25 |
| #1 The two are polar opposites when it comes to climate change -- Mr. Inhofe has called global warming "the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American people," while Mrs. Boxer has advocated efforts to significantly reduce greenhouse gases. Let me just say that one could believe global warming is the greatest hoax perpetrated on the American people and still advocate significantly reducing greenhouse gases. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2006-12-07 10:55 |